TWO POLISH FILMS WIN RUSSIAN „MESSAGE TO MAN”
Last Friday the 21st edition of International Short Film Festival “Message to Man” held in Petersburg from 23rd September came to an end. Among five Polish films screened in the competition, two were presented with the awards.
Jury of the international competition composed of Gianfranco Rosi, Antonio Delgado, Mariusz Frukacz, Autyun Khachatryan and Vitaly Mansky awarded “The Lost Town of Świteź” by Kamil Polak presenting the film with the award for the Best Animation. Also it was “Glasgow” by Piotr Subbotko that proved to be the Best Debut of the competition.
Produced in the coproduction with Canada, Switzerland and Denmark “The Lost Town of Świteź” is a narrative spectacle, set in two time dimensions, based on Adam Mickiewicz’s romantic ballad of the same title. Kamil Polak’s film, which is inspired by icons and combines a painting technique with 3D animation, takes its viewers on a breathtaking visual journey to a medieval city hidden under the surface of the lake. There is a mystic dimension to the eternal struggle between good and evil in “The Lost Town of Świteź”, which is highlighted by Irina Bogdanovich’s music, alluding to Orthodox church music. In June Polak’s film has already been presented with the award for the Best Animation at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival in USA and it received the award for the best debut at the International Animation Film Festival in French Annecy.
Piotr Subbotko’s debut is a story of a 12-year-old boy Damian, who is convinced that his father is a well-known football player in the club Celtic Glasgow. During the holidays, the boy tries to earn enough money to afford a trip to Scotland, so he helps a retired man Miecio in household repairs. He falls in love with a 15-year-old pregnant girl Monika, wants to take care of her child and take both of them to a better world. The film was produced by Wajda Studio in coproduction with Munk Studio and TVP as a part of fourth edition of 30 minutes programme. In July the film was awarded the Golden Apricot for the best film of 9th International Film Festival in Yerevan.
Apart from above mentioned titles there were also other Polish films screened in the competition: “Talk to him” by Agata Prętka, “Paths of Hate” by Damian Nenow and “Returns” Krzysztof Kadłubowski.
More information about the festival and awarded films to be found here