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 [+lee también:
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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 [+lee también:
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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 [+lee también:
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Here is the full list of award winners:

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

Silver Lions
Imago [+lee también:
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Golden Claw for “Vision Apart”
Next to Nothing – Grzegorz Dębowski (Poland)

Special Jury Prize for Unique Film Form
The Peasants [+lee también:
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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