MACIEJ J. DRYGAS’S “TRAINS” RECEIVES THREE HONOURS AT MEMORIMAGE
Maciej J. Drygas’s “Trains” shows no signs of slowing down! Since its world premiere at IDFA in Amsterdam, the documentary has continued to earn recognition on the international festival circuit. Its latest success comes from Memorimage – Festival Internacional de Cinema de Reus in Catalonia, where it received three distinctions: two awards recognising its outstanding work with archival materials and a Special Mention from the Main Competition Jury.
At the 21st edition of Memorimage – Festival Internacional de Cinema de Reus, held from November 4 to 7 in Reus, Spain, “Trains” received the Cinema Rescat Award for Best Documentation and Archival Research and the ADAE Award for Best Creative Use of Archive Footage. The film was also recognised by the main competition jury, which awarded it a Special Mention (Menció Especial Premi Ciutat de Reus).
Memorimage is a festival dedicated to cinema that draws on archival materials, with a particular focus on their creative reinterpretation and their role in preserving memory and audiovisual heritage. This year’s programme featured 22 films, with “Trains” emerging as the most awarded production of the edition.
Maciej J. Drygas’s documentary is a found-footage journey through 20th-century Europe, constructed entirely from archival images. The train becomes a metaphor for the human condition, as successive journeys trace a history of hope, war, forced migration and homecoming. Without dialogue, the film takes audiences through changing eras, guided by images, sound and a score composed by Paweł Szymański. The director spent years researching material in 98 archives around the world, ultimately selecting nearly 600 shots from 46 collections.
“Trains” began its international festival journey in 2024 with a double triumph at IDFA, where it won the award for Best Film in the International Competition as well as an award for editing. In the months that followed, the documentary received further recognition, including the Grand Prix in the Baltic Focus competition at ArtDocFest in Riga and an award for its creative use of archival footage at the UnArchive Found Footage Fest in Rome. In 2026, it also won Best Feature Documentary at the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival in Palm Springs and the Audience Award at London’s Kinoteka festival.
The film has also enjoyed considerable success in Poland. At this year’s Polish Film Awards (Eagles), it received two awards: Best Documentary Film and Best Editing. The award-winning editing is the work of Rafał Listopad, who was also recognised at the second edition of the Polish Film Editors Association Awards.
“Trains” was produced by Drygas Film Production, with Vita Żelakeviciute serving as producer.