2011 SUM UP – POLISH DOCUMENTARIES GROW STRONGER
There is no doubt that last year was a favorable one for Polish documentaries. There are not only spectacular international successes but also a hundreds of screenings at the festivals worldwide to prove that.
What films were those most frequently screened abroad in 2011? What was the total number of awards presented to Polish documentary filmmakers? Who scored the majority of them? We decided to answer those questions and sum up the last twelve months to check whether this year was better than the last one.The numbers speak for themselves. In 2011 there were precisely 460 screenings of Polish documentary films, from which 270 in the competitive sections. If we are comparing this facts with the last year’s results the number of screening rose significantly as 160 screening more took place. Not only the number of screenings but also the number of festivals and special programmes is quite impressive. Polish documentaries were presented at more than 240 international film events which gives around 100 more compared to last year. Among those there were the biggest and most prominent festivals such as Hot Docs in Toronto, IDFA in Amsterdam or DOK Leipzig.
Just like every year Polish documentary filmmakers can proud themselves on their great achievements. During 2011 their output grew by another 60 awards. The unchallenged winner in this category is Piotr Złotorowicz whose short documentary „Charcoal burners” was awarded 19 times. Among multiple successes of Polish cinema we have to list above all the Silver Dove Award at Dok Leipzig for Wojciech Staroń and his “Argentinian lesson”, the award for the Best Documentary at Karlove Wary FF for Marcin Koszałka’s “Declaration of Immortality”, European Film Award Nomination for "Paparazzi" by Piotr Bernaś or Grand Prix at Short FF in Clermont Ferrand presented to “A piece of summer” by Marta Minoriwicz. (the complete list of awards to be found below).
With relation to the number of international screenings Piotr Złotorowicz and his “Charcoal burners” is first again with more than 60 screenings. Just after him comes “A piece of summer” by Marta Minorowicz, “Out of reach” by Jakub Stożek and “Declaration of immortality” by Marcin Koszałka. In 2011 also “Little bride” by Lesław Dobrucki, “Inventory” Paweł Łoziński and “Phnom Penh Lullaby” by Paweł Kloc received very nice feedback abroad.
THE LIST OF AWARDS PRESENTED TO POLISH DOCUMENTARY FILMS IN 2011:
Argentininan lesson, dir. Wojciech Staroń
Grand Prix - Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, China
Best Director - 52nd Festival dei Popoli, Italy
Silver Dove Award - 54th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film - DOK Leipzig
Golden Frog - Plus Camerimage FF, Poland
Beats of freedom, dir. Wojciech Słota, Leszek Gnoiński
MusiXine Main Prize - 4th MusiXine International Music Film Festival, Finland
Written in Ink, dir. Martin Rath
Best Short Documentary - Abu Dhabi Film Festival, The United Arab Emirates
Second Prize for the Documentary Film – 19th International Short Film Festival in Santiago de Chile
What happened on Pam Island, dir. Eliza Kubarska
Grand Prix - 28th International Mountaineering Film Festival, Teplice upon Metuji
Special Main Prize - 17. Film Festival St. Anton, Austria
Prize of the Jury - 29th Unnim Mountain Film Festival, Spain
Declaration of Immortality, dir. Marcin Koszałka
Documentary Award - Encounters Bristol International Film Festival, UK
Kamera Alpin in Gold - 23rd International Mountain & Adventure Filmfestival Graz, Austria
Best Documentary Film - 46th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic
Silver Gentian for the best artistic-technical contribution - 59th TrentoFilmfestival, Italy
Silver Hugo Award for the Best Documentary Film - 47. Hugo Television Awards, USA
Diploma of Merit - Tampere International Short Film Festival, Finland
A piece of summer, dir. Marta Minorowicz
Nanook Second Prize - Curt.doc Short Documentary Festival, Spain
Grand Prix - Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival 2011, France
