There was a lot of politics and a lot of joy at the 26th Polish Film Awards gala, which resulted in two major winners: Agnieszka Holland, who took home a trophy – the Polish Eagle for Best Film – for her Venice-lauded movie Green Border [+lee también:
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The first runner up was Michał Kwieciński’s Filip with nods for Best Cinematography (Michał Sobociński), Best Actor (Eryk Kulm Jr), Best Editing (Nikodem Chabior) and Best Production Design (Marcel Sławiński, Katarzyna Sobańska). Magdalena Cielecka was named Best Actress for Sławomir Fabicki’s Anxiety, while Tomasz Schuchardt came out as Best Supporting Actor for Simon Sandquist’s Doppelganger. Additionally, Grzegorz Dębowski, who wrote and directed Next to Nothing, was awarded the title of Discovery of the Year, DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman’s The Peasants [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ruben Östlund
entrevista: Ruben Östlund
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The common theme in the winners’ acceptance speeches was the joy that the industry feels following the change in Poland’s government after the general election of October 2023, and after the Minister of Culture’s announcement on 29 February that filmmakers’ right to seek royalties from the Internet will be entrenched in a copyright act. It marks the conclusion of a long running battle, whose last chapter involved a protest by young filmmakers from the Polish Filmmakers Association, which generated significant tension in the industry.

It’s somehow ironic that the legendary Polish director Agnieszka Holland, who’s also an EFA- and Oscar-winner and a trailblazer for female helmers, only won her first Polish Eagle - advertised as “the most important film award” by its founders - this year. Announced in late February, Holland is only the second female in the Eagles’ 26-year history to have received this Lifetime Achievement Award, with the first having gone to actress Maja Komorowska. And just a few moments later, Holland returned to the stage to pick-up an Eagle for Green Border which was named Best Film, accompanied by her producer Marcin Wierzchosławski and a large group comprising cast and crew. It was an incredibly emotional moment for the Polish film industry since, just six months earlier, at the time of its local release, Green Borders had been subjected to a violent smear campaign at the hands of right-wing politicians. Based on facts and written by Holland herself together with Gabriela Sieczko-Łazarkiewicz and Maciej Pisuk, the film revolves around the refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarussian border, which began in 2021. In her Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech, Holland revealed that “there are still situations unfolding [on the border] which should not be taking place” and she appealed to her fellow filmmakers to make good use of their talent, stressing that films can “play some part” in fighting the injustice and the monsters that are “starting to rule the world”. Her much-applauded speech was a fly in the ointment of the gala’s otherwise positive if not euphoric mood. And rightly so.

The winners’ list is as follows:

Best Film
Green Border [+lee también:
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Best Director
Paweł Maślona – Scarborn

Best Screenplay
Michał A. Zieliński – Scarborn

Best Actress 
Magdalena Cielecka – Anxiety (Poland/Switzerland/Germany)

Best Actor
Eryk Kulm jr. – Filip

Best Supporting Actress
Agnieszka Grochowska – Scarborn

Best Supporting Actor
Tomasz Schuchardt – Doppelganger

Best Sound
Radosław Ochnio, Adam Szlenda, Filip Krzemień – Scarborn

Best Cinematography 
Michał Sobociński – Filip

Best Editing
Nikodem Chabior – Filip

Best Music 
L.U.C. – The Peasants [+lee también:
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Best Costumes
Dorota Roqueplo – Scarborn

Best Make-up
Aneta Brzozowska – Scarborn

Best Production Design 
Marcel Sławiński, Katarzyna Sobańska – Filip

Audience Award 
The Peasants

Best Documentary
Pianoforte – Jakub Piątek

Discovery of the Year
Grzegorz Dębowski, director of Next to Nothing (Poland)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Agnieszka Holland

Best European Film
Triangle of Sadness [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ruben Östlund
entrevista: Ruben Östlund
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Best TV series
1670 – Maciej Buchwald, Kordian Kądziela