Winners of the 65th Krakow Film Festival

AWARDS of the 65th Krakow Film Festival

DRAGON OF DRAGONS AWARD for the contribution to the development of the world animated film JEAN-FRANÇOIS LAGUIONIE (France)

KFF RECOMMENDATION to the European Film Award in the documentary category

SILVER, dir. Natalia Koniarz (Poland, Finland, Norway)

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION 

Having watched all the competitive films, the International Documentary Jury of the 65th Krakow Film Festival consisting of: Marcin Koszałka – chairman (Poland), Jenny Horwell (United Kingdom), Ondřej Kamenický (Czechia), Nima Sarvestani (Sweden), Mira Staleva (Bulgaria), has decided to award the following prizes:

THE GOLDEN HORN for the directors of the best film – Weronika Mliczewska for Child of Dust (Poland, Vietnam, Sweden, Czech Republic, Qatar)

In recognition of its honest and powerful portrayal of one man’s search for identity amidst the enduring wounds of war, and for creating a documentary that, with profound insight, illuminates the connection between the individual and history, between the past and the present. This film, in its quietude, carries a voice that resonates universally. 

THE SILVER HORN for the director of the film with high artistic value – Natalia Koniarz for Silver (Poland)

For a hypnotic, silent story in which the image becomes a prayer for those who descend underground each day. The jury recognizes the film’s extraordinary visual and formal power, and the courage to create a world of darkness, dust, and tenderness that chooses to feel rather than speak. This is cinema like an echo from within the mountain – deeply moving and impossible to forget. 

THE SILVER HORN for the director of the film on social issues – Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc for Tata (Romania)

Thanks to the brave effort of the director to break the cycle of transgenerational trauma, this film moved us deeply and it’s universal topic deserves to be talked about. The jury decided to give Silver Horn for the director of the film, highlighting social issues to the intimate first-person documentary that combined investigation of illegal practices and abuse. 

HUMAN RIGHTS IN MOTION AWARD – award from Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for documentary film promoting human rights and democratic values – Håvard Bustnes za film Ogrodnik, buddysta i szpieg (Norwegia, Wielka Brytania, Niemcy)

More than ever we need to be challenged for the way we filter the truth and handle the delicate and nuanced balance between good and evil. The Gardener, the Buddhist and the Spy raises this very important question and provokes the audience to figure out the complexity of twisted stories we are constantly surrounded with.

SPECIAL MENTION for the director – Luuk Bouwman for the film The Propagandist (Netherlands)

For rigorous and elegant archive storytelling, bringing to light a historical case which still resonates loudly eighty years on, grappling with the mechanisms of propaganda and film’s role in the dissemination of ideology.

The FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Jury, consisting of: Jakub Demiańczuk (Poland), Giulia Dobre (Romania), Yael Shuv (Israel) has decided to award the International Film Critics Prize to Natalia Koniarz for Silver (Poland)

For immersive, demanding yet fascinating observation of life cycle of Bolivian miners in post-colonial reality.

INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Having watched all the competition films, the International Short Film Jury, consisting of: Anna Bławut-Mazurkiewicz – chairwoman (Poland), Gregory Coutaut (France), Ana Nedeljković (Serbia), and Léo Soesanto (France) has decided to award the following prizes:

GOLDEN DRAGON for the director of the best film – Artem Rachkelyuk for Look Homeward (Poland)

For the elegant depiction of the existential crisis that young Ukrainian refugees experience by trying to preserve the future of their country.

SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best documentary film – Hesam Eslami for Citizen-Inmate (Iran)

For its daring criticism of global surveillance society, for the way it subverts it with a lo-fi aesthetics, and for the eternal question: Who watches the watchers?

SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best animated film – Lea Favre for Hunting (Switzerland)

For its sensitive female perspective and for the way it reminds us that strong emotions and difficult topics can and and should be depicted through animation.

SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best short fiction film – Rein Maychaelson for Sammi, Who Can Detach His Body Parts (Indonesia)

For his touching depiction of a relationship with mother and son, told through an unexpected mix of genres and moods, from magic realism to rape and revenge and melodrama.

Jury Award for the Best European Film (Krakow Candidate to the European Film Award 2025 in the short film category) – Susanna Flock, Adrian Jonas Haim, Jona Kleinlein for World at Stake (Austria)

A FIFA party that is like an experiment with a digital world that has become our own world. A work of art in the age of digital reproduction.

Special Mention to the film: It’s All Because of Her directed by Daria Kopiec (Poland).

For a bold and daring approach on aging sexual needs and emotional connection.

The International Federation of Film Societies (FICC) Jury consisting of Theresa Grysczok (Germany), Maja Moan Brataas (Norway), Lech Moliński (Poland) has decided to grant the Don Quixote Award to the film Hunting directed by  Lea Favre (Switzerland).

To a film that plays with the expectations of the viewer. In a very brilliant way it shows victim and perpetrator, whose position turns out not to be fixed once and for all! Minimum time, maximum message and a shutter release that reclaims power.

