THE SUMMARY OF 2019 - THE ANIMATED FILMS AT THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS
Last year was really successful for Polish animated films. Our films were recognised by both the audience and the jurors of numerous competitions to which Polish productions were invited. We brought awards, among others, from Cannes, Slovenian Stoptrik, Swiss Animatou, Romanian ANIM’EST, Mexican ANIMASIVO and from the festival Banjaluka, held in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is worth remembering that, in addition to film screenings, there were also industry meetings, film markets and reviews. All the most important events which happened last year can be found in our summary. We would like to invite you to read it!
Last year, there were almost 100 screenings more than the year before. Polish short animated films were presented over 610 times at almost 260 international film festivals, including as many as 427 competition screenings and over 180 non-competing screenings. In total, our short animated films won almost 50 awards and special mentions.
Last year, the most frequently shown animated film was "Acid Rain." The film by Tomek Popakul was shown at 50 festivals. The second most frequently invited film was "Story" by Jola Bańkowska. Since last year's premiere at the Berlinale, the animated film has been included in the programme of 41 film events. The third place went to Karina Paciorkowska. Her animated film "You Are Overreacting" toured almost 40 international festivals. In turn, the following films had over 30 screenings each: "Bless You!" by Paulina Ziółkowska, "III" by Marta Pajek, "Squaring the Circle" by Karolina Specht, "Tango of Longing" by Marta Szymańska, "Colaholic" by Marcin Podolec and "The Rain" by Piotr Milczarek.
The number of festival screenings often translates into awards and special mentions won by a film. Last year, the most frequently awarded film was "Acid Rain" by Tomek Popakul. The animated film won the recognition of the jury or the audience thirteen times. In turn, "You Are Overreacting" by Karina Paciorkowska was awarded eight times. "The Little Soul" by Barbara Rupik was also doing great. Its premiere screening in Cannes resulted in one of the awards, and the animated film won a total of four awards.
Polish animated films were shown at the most prestigious festivals in the world. It is worthwhile to mention some of them: the Sundance, the Berlinale, Annecy, Cannes, Clermont-Ferrand, Banjaluka and the DOK Leipzig. And that is not all. Below we write in more detail about the most important events of 2019, at which our films were present.
The animated film "Story" has its premiere screening in one of the competition sections at the Berlinale. "Acid Rain" enjoyed success from the beginning of the year. In January, the film was presented both in Rotterdam and at the Sundance, where it won one of the extra-statutory awards.
In the world of short films, the beginning of February is immediately associated with the festival in Clermont Ferrand and the film market which accompanies the festival. Two Polish animated films were invited to last year's competition: "III" by Marta Pajek and "Bless You!" by Paulina Ziółkowska, and at the film market you could find the stall of the POLISH SHORTS, prepared by the Krakow Film Foundation.
March is the month in which the festival season comes back to life. Our animated films were then shown, among others, at the ANIMA - Brussels Animation Film Festival, at the TAMPERE, at the Tricky Women/Tricky Realities Festival and at the Glasgow Short Film. The third part of the trilogy by Marta Pajek brought awards from as many as two of them. The journalists of the Belgian festival and the jurors of the Austrian Tricky Women liked the film. "Colaholic" by Marcin Podolec won the special award at the Athens Animfest, and "Acid Rain" won at the GLAS Animation. The award for the Polish co-production at the Cartoon Movie is also worth mentioning. The Eurimages Co-production Development award went to the producers of the animated film "Of Unwanted Things and People." On the Polish side, WJTeam/Likaon is involved in the project.
In April, yet another award went to Marta Pajek. "III" received its third award that year at the Animakom festival in Bilbao. The jurors of the Filmfest Dresden appreciated the sound of "Oh, God!" by Betina Bożek, "Cold Pudding Settles Love" by Urszula Palusińska was chosen as the most visionary short animated film at the 62nd edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival, and "Tango of Longing" by Marta Szymańska appealed to the jurors at the Ismailia International Film Festival.
Our film was also present at the most important film festival. For the second time in a row, a short Polish animated film was invited to the competition section of the Cannes festival. It is there where the premiere screening of the latest film by Barbara Rupik was held. "The Little Soul" was invited to the prestigious competition Cinefondaction and left the festival with the third prize.
At the turn of May and June, the 58th edition of the Krakow Film Festival was held, and that year as many as three Polish animated films were submitted to the international competition, and one of them, "Portrait of Suzanne" by Izabela Plucińska won the entire competition. "Acid Rain" by Tomek Popakul was chosen as the best Polish animated film. During the Krakow festival, the pitching Animated in Poland is also held. Last year, the special mention for the best project went to the authors of "LOVE," that is, to Michał and Jakub Socha, and the Sound Mind award went to Tomasz Siwiński, who presented the project "Love in the Time of Coal-Based Economy."
