25/09/2023 - Paweł Maślona’s period extravaganza about Polish national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko has snagged the top prize, while the majority of the main awards went to first- and second-time directors

The Polish Film Festival in Gdynia felt young this year, as most of the main awards went to first and second films at the closing ceremony, which took place on 23 September. Paweł Maślona’s sophomore effort, Scarborn, had been a favourite from the start, praised for its vivid cinematic storytelling and fresh approach to the period-film genre, inspired to a certain degree by Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained. The story is set in the 1790s and revolves around Tadeusz Kościuszko, Poland’s national hero, played wonderfully by Jacek Braciak. Apart from getting the top prize, Scarborn, produced by Aurum Film and sold internationally by K5, took home one of the two Best Supporting Actor gongs (Robert Więckiewicz) as well as Best Editing (Piotr Kmiecik), Best Make-up (Aneta Brzozowska) and Best Costume Design (Weronika Orlińska).

Olga Chajdas’s Imago [+see also:
film review
interview: Olga Chajdas, Lena Góra
film profile], already rewarded at Karlovy Vary, was the first runner-up – it snatched the Silver Lions, plus additional individual trophies for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Lena Góra) and Best Music (Andrzej Smolik). Next to Nothing, a low-budget first feature, earned its helmer Grzegorz Dębowski the Best Director Award, as well as picking up Best Screenplay, Best Debut Film, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Artur Paczesny) and one of the two Best Supporting Actress Awards (Agnieszka Kwietniewska).

The stylish period thriller Doppelgänger, another second feature, got Best Director (Jan Holoubek), Best Cinematography (Bartłomiej Kaczmarek), Best Production Design (Marek Warszewski) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tomasz Schuchardt). Feast of Fire by Kinga Dębska bagged Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kinga Preis) and Best Professional Acting Debut (Paulina Pytlak). The Peasants [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] snagged the Audience Award and the Special Jury Prize for Unique Film Form, while Marcin Lenarczyk snatched the Best Sound Award for his work on Dreams Full of Smoke.

On the whole, the verdict was not considered to be controversial, which is unusual for the Polish Film Festival. Apart from the winning titles, the most-discussed film was Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which wasn’t submitted for consideration in the programme this year. It was, however, released theatrically during the festival, and owing to an intensely negative campaign waged against Holland, many of the Polish Film Festival winners and others in attendance voiced their support for and solidarity with her. Indeed, the hottest red-carpet garment was a white T-shirt bearing the slogan “Agnieszka Polland”.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Golden Lions
Scarborn – Paweł Maślona (Poland/Sweden/Germany)

Silver Lions
Imago [+see also:
film review
interview: Olga Chajdas, Lena Góra
film profile] – Olga Chajdas (Poland/Netherlands/Czech Republic)

Golden Claw for “Vision Apart”
Next to Nothing – Grzegorz Dębowski (Poland)

Special Jury Prize for Unique Film Form
The Peasants [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman (Poland)

Best Director
Jan Holoubek – Doppelgänger (Poland)

Best Screenplay
Grzegorz Dębowski – Next to Nothing

Best Directorial Debut (or Second Film)
Grzegorz Dębowski – Next to Nothing

Best Cinematography
Bartłomiej Kaczmarczyk – Doppelgänger

Best Music
Andrzej Smolik – Imago

Best Production Design
Marek Warszewski – Doppelgänger

Best Sound
Marcin Lenarczyk – Dreams Full of Smoke (Poland)

Best Editing
Piotr Kmiecik – Scarborn

Best Make-up
Aneta Brzozowska – Scarborn

Best Costume Design
Weronika Orlińska – Doppelgänger

Best Actress in a Supporting Role (ex aequo)
Kinga Preis – Feast of Fire (Poland)
Agnieszka Kwietniewska – Next to Nothing

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (ex aequo)
Tomasz Schuchardt – Doppelgänger
Robert Więckiewicz – Scarborn

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Lena Góra – Imago

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Artur Paczesny – Next to Nothing

Best Professional Acting Debut
Paulina Pytlak – Feast of Fire

Best Microbudget Film
Ultima Thule – Klaudiusz Chrostowski (Poland)

Winner of the Short-film Competition
Warszawa, Holandia – Ming-Wei Chiang (Poland)

Audience Award
The Peasants – DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman

Platinum Lions for Lifetime Achievement
Allan Starski