Special Mention to the film: It’s All Because of Her directed by Daria Kopiec (Poland)

To a film, which portrays a twisted story due to excellent acting and adds a theater-like approach to fictional narration

INTERNATIONAL DOCFILMMUSIC COMPETITION

Having watched all the competition films, the International DocFilmMusic Competition Jury, consisting of: Urszula Śniegowska – chairwoman (Poland), Ayat Najafi (Germany, Iran), Jakub Piątek (Poland), has decided to award the following prizes:

GOLDEN HEYNAL for the directors of the best film – Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee for Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (Canada)

We feel privileged to be able to watch all the movies of the DOCFilmMusic Competition – to become the insiders of the worlds of these diverse and fascinating artists.

We picked a movie that took us on a captivating cinematic journey to the life of an unfairly forgotten singer. Without existing film footage of the protagonist, the filmmakers managed to portray her in a remarkable and convincing and creative way. THEIR story is both universal and timely and we HAD NO OTHER WAY but to award the remarkable Any Other Way: Jackie Shane Story with Golden Heynal.

NATIONAL COMPETITION

Having watched all the competition films, the National Competition Jury – Short Films consisting of: Magdalena Kamińska – chairwoman, Kaja Krawczyk-Wnuk, Wiola Sowa has decided to award the following prizes:

GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best fiction film – Artem Rachkelyuk for Look Homeward (Poland)

For a wonderfully acted, attentive journey into the inner world of a protagonist at a crossroads.

SPECIAL MENTION for the director – Damian Kosowski for People & Things (Poland)

GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best documentary film  – Wojciech Węglarz for Bloodline (Poland)

For an impressive visual metaphor of loneliness and rejection, carried out with focus and discipline.

SPECIAL MENTION for the director – Małgorzata Goździk for Dance with Me, Dad

(Poland)

For a brave and sensitive portrayal of the difficult love between a daughter and her father.

GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best animated film – Daria Kopiec for The Pool or Death of a Goldfish

For a moving and visually evocative story about the impossibility of endlessly pretending one doesn’t exist.

SPECIAL MENTION for the director – Paulina Ziółkowska for Tears (Poland)

For a mesmerizing portrayal of life in times of excess.

Award of the Wrocław Feature Film Studio for the first or second short feature film for Jakub Prysak for Nothing Else (Poland)

For a moving story that avoids easy solutions, about people facing the ultimate end.

Having watched all the competition films, the National Competition Jury – Documentary Films consisting of: Izabela Łopuch – chairwoman, Grzegorz Brzozowski, Aliaksandr Tsymbaliuk has decided to award the following prizes:

GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE (ex aequo) for the director of the best documentary film above 30 minutes – Weronika Mliczewska for The Child of Dust (Poland, Vietnam, Sweden, Czech Republic, Qatar)

For a fulfilled film that transforms the fate of an individual searching for their father into a universal parable about confronting the harm inflicted by history. For the painful beauty of an image about breaking and restoring the most important human bonds. We are all children thrown into a world that wounds us, but one to which we cannot surrender.

GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE (ex aequo) for the director of the best documentary film above 30 minutes – Wojciech Staroń for The Passion of Agnieszka (Poland)

For an intimate and at the same time incredibly profound film about filling every moment with meaning. For the reminder that a world is possible where people see and hear each other, and through this, they grow. The film is exposed from both sides. We thank the creators for reminding us of this wonderful metaphor of human relationships.

Best Cinematography Award under the patronage of The Polish Society of Cinematographers, funded by Cinelight – Stanisław Cuske for the film Silver (Poland, Finland, Norway)

A camera that literally and metaphorically brings people out of the darkness. It portrays them in a very sensitive and humanistic way. It maintains an appropriate distance. It accompanies them on all their journeys. It becomes an integral part of this story about people suspended between light and darkness.

Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awareness, patronized by ZAIKS – Natalia Koniarz for Silver (Poland, Finland, Norway)

For noble empathy in depicting a world existing on the margins of our everyday life. For a silent scream proclaiming that every, EVERY person is the most precious treasure of this world, even if we don’t have easy solutions to break the fate of those born outside the circle of the privileged.   

Having watched all the competition films, the National Competition Jury, both Short and Documentary Films have decided to award the following prizes:

The Award of the Polish Filmmakers Association for the best film editing – Marcin Sucharski, Mateusz Romaszkan for The Child of Dust (Poland, Vietnam, Sweden, Czech Republic, Qatar)

For creating a multi-layered and incredibly moving story. For placing respect and great tenderness for the characters at the forefront, alongside mastery and courage in dramatic solutions.

The Award for the best short and documentary films producer in Poland funded by the Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA) and FDR Studio – Maciej Kubicki (TELEMARK) for the film Silver (Poland, Finland, Norway)

For the producer’s courage, visible in taking up a difficult topic and trusting the artistic choices of the Creators to tell it so nobly and unconventionally.