There could have been no lack of Polish presence at the largest animated film festival. As many as four Polish productions were included in the competition at the Annecy festival. One of them, "The Rain" by Piotr Milczarek won the Jean-Luc Xiberas award for the best debut short film, and the trailer promoting Tricky Women / Tricky Realities Festival made by Marta Pajek, received the award in the commercial film category. In the similar time, yet another Grand Prix award went to Tomek Popakul for "Acid Rain," and "You Are Overreacting" by Karina Paciorkowska won the Women's Rights Award at the Très Court International Film Festival. In turn, Jola Bańkowska won the prestigious Young Director Award for the best animated film director.
The first month of the summer holidays started with the award for the animated film by Karina Paciorkowska. The film "You Are Overreacting" was chosen as the best short animated film in the competition at the Portuguese festival FEST. In turn, the animated film "Year" by Małgorzata Bosek-Serafińska was honoured with the Special Award for Artistic Merit – in memoriam of Wojciech Juszczak at the 12th International Animated Film Festival ANIMATOR in Poznan.
In July, three Polish animated film-makers: Jerzy Kucia, Damian Nenow and Piotr Dumała were included in the group of the new members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The feature-length film "Another Day of Life" by the second of the aforementioned film-makers was chosen as the best feature-length animated film at the festival Anima Mundi.
The end of the summer holidays brought yet another victory of "Acid Rain." This time, the animated film was recognised as the best international short production at the Monterrey International Film Festival in Mexico. Even further south, in Uruguay, the film by Karina Paciorkowska was appreciated. "You Are Overreacting" was recognized at the International Film Schools Festival Awards.
In September, at the Russian festival Message to Man, the retrospective of one of the most interesting Polish animated film-makers, Izabela Plucińska, was held. And in Canada, during the Quebec City Film Festival, a large review of Polish short films took place. In the programme of the event, you could also find Polish animated films. The organisers of "Poland in Focus" were the Krakow Film Foundation and the Canadian festival. More awards from international festivals were brought by Tomek Popakul, Karina Paciorkowska and Jola Bańkowska. The spot advertisement promoting the Austrian festival Tricky Women, made by Marta Pajek, won yet another award. This month, the Krakow Animation Center started operating.
October is probably the hottest month for the fans of animated films, and especially for Polish animators, who won the most awards just then. Two statuettes for Polish filmmakers were awarded at the Slovenian StopTrik festival. It was there where "Portrait of Suzanne" by Izabela Plucińska and "Marbles" by Natalia Spychała won special mentions from the jury. The double victory of the Polish animated film also happened at the Banjaluka. The Grand Prix award of the festival went to "The Little Soul," and yet another special mention to "Acid Rain."The animated film by Tomek Popakul was chosen as the best animated films at the ANIM’EST and at the Bucheon International Animation Festival. Two special mentions more went to "You Are Overreacting" by Karina Paciorkowska, and one - to Marcin Podolec for his animated film "Colaholic."In October, the review of Polish animated films at the Swiss Animatou - International Animation Film Festival was also held. The curator of the section "Beautiful Poland" was Aneta Ozorek.
November did not disappoint either. As soon as at the beginning of the month, "Squaring the Circle" by Karolina Specht won the special mention at the Hungarian festival PRIMANIMA. At the same time, in distant Japan, the film by Tomek Popakul won at the New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival. The animated film by Izabela Plucińska won the second prize in the German competition at the Interfilm festival. "My Strange Elder Brother" by Julia Orlik received its first special mention. The animated film was appreciated at the festival Cinanima. "The Hunt," directed by Mateusz Jarmulski, also had its debut as an award-winning film. The film was appreciated at the French festival Entrevues Belfort. In turn, the animated film "Tango of Longing" left the Spanish Soria International Film Festival with an award. Not only the jurors, but also the audience fell in love with "You Are Overreacting." The film by Karina Paciorkowska won the audience award at the Italian Magma International Short Film Festival.
At the end of the year, two awards each went to the animated films"Acid Rain" and "The Little Soul." The film by Barbara Rupik received the special mention in the student film competition at the Animasivo Festival De Animación Contemporánea in Mexico and it turned out to be the best film at the Romanian festival CineMAiubit. The animated film by Tomek Popakul took the hearts of the audience and the jurors of the Animateka by storm. "Acid Rain" also received two prestigious nominations: the Annie Awards nomination and the Best of the Year Vimeo nomination. At the end of the year, there was also a beautiful present for the film by Jola Bańkowska. "Story" was chosen as the best animated film at the 10th edition of the Karama Human Right Festival in Jordan.
The events organised or co-organised by the KFF were held thanks to the support of the Polish Film Institute, the Krakow Festival Office, the Krakow Film Commission, as well as the foreign partners: the Quebec City Film Festival, the Clermont-Ferrand ISFF.
