2014 was particularly successful for Polish short film. Numbers speak for themselves – Polish shorts were present at over 1200 festival screenings around the world and received 165 awards. Even more, special screenings featuring Polish short film were organized at many important festivals, including Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico and International Short Film Festival in Drama, Greece. Polish Shorts team is proud to present the summary of 2014.

2014 was a very successful year for Polish short film. Polish short films were screened in over 1200 screenings at over 500 festivals, 970 out of which were competition screenings. Over 540 out of all screenings belonged to animated films, which participated in competition screenings over 430 times. Fiction films took part in over 460 screenings this year, 370 out of which are competition screenings. Short documentaries can boast over 200 festival screenings, 160 out of which are competition screenings.

The film which was most frequently screened at international festivals in 2014 is "The Heat" by Bartosz Kruhlik, which can boast 81 screenings. It is followed by "Baths" by Tomek Ducki with 60 screenings. Other films with a large number of festival screenings in 2014, are "Arena" by Martin Rath (34 screenings), "Hippos" by Piotr Dumała (34 screenings), "Darling" by Izabela Plucińska, "Ziegenort" by Tomasz Popakul and "Our Curse" by Tomasz Śliwiński (28 screenings each), "Ex animo" by Wojciech Wojtkowski (27 screenings), "Ab ovo" by Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi, "Cotton dreams" by Sandeep Rampal Balhara and "Fat and Skinny" by Aleksandra Brożyna (26 screenings each) and "To Thy Heart" by Ewa Borysewicz and "Mother" by Łukasz Ostalski (25 screenings each).

Last year, festival screenings brought 165 awards to Polish short films. 8 films can boast over 5 awards each. The most frequently awarded short film of 2014 was "Baths" by Tomek Ducki. This animated film won 17 awards, including, among others, the grand prize of the short film competition at the ZINEBI festival in Spain – the Golden Mikeldi, the Best Animation award at the German festival Interfilm, and the Jury's Special Award at the animated film festival in Hiroshima.

"The Heat" by Bartosz Kruhlik turned out to be the most frequently awarded short fiction film of 2014. The film was awarded 15 times last year, including the Best Short Film award at the FICIP festival in Mexico, and the Best Director award at La Guarimba festival in Italy.

The most frequently awarded short documentary was "Our Curse" by Tomasz Śliwiński, which received 15 awards in 2014. It is worth mentioning that the film won the best short documentary award at the festivals Bogoshorts in Colombia, Aspen Shorts Fest in the USA, Raindance in Great Britain and Monterrey in Mexico.

Other films, which were awarded over 5 times last year, are "Hippos" by Piotr Dumała (9 awards), "Arena" by Martin Rath, "Cotton Dreams" by Sandeep Rampal Balhara and "Mother" by Łukasz Ostalski (7 awards each) and "Ziegenort" by Tomasz Popakul (6 awards).

So much for foreign awards. In 2014, thanks to the efforts of Krakow Film Foundation, twelve special screenings featuring Polish short films were organised at film festivals around the world.

The largest screening of Polish short films was held in Mexico at Guanajuato International Film Festival. Every year, the organisers of the festival invite one country to participate in a wide panorama, presenting its film output, including feature-length films, documentary films, short and animated films. Krakow Film Foundation was one of few institutions invited to prepare a programme including the most interesting films of recent years. The representatives of the Foundation, present at the festival, participated in many industry events, among others, the Mexican-Polish Forum.

Polish short films were the special guest also at the International Short Film Festival in Drama, Greece. The screening of the latest short films prepared at the festival's invitation included 19 films, nine of which were represented by the Foundation. Apart from the Foundation, the organisers invited also the Radio and Television Faculty of the University of Silesia in Katowice to prepare a special short film programme.

Special screenings presenting recent achievements of Polish film makers were also held at the following festivals: Prague Shorts in the Czech Republic (programme consisting of 5 films), FRISS HUS Budapest International Film Festival in Hungary (8 films), Kiev International Short Film Festival in Ukraine (3 films), China International New Media Short Film Festival (6 animated films), In the Palace Balchik International Short Film Festival in Bulgaria (10 films), Curtas Vila Do Conde International Short Film Festival in Portugal (4 films) Lago Film Festival in Italy (6 films) Cork Film Festival in Ireland (4 films), Polish Film Festival PLAY POLAND in Great Britain (7 films ) and Court c'est Court Film Festival in France (6 films).

