19-10-2008

PRIZE-WINNERS OF THE 24th WARSAW FILM FESTIVAL

    Awards in the five competition sections of the 24th Warsaw Film Festival were presented on Saturday, 18 October.
    1. WARSAW COMPETITION
    The judges: Kadri Koussar, director (Estonia), Jerzy Kapuściński, producer (Poland), Gianfranco Quattrini, director (Peru/Argentina), Jim Stark, producer (USA), and Prof. Alexander Yanakiev, director of the Institute of Art Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria), awarded the following prizes:
    1.1. Warsaw Grand Prix, funded by the Mayor of Warsaw:
    DZIEŃ W JURIEWIE / YURI'S DAY / YURIEV DEN, dir. Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia / Germany
    The prize was presented by the Mayor of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.
    1.2. Jury Special Prize, funded by the Polish Filmmakers' Association
    ŚWIAT JEST WIELKI, A ZBAWIENIE CZAI SIĘ ZA ROGIEM / THE WORLD IS BIG AND SALVATION LURKS AROUND THE CORNER / SVETAT E GOLYAM I SPASENIE DEBNE OTVSYAKDE, dir. Stefan Komandarev, Bulgaria / Germany / Slovenia / Hungary
    The prize was presented by the President of the Polish Filmmakers' Association, Jacek Bromski.
    2. 1-2 COMPETITION
    The judges: Agnieszka Smoczyńska, director (Poland), Alexandra Strelkova, director of the National Cinematographic Centre (Slovakia), and Mihai Gligor, director of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Romania), awarded the following prizes:
    2.1. Grand Prix NESCAFÉ
    ODEJDŹ W POKOJU, JAMIL / GO WITH PEACE JAMIL / MA SALAMA JAMIL, dir. Omar Shargawi, Denmark
    2.2. Jury Special Prize
    NIEDOKOŃCZONE HISTORIE / UNFINISHED STORIES / RAVAYAT HAYE NA TAMAM, dir. Pourya Azarbayjani, Iran
    2.3. Special Mention
    MUZYKA / MUSIC / MUZIKA, dir. Juraj Nvota, Slovakia / Germany
    3. FREE SPIRIT COMPETITION
    The judges: Alissa Simon, film festival programmer (USA), Vinko Bresan, director (Croatia), and Tomek Lipiński, composer / musician (Poland), awarded the following prizes:
    3.1. Free Spirit Award
    ŁZY NA SPRZEDAŻ / TEARS FOR SALE/ ČARLSTON ZA OGNJENKU, dir. Uroš Stojanović, Serbia / France
    3.2. Jury Special Prize
    TONY MANERO, dir. Pablo Larraín, Chile / Brazil
    4. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
    The judges: Sonora Broka, programmer for the Arsenals festival in Riga (Latvia), Cezary Harasimowicz, screenwriter (Poland), and Richard Nemec, producer (Czech Republic), awarded the following prize:
    4.1. Best Documentary
    HEAVY METAL W BAGDADZIE / HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD, dir. Eddy Moretti, Suroosh Alvi, Canada / USA
    5. SHORT FILM COMPETITION
    The judges: Milan Babić, director (Serbia), Matthew Brown, director (South Africa), and Marcin Wrona, director (Poland), awarded the following prizes:
    5.1. Best Short Film
    DWA PTASZKI / 2 BIRDS / SMÁFUGLAR, dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland
    5.2. Jury Special Prize
    PIERWSZEGO DNIA / THE FIRST DAY / DEN FÖRSTA DAGEN, dir. Karolina Jonsson, Sweden
    6. FIPRESCI Prize
    The FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) jury, comprising Olga Markova (Bulgaria), Laurence Boyce (United Kingdom), and Mihai Fulger (Romania), awarded the prize for best Eastern European debut. The winner is:
    OFICER ŚLEDCZY/ THE INVESTIGATOR/ A NYOMOZÓ, dir. Attila Gigor, Hungary.
    The judges in all the sections highlighted the extremely high standard of the films. The ceremony in the Stefan Starzyński Room of the Palace of Culture and Science lasted just 20 minutes.
    Last modified on 22-10-2008