DRAGON OF DRAGONS AWARD
for the contribution into development of the world animated film PIOTR DUMAŁA (Poland)

KFF RECOMMENDATION to the European Film Award in a documentary category

WALK WITH ANGELS, dir. Tomasz Wysokiński (Poland)

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Having watched all the competitive films the International Documentary Jury of the 61st Krakow Film Festival consisting of: Mark Cousins – chairman (UK), Radu Ciorniciuc (Romania), Péter Kerekes (Slovakia), Margreth Olin (Norway), Anna Wydra (Poland) has decided to award the following prizes:

THE GOLDEN HORN for the director of the best film – Julia Sergina for Far Eastern Golgotha (Russia) The Jury unanimously loved the vitality of this film and the mature talent of its young director. It shows us a socially desperate but charismatic man using disobedience to fight for democracy.

THE SILVER HORN for the director of the film with high artistic values – Oan Kim and Brigitte Bouillot for The Man Who Paints Water Drops (France, South Korea)
A beautiful, meditative essay film about a traumatised man and his precise art seen through the eyes of his fascinated, thoughtful son. Precise editing which captures shifting states of mind. Haunting.

THE SILVER HORN for the director of the film on social issues – Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh for Writing
with Fire (India)
A film full of bravery and the unstoppable energy of Indian women questing for truth and justice. It beautifully captures how smartphones can liberate and the power of persistent journalism. Inspiring, and should be shown everywhere.

SPECIAL MENTION for Inside the Red Brick Wall directed by Hong Kong Documentary Filmmaker (Hong
Kong)
A boldly immersive film about the need for, and limits of, protest. The film uses a classic observational style to bear witness to young ardour and the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong. It is psychologically rich and potent.

SPECIAL MENTION for North by Current directed by Angelo Madsen Minax (USA)
A multilayered, innovative film about family secrets and the unravelling of history. By confronting the complexity of his experiences, the filmmaker finds catharsis.

The FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics)
Jury consisting of: Piotr Czerkawski (Poland), Vladimir Seput (Croatia), Dieter Wieczorek (France) has decided to award the  International Film Critics Prize to Gorki Glaser-Müller for Children of the Enemy (Sweden, Denmark)

For its strong and passionate portrayal of the Swedish-Chilean grandfather Patricio in search of his seven neglected grandchildren in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria. Children of the Enemy raises important ethical questions around human guilt, responsibility and inheritance of trauma, while avoiding a one-sided perspective on the complex political issues and showing how the European political diplomacy didn’t play the most elegant role in humanitarian efficacy.

INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Having watched all the competition films, the International Short Film Jury consisting of: Anca Damian – chairwoman (Romania), Maciej Bochniak (Poland), Darya Bassel (Ukraine), Laura D’Asta (UK), Felipe Montoya (Colombia), has decided to award the following prizes:

GOLDEN DRAGON for the director of the best film – Michelle Kranot and Uri Kranot for The Hangman at
Home (Denmark, France, Canada)
For beautifully intertwining the stories of five apparently unrelated characters with Carl Sandburg’s poem (The Hangman at Home), to an almost apocalyptic conclusion. An animation with powerful detailed design, cinematography and sound, that provokes the audience’s shifting experience, and raises questions about social habits.

SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best documentary film – Raluca Lupascu for God Was Here! (The Netherlands)
For offering a local and universal story where faith is questioned across time and nature, while capturing with timeless grace and outstanding cinematography, the dual essence of the Romanian Maglavit’s rural community with its ancient religious beliefs and traditions impacting on a younger generation in distrust

SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best animated film – Loris Giuseppe Nese for Bad Mood (Italy)
For using a timeless, minimalist and very effective animation and documentary style to portray the relationship between a carer and the families she works for, while delving in her struggles and the emotions of the ones that care for her. The choice of using southern-Italian dialect reinforces the characters’ background.

SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best short fiction film – Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson for Rough (Ireland)
For portraying with humour and irony a touch of humanity within a post-conflict Northern Irish street gang when they face the decision to spare a dog’s life. An achievement in mixing film genres and twisting the story, with a minimalistic and very effective narrative approach and a good cast.

SPECIAL MENTION for Come Here directed by Marieke Elzerman (Belgium)
For capturing, with striking cinematography and subtle acting, the depth of emotions and perceptions of shy, edgy characters working in a dog shelter versus neurotic/damaged dog’s owners.

Jury Award for the Best European Film (Krakow Candidate to the European Film Award 2021 in the short film category) – Daniel Grey for Hide (Hungary, France, Canada)
A forethoughtful and moving quantic experience that takes the viewer on the journey of a lifetime, through the eyes and breath of a kid. The stunning animation, sound design and cinematography powerfully convey an increasingly fragmented and unrecognizable world.