Last year, Krakow Film Foundation organised for the eighth time the national Polish Shorts booth at the International Short Film Market in Clermont Ferrand – the largest film market in Europe, dedicated exclusively to short film. The booth, which was visited by several hundred people in five days, was promoting the latest Polish short films. Accredited producers and distributors present at the market had the opportunity to maintain existing international contacts and make new ones.

A separate booth dedicated to promotion of animated film, Polish Animations, was organised by the KFF at the MIFA market, accompanying the festival in Annecy. Numerous animated film producers, accredited at the booth, participated in industry events, and also had a chance to look for international partners and widen their professional network of contacts.

Traditionally, a set of Polish short films was included in the programme of the Short Film Corner market, organised at the film festival in Cannes. Twelve films, constituting the programme of Polish Shorts, were promoted at the film market and in the on-line video library, available for accredited film professionals from around the world.

Promotional materials dedicated to Polish short films were also available at the Berlinale festival, within the frames of the booth organised by Polish Film Institute at the accompanying film market.

All events received the financial support of Polish Film Institute and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The partners were Krakow Festival Office, Krakow Film Commission and Polish Embassy in Mexico.

THE LIST OF AWARDS FOR POLISH SHORT FILMS IN 2014*

128th rat, dir. Jakub Pączek
Special Mention – 32nd Tous Courts International Short Film Festival, France

A Visit, dir. Matej Bobrik
Best Documentary Film – 12th International Short Film Festival IN THE PALACE, Bulgaria

Ab ovo, dir. Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi
Best Animated Film – StudentCuts Film Festival, Slovenia
Best Clay Animation – 7th Banjaluka International Animated Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Special Mention – Les Sommets du cinéma d'animation, Canada
Special Mention – MONSTRA – Lisbon Animated Film Festival 2014, Portugal

After all, dir. Bogna Kowalczyk
Best Artistic Approach – TV Festival Bar, Montenegro
Yellow Oscar Award – Uranium Film Festival, Brazil

All Souls' Day, dir. Aleksandra Terpińska
Best Directing, Best Cinematography – Watersprite Cambridge International Student Film Festival, Great Britain
Best International Short – Fabriano Film Fest 2014, Italy

Arena, dir. Martin Rath
Best Foreign Film, Special Mention for the Best Cinematography – 10th Early Bird Student Film Fest, Bulgaria
Best Short Film – Motovun Film Festival, Croatia
Best Short Film Award – 17th Arpa International Film Festival, the USA
Special Jury Award – Crested Butte International Film Festival, the USA
Special Mention – 33th New Jersey International Film Festival, the USA
Student Visionary Award – Berkeley Video & Film Festival, the USA
Vilko Filač Award for the best Cinematography – Kustendorf International Film & Music Festival 2014, Serbia

Baths, dir. Tomek Ducki
Audience Award – 7th Central and Eastern European Film Festival, Luxembourg
Best Animated Film – 11th Be Film the Underground Film Festival, the USA
Best Animation – 30th interfilm International Short Film Festival, Germany
Best Art – 6th Animage International Animation Festival of Pernambuco, Brazil
Best Film – Animatricks Animation Festival of Helsinki, Finland
Best International Animation – Animasivo – Forum of Contemporary Animation, Mexico
Golden Mikeldi for the Best Animation – 56th International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao ZINEBI, Spain
Grand Prix – Anibar International Animation Festival 2014, Kosovo
Jury's Special Award – 15th International Animation Festival Hiroshima, Japan
Special Award – 11th European Animated Film Festival BALKANIMA, Serbia
Special Mention – 12th Anilogue International Animation Festival, Hungary
Special Mention – 28th Leeds International Film Festival, Great Britain
Special Mention – Primanima World Festival of First Animations 2014, Hungary
Special Mention – 7thBanjaluka International Animated Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Special Mention – 13th Countryside Animafest Cyprus – Views of the World, Cyprus
Special Mention – 24th Animafest World Festival of Animated Film, Croatia