The last day of summer, dir. Piotr Stasik
Prix RTP2 Onda Curta - Festival Tous Courts, Aix-en-Provence, France
“Silver Nanook” Award for the best short film - International Documentary Film Festival "Flahertiana", Russia
Documentary Award “Remembrance and Future” - goEast Film Festival, Germany
Doctors, dir. Tomasz Wolski
Golden Frog - Plus Camerimage FF, Poland
Special Mention - 51st Krakow FF, Poland
At the edge of Russia, dir. Michał Marczak
HBO Documentary Films Emerging Artist Award - Hot Docs - Canadian International Documentary Festival
Special Mention - 17th Festival International de Cinema VISIONS DU RÉEL, Switzerland
The contest, dir. Jakub Cuman
Michał Maryniarczyk Award - EKRAN 2011 – TORONTO POLISH FILM FESTIVAL, CANADA
The dog hill, dir. Grzegorz Zariczny
Special Mention - 17th Film Festival Della Lessinia, Italy
8. Grand Prix - Węgiel Film Festiwal, Poland
Mother, dir. Jakub Piątek
Best Documentary - 9th IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival, Bulgaria
Oh my God, dear God, dir. Julia Popławska
Best Short Documentary - MiradasDoc Festival, Spain
Paparazzi, dir. Piotr Bernaś
Best Documentary - International Music&Film Festival, Latvia
EFA Nomination - 51st Krakow FF, Poland
Golden Frog - Plus Cameimage FF, Poland
Phnom Penh Lullaby, dir. Paweł Kloc
Honorary Mention - 54th International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film - DOK Leipzig
Returns, dir. Krzysztof Kadłubowski
Best Documentary Film - International Short Film Festival Lille, France
Best Experimental Documentary - Couch Fest Films, Iceland
Out of reach, dir. Jakub Stożek
Special Mention - RENCONTRES INTERNATIONALES DU DOCUMENTAIRE DE MONTRÉAL, CANADA
FIPRESCI Jury prize - International Documentary Film Festival "Flahertiana", Russia
Best International Short Dox Award - International Documentary and Short Film Festival - Dokufest, Kosovo
Best Documentary in the International Short Film Competition - It's All True - 16th International Documentary Film Festival, Brazil
Special Prize from the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine - Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Ukraine
Honorable Mention - 2011 Sundance Film Festival, USA
The rolls of Identity, dir. Jakub Pączek
Jury Award for Best Film - FilmOneFest, USA
Second Award - 19th Croatian One Minute Festival
Grand Prix - One Minute Film & Video Festival, Toronto, Canada
The conversation, dir. Piotr Sułkowski
Best Documentary Short Film - Tirana International Film Festival, Albania
Charcoal burners, dir. Piotr Złotorowicz
2nd Place Documentary Award Winner - Nextframe International Student Film And Video Festival, USA
Best Documentary - Ostrava-Picture, Czech Republic
Best Documentary - Cabbagetown Short Film & Video Festival, Canada
Best Documentary Prize - Con i minuti contati - International Short Film Festival, Italy
First Prize - 17th Film Festival Della Lessinia, Italy
First Prize - 3rd Iñigo Film Festival, Spain
Best Documentary - Guanajuato International Film Festival, Mexico
Honorable Mention - Lume International Film Festival, Brazil
Best Documentary Film - Wimbledon Shorts Film Festival, UK
Honorable Mention - EMERGEANDSEE Media Arts Festival, Germany
Best Student Film - EfeboCorto Film Festival, Sicilia
Best Documentary - Kansas City FilmFest, USA
Special Mention for documentary - West-Östliches FilmFestival, Germany
The Best Documentary Award - REGARD - Saguenay International Short Film Festival, Canada
Award for the Best Documentary - Taos Shortz Film Fest, USA
Grand Jury Award For Short - Washington DC Independent Film Festival, USA
"Little Stamp" Award - 7th ZagrebDox, Croatia
Grand Prix - Festival Filmer le Travail, France
The Lucky ones, dir. Tomasz Wolski
National Geographic Award - Best Documentary - 20th Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, Australia
Vakha and Magomed, dir. Marta Prus
Best Short Documentary - 52nd Festival dei Popoli, Italy
Prix Roger Closset - Festival International des Ecoles de Cinéma - FIDEC, Belgium
source: POLISH DOCS