Two Warsaw Film School-produced short films score Student Academy Award nominations
by Cineuropa
- Dominik Mirecki's Kanaan and Leon Korzyński's Kamathipura Express are among the seven films selected in the Narrative category
Two Polish shorts produced at the Warsaw Film School have been nominated for the 53rd Student Academy Awards, marking a historic achievement both for the school and for Polish film education. Dominik Mirecki's Kanaan and Leon Korzyński's Kamathipura Express are among the seven films selected in the Narrative category, chosen from a record number of 2,972 submissions worldwide.
The two titles are the only Polish productions to receive nominations this year, and the first ever from the Warsaw Film School. They also make history as the first two films from the same Polish film school to be nominated in the same edition of the Student Academy Awards, organised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The winners will be announced during a ceremony held in September as part of the Toronto International Film Festival.
“It’s incredible to have been recognised by members of the Academy from among nearly 3,000 submissions,” says Mirecki. “Kanaan tells a universal story about the search for a safe place to call home. It was a subject that demanded a great deal of courage from all of us, so receiving recognition in the United States is a tremendous achievement.”
Running at 15 minutes, Kanaan follows two Middle Eastern immigrants who have fled war and now work illegally on construction sites in Poland. When they discover a dead body, they face an impossible choice: report it to the authorities and risk deportation, or remain silent. The short explores questions of morality, survival and human dignity. The film's artistic supervisor is Maciej Ślesicki, chancellor of the Warsaw Film School.
Korzyński's 28-minute Kamathipura Express, shot entirely in India, centres on Oskar, a young Polish man hiding from adulthood in the slums of Mumbai. After falling in love with teenage dancer Sapna, whose family plans to sell her to a brothel, the pair flee across India in search of freedom.
“I’m proud of the entire team and every single person who helped us on the long and winding road to making this film,” says Korzyński. “None of us expected everything to start falling apart during the shoot in India, putting the entire production at risk. That's why receiving this news means so much. I’m happy that someone recognised our work, but we don’t intend to stop here; we’re already moving on to our next project.”
Founded in 2004 by filmmaker Maciej Ślesicki and actor Bogusław Linda, the Warsaw Film School has become one of Central and Eastern Europe's leading film-education institutions, with a strong emphasis on practical training. Both films were produced at the Warsaw Film School, where the admissions process for international students is still open.
The school's productions are co-financed by the Polish Film Institute (PISF). The Student Academy Awards have long been considered the world’s most prestigious showcase for emerging filmmakers, with past recipients including Robert Zemeckis, Spike Lee and Pete Docter.
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