24/09/2018 - Paweł Pawlikowski’s film has scooped the Golden Lions in Gdynia, while Filip Bajon’s The Butler pocketed the Silver Lions and three further prizes

The winners of the 2018 Polish Film Festival in Gdynia (© Maciej Kosycarz)

The 43^rd edition of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia drew to a close on 22 September with its awards ceremony. As widely expected, the main award was handed to Cold War [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
film profile], directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, and produced by Ewa Puszczyńska and Tanya Seghatchian. The film also took home the Awards for Best Sound and Best Editing. Filip Bajon’s The Butler [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a period film that examines the history of the Kashubia region from 1900-1945, took home the second most important award – the Silver Lions – as well as the Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Adam Woronowicz), Best Music (Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz, who was also awarded for scoring Werewolf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrian Panek
film profile]) and Best Make-up (Mira Wojtczak and Ewa Drobiec). Another big winner was Pardon [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which had its world premiere in Montreal a few weeks ago. The film is set in 1946 and revolves around a middle-aged couple who want to bury their son, a so-called “cursed soldier” (a member of the Home Army, which was persecuted by the communist regime in post-war Poland). Jan Jakub Kolski, who penned and directed the film, was given the Best Screenplay Award, Grażyna Błęcka-Kolska picked up Best Actress, while Monika Onoszko took home the Best Costume Design Award. 

There were two Special Awards given out: one was handed to Clergy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Wojciech Smarzowski
film profile] by Wojciech Smarzowski (which also won the Audience Award and Best Production Design, presented to Jagna Janicka), while the other went to 7 Emotions [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Marek Koterski. In fact, these two films were so popular that the festival had to organise additional screenings at 11 pm. 

Agnieszka Smoczyńska received the Award for Best Debut or Second Film for Fugue [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Smoczyńska
film profile] (incidentally, she was awarded the same prize for her first film, The Lure [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Smoczyńska
film profile], in 2015), and her DoP, Jakub Kijowski, received the Best Cinematography Award ex-aequo with Jacek Podgórski, who worked on Bartosz Konopka’s The Mute [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. The two Awards for Best Supporting Roles went to actors from A Cat with a Dog [+see also:
trailer
film profile]: Aleksandra Konieczna and Olgierd Łukaszewicz. In this touching dramedy, they play real-life artists, Iga Cembrzyńska and late director Andrzej Kondratiuk, whose brother, Janusz Kondratiuk – also a director – co-wrote and helmed the film. 

Werewolf, an excellent and visually alluring, sombre, fairy-tale-like story revolving around a group of pre-teen Holocaust survivors terrorised by a pack of wolves, was appreciated for its directing – the respective award was thus presented to Adrian Panek. The movie, which is also a clever reflection on the nature of good, will have its international premiere at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, later this week. Nina [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Olga Chajdas was named Best Picture in the Visions Apart competition, while Sophie’s Ordinary Life by Dominika Gnatek won the short-film competition. 

Apart from organising a successful programme of film screenings, Gdynia also witnessed the signing of a gender-parity pledge by Leszek Kopeć, the festival’s director, and Wojciech Marczewski, head of the programming board. 

Here is the complete list of award winners:

Golden Lions
Cold War [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
film profile] – Pawel Pawlikowski (Poland/UK/France)

Silver Lions
The Butler [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Filip Bajon

Special Award
Clergy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Wojciech Smarzowski
film profile] – Wojciech Smarzowski
7 Emotions [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Marek Koterski

Best Directing
Adrian Panek – Werewolf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adrian Panek
film profile] (Poland/Netherlands/Germany)

Best Screenplay
Jan Jakub Kolski – Pardon [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Poland/Czech Republic/Slovakia)

Best Debut or Second Film
Fugue [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Smoczyńska
film profile] – Agnieszka Smoczyńska (Poland/Czech Republic/Sweden)

Best Cinematography
Jakub Kijowski – Fugue
Jacek Podgórski – The Mute [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Poland/Belgium)

Best Music
Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz – Werewolf and The Butler

Best Production Design
Jagna Janicka – Clergy

Best Sound
Maciej Pawłowski, Mirosław Makowski – Cold War

Best Editing
Jarosław Kamiński – Cold War

Best Make-up
Mira Wojtczak and Ewa Drobiec – The Butler

Best Costume Design
Monika Onoszko – Pardon

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Aleksandra Konieczna – A Cat with a Dog [+see also:
trailer
film profile]

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Olgierd Łukaszewicz – A Cat with a Dog

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Grażyna Błęcka-Kolska – Pardon

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Adam Woronowicz – The Butler

Audience Award
Clergy – Wojciech Smarzowski

Visions Apart competition

Golden Claw for Best Film
Nina [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Olga Chajdas

Special Jury Award
Monument [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Jagoda Szelc

Short-film competition

Winner
Sophie’s Ordinary Life – Dominika Gnatek