Beach, dir. Paweł Prewencki
Special Award for Student Film – 11th European Animated Film Festival BALKANIMA, Serbia

Birdie, dir. Ewa Kochańska
Golden Projector Award – AsterFest International Film Festival, Macedonia

Blue room, dir. Tomasz Siwiński
Best Animated Film – 22nd Curtas vila do Conde International Short Film Festival, Portugal
Best Narrative Short Animation – Cutout Fest 2014, Mexico
Special Mention – 11th International Animated Film Festival ANIMATEKA, Slovenia
Special Mention – 17th Guanajuato International Film Festival, Mexico

Cotton dreams, dir. Sandeep Rampal Balhara
Best Directing – Pink City Short Film Festival, India

Coyote, dir. Jędrzej Bączyk
Grand Prix – 32nd Tous courts International Short Film Festival, France

Darling, dir. Izabela Plucińska
Best Animation – 20th Drama International Short Film Festival, Greece
Special Award – 11th European Animated Film Festival BALKANIMA, Serbia
Special Mention – 12th Anilogue International Animation Festival, Hungary

Ex animo, dir. Wojciech Wojtkowski
Best Music for Film Award – Be there! Corfu Animation Festival 2014, Greece
First Prize in the European competition – 14th Un festival c'est trop court, France

Fat and Skinny, dir. Aleksandra Brożyna
Best Scenography – 15th Lucania Film Festival, Italy

Father's Day, dir. Kacper Lisowski
Student Jury Award – 36th Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, France

FFF1, dir. Marcin Giżycki
Best Experimental Short – Independent Filmmakers Showcase, Los Angeles/Beverly Hills/Santa Monica, the USA

Flora and Fauna, dir. Piotr Litwin
Golden Tablet Award – 17th Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentary & Shorts, Egypt
Honorable Mention – 29th Alpinale Short Film Festival, Austria

Fragments, dir. Aga Woszczyńska
Discovering Eye Award for The Most Interesting Emerging Film Artist – 25th Polish Film Festival in America, the USA

Fugue for Cello, Trumpet and Landscape, dir. Jerzy Kucia
Audience Award – Les Sommets du cinéma d'animation, Canada
Special Award – 15th International Animation Festival Hiroshima, Japan
Special Mention – 11th International Animated Film Festival ANIMATEKA, Slovenia

Games, dir. Maciej Marczewski
Best Director, Best Actress – 7th La Cabina International Medium Length Film Festival, Spain

Hippos, dir. Piotr Dumała
Best 2D Animation, 7th Banjaluka International Animated Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Best Animation, Cinefiesta 2014, Puerto Rico
Best Independent Short – Ottawa International Animation Festival 2014, Canada
Cine Club Fas Award – 56th International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao ZINEBI, Spain
Grand Prix – Les Sommets du cinéma d'animation, Canada
Grand Prix – 13th Countryside Animafest Cyprus – Views of the World, Cyprus
KLIK! Award for the Best Animated Short – KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival, the Netherlands
Special Mention – 10th World Festival of Animated Film in Varna, Bulgaria
Special Mention – 24th Animafest World Festival of Animated Film, Croatia

Katachi, dir., Kijek/Adamski
Best commisioned film – 24th Animafest World Festival of Animated Film, Croatia

Killing auntie, dir. Mateusz Głowacki
Grand Prix – 7th Lviv International Film Festival Wiz-Art., Ukraine
Special Mention for the Best Actor – 32nd Tous courts International Short Film Festival, France

Left Side of the Face, dir. Marcin Bortkiewicz
Best Camera Work Award – Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival, Qatar

Magma, dir. Paweł Maślona
Best Actor Award for Łukasz Simlat – 43rd HFF Konrad Wolf International Student Film Festival, Germany
Best Fiction Film – 11th Fresh Film Fest, the Czech Republic
French Critics' Discovery Prize – 37th Poitiers Film Festival, France
Golden Beaver – 10th European Short Film Festival at MIT, the USA

