Still from Paweł Ziemilski's "Rogalik"
At the 59th International Short Film Festival, Tomasz Popakula’s Ziegenort wins the principal prize and Paweł Zielmilski’s Rogalik receives the Special Mention of the International Jury
"Short film is a great first step for a budding filmmaker", Roman Polański once said of the form and the festival that pays it homage. "That's how I made my beginnings and Oberhausen was an important step on my path to become a director."
Europe’s oldest short film festival recognised Tomasz Popakula’s 19-minute animation, Ziegenort, with the Principal Prize. The film was completed in 2013 and shows the true story of a fishing village set in an alternative reality where the Second World War never occurred. All the village’s animals and people live according to the laws of nature. A father tries to prepare his son for the life of a fisherman. The Festival programmers state,
The artist of this work decided to introduce his film by generously suggesting, more or less, that we all be good to each other. [...] This regional and semi-autobiographical tale is haunting in the most beautiful ways. Tomasz Popakul, thank you for taking us to the sea: through black & white frames that outline complex smouldering atmospheres without the need of a snorkel or a gas-tank.
Tomasz Popakul's interest in animated films started in high school. A self-taught expert in visual art, he usually reaches for techniques from pencil, crayon and ink drawings, illustration, the comic book technique, computer animation and 3-D graphics.
Paweł Ziemilski’s imaginative shots offer a thought-provoking perspective on the reality of poor Polish families in Rogalik, and earned the attention of the international jury, which gave him a Special Mention. The 17-minute short has a seemingly aimless camera floating through people’s lives. The film reflects the alienating, pervasive influence of technology on everyday events.
Rogalik has received a mention in the 9th ZagrebDox Festival's Little Stamp section in Croatia, and the Cierpliwe oko / Patient Eye award at the Media Festival Człowiek w Zagrożeniu / Human in Danger festival in Poland, as well as the main prize of the Director of the Łodzią po Wiśle 2012 Planet Doc Festival.
The 59th International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, Europe’s oldest short film festival, took place between the 2nd and 7th of May 2013. Five Polish titles made it to the 450 short films in the run up, selected from 6,500 entries: Renata Gąsiorowska’s Łukasz and Lotta, Wojciech Bąkowski’s Suchy Pion.
Sources: Polish article by db for culture.pl, International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen website.
Editor: MJ, 09.05.2013