THE LIST OF AWARDS FOR POLISH SHORT ANIMATED FILMS IN 2019*
III, dir. Marta Pajek
38th ANIMA - Brussels Animation Films Festival, Belgium – the Press Award for Best Short Film
Tricky Women/Tricky Realities Festival 2019, Austria - TRICKY WOMEN/TRICKY REALITIES Award
AnimaKom Fest 2019, Spain – the Jury Special Mention
Acid Rain, dir. Tomek Popakul
Sundance Film Festival 2019, the USA – Unofficial Jury Awards - Vimeo Awards
GLAS Animation Festival 2019, the USA – Grand Prix
World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb 2019, Croatia – Grand Prix, the Audience Award
15th Monterrey International Film Festival, Mexico – Best Animated Short Film
Fantoche - 17th International Animation Film Festival, Switzerland – High Risk Award
2019 Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada – Best Script
14th ANIM'EST International Animation Film Festival, Romania - Best Animated Film
International Animation Festival 2019, South Korea - BIAF Grand Prize
BANJALUKA 2019 International Animated Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Special Mention
New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival 2019, Japan - Grand Prize
2019 Animateka - International Animated Film Festival, Slovenia - Jury Grand Prix, DSAF Audience Award
Colaholic, dir. Marcin Podolec
14th Athens Animfest, Greece - Education Award
International Animated Film Festival "Animaevka" 2019, Belarus - Special Mention
Evening, dir. Marcin Giżycki
Short Stop, Rumania, 2020 - Best Experimental
The Rain, dir. Piotr Milczarek
Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2019, France - Jean-Luc Xiberas Award (First Film)
The Little Soul, dir. Barbara Rupik
Cinefondaction -72nd Festival de Cannes, France - 3rd Prize
BANJALUKA 2019 International Animated Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Grand Prix
12th ANIMASIVO - Festival de Animación Contemporánea de la Ciudad de México, Mexico - Special Mention in International Student Section
23rd Cinemaiubit International Student Film Festival, Romania - Best Film Award
Impossible Figures and Other Stories II, dir. Marta Pajek
La Truca Internacional Animation Festival - Winner Official Professional Selection
Vanilla/Whip, dir. Bogna Kowalczyk
Bizzarro Film Festival 2019, Italy - BIZZARRO D'ARGENTO
Squaring the Circle, dir. Karolina Specht
8th Primanima World Festival of First Animations 2019, Hungary - Special Mention
The Hunt, dir. Mateusz Jarmulski
The 34th Entrevues Belfort International Film Festival, France - EUROCKS ONE + ONE PRIZE
Marbles, dir. Natalia Spychała
9th Stoptrik Film Festival, Slovenia - Special Mention
My Strange Elder Brother, dir. Julia Orlik
43rd International Animated Film Festival CINANIMA 2019, Portugal - Honorable Mention
Cold Pudding Settles Love, dir. Urszula Palusińska
San Francisco International Film Festival - New Visions Short Award
You Are Overreacting, dir. Karina Paciorkowska
Très Court International Film Festival 2019, France, Martinique, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia - Women's Rights Award.
FEST — New Directors | New Films Festival 2019, Portugal - Silver Lynx for Best Animation Short Film
19th International Film Schools Festival, Uruguay - Best Animation
5th Animaphix International Animated Film Festival, Italy - Special Mention
Animatou - the International Animation Film Festival 2019, Switzerland - Special Mention
18th Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival, Switzerland - Special Mention Best Animation Short Film
Magma International Short Film Festival 2019, Italy - Audience Award, Special Mention
Oh, God!, dir. Betina Bożek
31st Filmfest Dresden, Germany - Golden Horseman Sound Design
Creation, dir. Paweł Kleszczewski, Kasia Zimnoch
Fano International Film Festival, Greece – Special Mention
Portrait of Suzanne, dir. Izabela Plucińska
9th Stoptrik Film Festival, Slovenia - Special Mention
35th interfilm - the International Short Film Festival Berlin, Germany - 2nd Prize German Competition
Year, dir. Małgorzata Bosek-Serafińska
12th The Animator International Animated Film Festival 2019, Poland - Wojciech Juszczak Special Award for Artistic Merit (Artistic Director's Award)
Story, dir. Jola Bańkowska
25th International Short Film Festival in Drama, Greece - Best Animation Award
10th Karama Human Right Film Festival, Jordan - Karama Feather Award
Tango of Longing, dir. Marta Szymańska
21st Ismailia Film Festival 2019, Egypt - the Artistic Creativity Award
21st Soria International Film Festival, Spain - Avalon Award "El Silencio bien cortao"
*data collected on the basis of the information received from producers, filmmakers and festivals by Polish Animations. If you know about foreign awards for Polish animated films which are not included in this summary, we would like to ask you to send a message to the editors of the portal: info@polishanimations.pl