Director Jerzy Skolimowski took home the main prize at the 36th edition of the Golden Lions Polish Film Festival in Gdynia for Essential Killing. Jan Komasa received the Silver Lion for his début film Suicide Room, whilst Platinum lions were presented to Tadeusz Konwicki and Roman Polanski in honour of their lifetime achievements
Skolimowski's Essential Killing took home the greatest number of awards, including Best Cinematography for Adam Sikora, Best Music for Paweł Mykietyn and Best Editing for Réki Lemhény and Macieja Pawliński. "I bow my head before the achievements of younger colleagues", said Jerzy Skolimowski upon accepting his award.
Twelve new Polish films battled it out in the main category:
Czarny czwartek / Black Thursday, dir. Antoni Krauze;
Daas, dir. Adrian Panek;
Essential Killing, dir. Jerzy Skolimowski;
Italiani, dir. Łukasz Barczyk;
Ki, dir. Leszek Dawid;
Kret / The Mole, dir. Rafael Lewandowski;
Lęk wysokości/ Fear of heights, dir. Bartosz Konopka;
Młyn i krzyż/ Mill and the cross, dir. Lech Majewski;
Róża, dir. Wojciech Smarzowski;
Sala samobójców/ Suicide room, dir. Jan Komasa;
W imieniu diabła/ In the name of the devil, dir. Barbara Sass-Zdort;
Wymyk, dir. Greg Zglinski.
A jury of nine decide on the winning film. The jury was led by director and screenwriter Paweł Pawlikowski (Last Resort, Lato miłości / Summer of love, The Woman in the Fifth). Winners were announced at the final awards ceremony on June 11, 2011 at Gydnia's "Musical Theatre" / "Teatr Muzyczny"
Director Lech Majewski's The Mill and the Cross won prizes for direction, costumes and sound. The ode to Pieter Bruegel's masterpiece "The Procession to Calvary", has been well received at various festivals across the world, premièring at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Silver lions went to new director Jan Komasa for his debut film Suicide Room, and also to Dorothy Roqueplo (costumes) and Bartosz Putkiewicz (sound). Two other fresh Polish directors made their mark at the festival, with Greg Zglinski winning for Wymyk / Escape. His wife, Gabriela Muskała, also won Best Supporting Actress for the film. Bartek Konopka, director of Lęk wysokości/ Fear of Heights picked up a Silver lion.
Antoni Krauze, director of Czarny czwartek / Black Thursday received a special distinction for a "unique contribution to the preservation of national consciousness and for [adding] a personal note into the genre of historical cinema", according to the jury's statement.
Platinum Lion lifetime achievement awards were presented to Tadeusz Konwicki, who turns 85 on June 22 and Roman Polański, currently working on his lastest film Carnage.
The ceremonial gala on Saturday, June 11 hosted a special screening of Świteź by Kamil Polak, an adaptation of a romantic ballad by Adam Mickiewicz of the same title. It tells the story of a mysterious lake, at the bottom of which lies an enchanted medieval town. Switez is an apocalyptic tale of destruction, the wonders of the eternal struggle between good and evil, faith and hope. The film screening at the Teatr Muzycnzy in Gdynia was accompanied by live music performed by the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, Warsaw University Choir and soloist Małgorzata Pańko conducted by Irina Bogdanovic.
For more information about the 36th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, see: www.fpff.pl.
Date:11th of June, 2011
Location: Gdynia
Organised by: Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute
