MACIEJ J. DRYGAS’S “TRAINS” WINS BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE AWARD IN PALM SPRINGS
“Trains”, directed by Maciej J. Drygas, received the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the AMDoc Film Festival in the United States. This marks another success for the film, which continues its strong festival run and consistently receives recognition both in Poland and internationally.
The American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and Film Fund (AmDocs) is one of the largest documentary and animation festivals in the United States. Held in Palm Springs, near Hollywood, the event is dedicated to documentary films, animation, and music videos in both short and feature-length formats. The festival’s qualifying awards can open the way to Oscar consideration in selected short film categories, without the need for a standard theatrical release.
“Trains” is an essayistic found footage film that constructs a collective portrait of twentieth-century Europe and its inhabitants – their hopes, desires, dramas, and tragedies. The film has already been screened dozens of times at major festivals, and its international journey continues to bring new recognition. In 2024, at IDFA in Amsterdam, it received the Grand Prix as well as the award for Best Editing. It was also recognised by FOCAL International, which honours creators and institutions specialising in the creative use of archival materials.
Less than a month ago, “Trains” was also honoured at the Polish Film Awards – Eagles, where it won two awards: Best Documentary and Best Editing. The award-winning editor, Rafał Listopad, also became the recipient of the second Polish Editors Association Award.
“Trains” was produced by Drygas Film Production.
More information about the festival and the other award-winning films can be found here.