Miruna, dir. Piotr Sułkowski
Best Cinematography – Pune International Film Festival, India
Best European Short Film – 12th Alicante Film Festival, Spain
Best Life Action Film – Festival Opavský Páv – International Student Film Festival, the Czech Republic
Journalists' Award – ClujShorts International Short Film Festival, Romania

Milky brother, dir. Vahram Mkhitaryan
Golden Apricot Award, Hrant Matevossian Special Prize for Best Script – 11th Yerevan International Film Festival GOLDEN APRICOT, Armenia

Moonshine, dir., Michał Poniedzielski
Best Animated Film – Tampere Film Festival 2014, Finland

Mother, dir. Łukasz Ostalski
Best Actress Award – Regards au Long-Courts Deauville, France
Best Film – TIFF ODA Film Festival, Macedonia
Best Short Film, Audience Award – FEST – New Directors New Films Festival in Espinho, Portugal
Cinematic Achievement Award – THESS International Short Film Festival Thessaloniki, Greece
Luna de Valencia Award for the Best Short Film – 29th Valencia International Film Festival, Spain
Second Prize "Alcine" – 44th ALCINE International Short Film Festival, Spain
Special Mention – 42nd Huesca International Film Festival, Spain

Mother Earth, dir. Piotr Złotorowicz
Best Director, Best Actress, Best Art. Direction – 52nd Gijón International Film Festival, Spain
Special Mention – Konstanzer Kurz Film Spiele, Germany
Special Mention of the Cinema & Gioventù Jury – 67th Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland

My House Without Me, dir. Magdalena Szymków
Best International Documentary WOW Award – Women in Film and Television, WOW Film Festival, Australia

Our curse, dir. Tomasz Śliwiński
Best Documentary Award – 23rd Aspen Shorts Fest, the USA
Audience Award – Indielisboa, Portugal
Student Doc Award, Audience Award – Doc/Fest Sheffield, UK
Best International Short Documentary – Monterrey International FF, Mexico
Denk an mich Foundation Award – Look& Roll Film Festival, Switzerland
Best Documentary Short – 22nd Raindance Film Festival, UK
Best Student Film – Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, the USA
Best Documentary – 9th Sapporo International Short Film Festival and Market, Japan
Special Mention – IndieCork Festival, Ireland
The Diane Seligman Award for Best Short Documentary – Woodstock Film Festival, the USA
Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Award – Heartland Film Festival, the USA
Nature Scientific Merit Award – 7th Annual Imagine Science Film Festival, the USA
Special Mention – Sleepwalkers International Film Festival 2014, Estonia
Best International Short Documentary – 12th Bogota International Short Film Festival, Colombia

Our Bad Winter, dir. Grzegorz Zariczny
Prize of the City Council of Rezekne – Open Place Short Film Festival, Latvia

Rogalik, dir. Paweł Ziemiński
NTR Go Short award for the Best European Short Documentary – 6th Go Short International Short Film Festival, the Netherlands

Rollercoaster, dir. Marek Marlikowski
Special Mention – 16th Bratislava International Film Festival, Slovakia

Sad monsters, dir. Justyna Tafel
Best Short Award – Oaxaca Film Festival, Mexico

Sati, dir. Bartłomiej Świderski
Italian Alpine Club Golden Gentian Prize – 62nd Trento Film Festival, Italy
The Prize of the Jury – 12th International Mountain Film Festival in Poprad, Slovakia
Best Direction Award – Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival, Qatar
Prix Festivals Connexion – Région Rhône Alpes – Festival International du Film de Montagne d'Autrans, France

Such a landscape, dir. Jagoda Szelc
Best Student Film – Lonestar Film Festival, the USA

The Big Leap, dir. Kristoffer Rus
Honorable Mention and Best Editing Award – Los Angeles Movie Awards 2014, the USA

The Cheater Day, dir. Bartosz Warwas
Best Student Short – Hamilton Film Festival, Canada

The Easter Crumble, dir. Julia Kolberger
Audience Award – 21st International Film Festival FEBIOFEST, Slovakia
Silver Egg – Kustendorf International Film & Music Festival 2014, Serbia