THE AUDIENCE AWARD

Silver directed by Natalia Koniarz (Poland, Finland, Norway)

THE AWARD OF THE STUDENT JURY

Having watched all the competitive films, the Student Jury consisting of Zuzanna Adamowicz, Michał Bech, Amelia Georgiewska, Marcin Gołąbek, Wiktoria Gornowicz, Iga Gross, Roman Kraiński, Ignacy Pstrągowski, Krzysztof Strumiński, Katarzyna Szyszkowska, Maciej Warchoł, Oliwia Weksej has decided to award film Sanatorium (Ireland, Ukraine) directed by Gar O’Rourke.

For a gripping reflection on the power of music and friendship in the face of adversity in the form of stimulants, burnout and scientology.

KFF INDUSTRY – ANIMATED IN POLAND I DOC LAB POLAND AWARDS 2025

ANIMATED IN POLAND AWARDS

YOUNG HORIZONS INDUSTRY AWARD – an invitation to participate in the Young Talents programme for students and graduates of film and art schools, a side programme of the international co-production forum Young Horizons Industry for the Talent Market participant Maja Olczak

SOUND MIND STUDIO Award – a coupon for 10 days of sound post-production for the project Telegrams to the Tree, dir. Julia Benedyktowicz, prod. Grzegorz Wacławek / Animoon

FIXAFILM Award –  a coupon for image post‑production services worth 10 000 PLN for the project Porridge Monster, dir. Izabela Plucińska, prod. Paulina Ratajczak / FUNDACJA LAS SZTUKI

KRAKOW TECHNOLOGY PARK – MULTILAB Award – a coupon worth 5,000 PLN for making a screening copy of a film from Krakow Technology Park for the project Heart, dir. Oskar Aleksander Wasiluk, prod. Robert Sowa / Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie

CREW UNITED Special Mention — a 3‑years’ Premium membership to Crew United platform for the director and producer of the awarded project for the project Aşk, dir. Magdalena Iris Özen, prod. Robert Sowa/ Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków

DOC LAB POLAND AWARDS

FOR THE PROJECTS PRESENTED AT DOCS TO GO:

Polish Film Institute Award — 15 000 PLN in cash for the project Inner Landscapes, dir. Zofia Sawicka prod. Maciej Kubicki, Zofia Kujawska / Telemark

FINA Award — in-kind: archival materials worth of 50 000 PLN for the project Theater on Main Street – The Ida Kamińska Story, dir. Dawid Szurmiej, prod. Katarzyna Kaczmarek, Milena Drinčić, Dawid Szurmiej / Studio Agart

WFF – WROCLAW FEATURE FILM STUDIO Award –  image and sound post-production services worth of 25 000 PLN  for the project Tickling the Devil, dir. Piotr Małecki, Maciek Nabrdalik, prod. Piotr Małecki / Short Docs Media

FIXAFILM Award — image post-production services worth of 15 000 PLN for the project The Herd, dir. Mariusz Biernacki, prod. Iga Malińska / Play Colors Media

Multilab / Krakow Technology Park Award  — image post-production services worth of 10 000 PLN  for the project Maestra, dir. Magda Nabiałczyk, prod. Iwona Harris / Lollipop Films 

FOR THE PROJECTS PRESENTED AT DOCS TO START:

MX35 Award — film equipment rental services worth of 10 000 PLN  for the project Hear Me Out, dir. Agnieszka Iwańska, prod. Izabela Igel / 7FILMS Sp. z o.o.

Cafe Ole Award  — sound post-production services worth of 10 000 PLN  for the project Her Name is Fields dir. Martyna Wróbel, Anna Biernacik, prod. by Magdalena Sztorc, Anna Zajączkowska / Mozaika Films

DOK LEIPZIG Special Mention — invitation to Co Pro Meetings in Leipzig for the project Her Name is Fields, dir. Martyna Wróbel, Anna Biernacik, prod. Magdalena Sztorc, Anna Zajączkowska / Mozaika Films

FIPADOC Special Mention  — invitation as a guest project to FIPADOC Industry  for the project Nothing to Fear dir. Katarzyna Cieślar, prod. Marta Dużbabel / ATM GRUPA S.A

IDFA Special Mention — invitation as a guest project to IDFA Forum  for the project My Diana, dir. Inga Pylypchuk, prod. Alexandra Bratyshchenko, Kateryna Ptashka / Eleron Picture

Institute of Documentary Film Special Mention – invitation to East Doc Platform for the project To Mother, dir. Mattias Bavré, prod. Stanisław Zaborowski, Barbara Dyck, Maarten Bernaerts / Silver Frame, Salto Productions

Polish Docs Pro Special Mention –  support of international promotion and invitation to one
of the key world documentary industry event  for the project The Pillar, dir. Marcin Koszałka, prod. Piotr Kobus / Mañana

DAE Encouragement  Special Mention — 1 year free membership and 1 consultation with an expert for the project Inner Wild, dir. Kama Czudowska, prod. Dorota Schleiss / ASF Studio