The International Federation of Film Societies (FICC)
Jury consisting of: Igor Dąbrowski (Poland), Nóra Sándor (UK), Rajbhushan Shyamsundar Sahasrabuddhe (India) has  decided to grant the Don Quixote Award to the film Hide directed by Daniel Gray (Hungary, France, Canada) and  the Special Mention to the film: Locked Out directed by Julien Goudichaud (France)

 

NATIONAL COMPETITION

Having watched all the competition films, the National Competition Jury consisting of: Jan P. Matuszyński – chairman, Piotr Bernaś, Krzysztof Czyżewski, Katarzyna Janowska, Adriana Prodeus has decided to award the following prizes:

GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best film funded by the President of the Polish Filmmakers
Association – Tomasz Wysokiński for Walk With Angels (Poland)
For being an honest guide through the heart of darkness, professionalism in storytelling, conscious narration through a ruthless, distant world and a film that is hard to stop thinking about.

SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best documentary film over 30 minutes – Tomasz Wolski for
1970 (Poland)
For inventing a new cinematic language that’s appropriate to this particular story being told, for the perfect combination of documentary footage, sound archives, and animation, allowing us to experience the cruel events of the past and see in them a parallel to the present.

SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best documentary film under 30 minutes – Andrzej Cichocki for A
Little Bit of Paradise (Poland)
For a short film about infinity, which brings out the inconceivable luminosity of life from the shadows of marginality, poverty, and degradation.

SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best animated film – Michalina Musialik for Dog’s Field (Poland)
For crafting a multidimensional and metaphorical story about human attitudes and choosing the appropriate means of expression.

SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best short fiction film – Nastazja Gonera for First Last Summer
(Poland)
For its subversive look at human and animal issues and its ambiguous, consistent narrative.

SPECIAL MENTION – Karolina Kajetanowicz for film Green (Poland)
For creating an evocative sensory experience through the minimalist means of animated film and for exploring the boundary of the end of the Anthropocene.

SPECIAL MENTION – Monika Proba for film Light Years (Poland)
For an exceptionally light and sensitive film that is as subtle as it is courageously sympathetic to the madness of love.

SPECIAL MENTION – Michał Kawecki for film No Hero at All (Poland)
For great sensitivity and psychological insight, creating a visually and narratively attractive documentary that blurs the line between genres and becomes cinema in its purest form.

SPECIAL MENTION – Mateusz Kudła, Anna Kokoszka-Romer for film Polański, Horowitz. Hometown
(Poland, France, USA)

KFF INDUSTRY – ANIMATED IN POLAND I DOC LAB POLAND AWARDS

ANIMATED IN POLAND AWARDS
SOUND MIND STUDIO AWARD – a coupon for 10 days of sound postproduction in Sound Mind studio run by Michał Fojcik for the project  All My Effing Superheros, dir. Piotr Kabat, prod. Letko
FIXAFILM AWARD – a coupon for image post-production services worth PLN 10 000 founded by Fixafilm for the project  Once There Was a Sea…, dir. Joanna Kożuch, prod. B-Film, Animapol
CREW UNITED SPECIAL MENTION – a 5-years’ Premium membership to Crew United platform for the director and producer of the project  Eyeshroom, dir. Małgorzata Wowczak, prod. Animated Film Studio – Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow

DOC LAB POLAND AWARDS

AWARDS FOR THE BEST PROJECTS PRESENTED AT DOCS TO START
HBO Award – 10 000 PLN in cash for the project Papa Was King of Kongo, dir. Joanna Ratajczak, prod. Maciej Kubicki, Joanna Ratajczak (Telemark)
SMAKJAM Award – image postproduction services worth of 25 000 PLN for the project Step by Step, dir.  Eliza Kubarska, Michał Woroch, prod. Monika Braid (Braidmade Films)
MX35 Award – film equipment rental services worth of 10 000 PLN for the project Child of Dust, dir. and prod. Weronika Mliczewska (Ya-Man Studio)
DOK Leipzig Special Mention – invitation to DOK Co‐pro Meetings for the project Girl’s Stories, dir. Aga Borzym, prod. Marta Dużbabel, Agnieszka Rostropowicz-Rutkowska (Pinot Films)

AWARDS FOR THE BEST PROJECTS PRESENTED AT DOCS TO GO
Lunapark Award –  image postproduction services worth of 15 000  PLN for the project Old Hippies Die Young, dir. Zofia Pręgowska, prod. Zofia Pręgowska (Prego media)
Institute of Documentary Film Special Mention – invitation to East Doc Platform for the project Leon, dir. Wojciech Gostomczyk, prod. Wojciech Gostomczyk, Anna Stylińska – Metrage Studio

AWARD FOR THE BEST PROJECT PRESENTED AT DOCS TO START AND DOCS TO GO
Polish Docs Pro Special Mention – support of international promotion and invitation to one of the key world documentary industry event for the project Base 13, dir. Paweł Hejbudzki, prod. Wojciech Karubin (Movie Mates)