The Governance of Love, dir. Adela Kaczmarek
Special Mention – Documentary Film Festival Doxa, Canada

The Hamster, dir. Bartek Ignaciuk
Special Mention – 13th Euganea Film Festival, Italy

The Heat, dir. Bartosz Kruhlik
Best Directing – Gjakova Film Festival, Kosowo
Best International Fiction – Ficil Bio Bio, Festival Internacional de Cine de Lebu, Chile
Best Directing – FiloFest Student Film Festival, Slovenia
Best Directing, Best Actor – Festival de Cinema Povero, Italy
Best Director – La Guarimba Film Festival, Italy
Best Fiction Film – Open Place Short Film Festival, Latvia
Best Film – Cortonogara Film Festival, Italy
Best Short Film – FICIP Festival, Mexico
Best Short Film – Chittagond Festival, Bangladesh
Best Student Film – FICVINA Festival Vina del Mar, Chile
Best Student Film – Kashmir Film Festival, India
Best Thriller – TOLFA Film Festival, Italy
Jury's Special Mention – AsterFest International Film Festival, Macedonia
Second Prize, Best Actor, Best Sound – Fesancor Film Festival, Chile
Special Award for the Best Supporting Actor – Basta Film Festival, Serbia

The Incredibly Elastic Man, dir. Karolina Specht
Best Student Film – Fest Anca International Animation Festival 2014, Slovakia
Special Mention – 6th Reanimania International Animation Film Festival, Armenia
Special Mention – 33rd Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Sweden
Special Mention for a Student Film – 9th Anim'est Animation Film Festival, Romania

The Island, dir. Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, Dominga Sotomayor
Best Director award in the international competition – FEMINA – International Women's Film Festival, Brazil
Danzante Award of the Latin American Short Film Competition – 42nd Huesca International Film Festival, Spain

The Kiss, dir. Filip Gieldon
Best Short Film – FilmOut San Diego LGBT Festival, the USA

The Shadow Forest, dir. Andrzej Cichocki
Best Editing, Audience Award – Rhode Island International Film Festival, the USA

The Tenement Building, dir. Agnieszka Burszewska
Special Mention – 9th Athens Animfest, Greece

To Fly Or Not To Fly, dir. Aniela Gabryel
Vienna Short Film Award for Best Fiction/Documentary Film – VIS Vienna Independent Shorts Film Festival in Vienna, Austria

To Thy Heart, dir. Ewa Borysewicz
Grand Prix – 11th International Animated Film Festival ANIMATEKA, Slovenia
Special Mention – Fest Anca International Animation Festival 2014, Slovakia

Toto, dir. Zbigniew Czapla
Audience Award – 52nd Ann Arbor Film Festival, the USA
Best Film in the 10-45 min category – 5th Golden Kuker International Animation Film Fest, Bulgaria

Vanishing, dir. Bartosz Kruhlik
Best Actress – AIM Mumbai Short Film Festival, India

What happens when children don't eat soup, dir. Paweł Prewencki
Best International Short – 5th International Animation Festival Chilemonos, Chile

When I am a Bird, dir. Monika Pawluczuk
Special Mention – Festival of Migrant Film in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Signs Award for Documentary – 12th International Festival Signes de Nuit, France
Special Mention – 11th Fresh Film Fest, the Czech Republic

Ziegenort, dir. Tomasz Popakul
Best Sound Award – Primanima World Festival of First Animations 2014, Hungary
Grand Prix – New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Japan
Special Jury Prize – 37th Poitiers Film Festival, France
Special Mention – 21st International Film Festival FEBIOFEST, Slovakia
Visegrad Fund Award – 55th International Short Film Festival Brno 16, the Czech Republic
Zlatko Grgić Award – 24th Animafest World Festival of Animated Film, Croatia

Zuza Zuza, dir. Peter Matysiak
nomination for Remy Awards – World Fest Festival, the USA

* data collected on the basis of information sent by producers, film makers and festival organisers to the Polish Shorts team. If you know about international awards for Polish short films, which are not included in this list, please send the information to our e-mail address: redakcja@polishshorts.pl

FEBRUARY 2015