On Wednesday, April 30, at a ceremony, we announced the winners of the SCRIPT PRO awards, given as part of the most important Polish competition for screenwriters at the beginning of their careers. This competition is organized by the WAJDA SCHOOL and Mastercard OFF CAMERA in cooperation with the POLISH FILMMAKERS’ ASSOCIATION, the ZAIKS AUTHORS ASSOCIATION, the DOCUMENTARY AND FABULARY FILM PRODUCERS’ ASSOCIATION and the KYOTO-KRAKOW FOUNDATION.
Without these organizations, without the people who represent them, this competition could not exist. It could not draw the attention of the Polish film world to the filmmakers who are writing their first texts. And thanks to this competition, we can strive for their later realization – Filip Marczewski, director of Wajda School & Studio, emphasized in his speech.
Thus, for the authors, this competition is an opportunity for development, while for the producers, it is a guarantee that the final texts selected from several hundred submissions deserve their attention. An integral element of SCRIPT PRO is the development of the final texts and further work on them at the Wajda School under the guidance of leading Polish filmmakers, screenwriters, and consultants. Previous editions of the competition have awarded and honored such well-known titles as: Kos, Śubuk, Za duży na bajki, Lęk, Bo we mnie jest seks, Powrót do tamtych dni, Boże ciało, Bogowie, Ostatnia rodzina or the short: Stymulanty i Empatogeny (all polish-original titles).
On the sixth day of the 18th Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema, the winners of the competition were announced. In the 15 MINUTES FILM category, by the decision of the jury composed of Zbigniew Domagalski, Joanna Krauze and Filip Marczewski, the KYOTO-KRAKOW FOUNDATION honorable mention went to Bartosz Pietryka for his screenplay Waga idealna while the main prize in this category went to Ivo Krankowski for Raz w tygodniu, w środy.
The awards in the FILM category were decided by a jury consisting of: Michał Komar, Grzegorz Stępniak, Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, Michał A. Zieliński and Krzysztof Kwiatkowski. Third place went ex aequo to Aleksandra Parnowska-Ramsey (Hańba) and the duo Agnieszka Purc and Jan Purc. The second prize went to Magdalena Kućka (Być tu oto), while the victory went to Magda Kupryjanowicz (Tam, gdzie nas nie ma).
I would like to thank the organizers, the jurors and all the people who sent in their work with me – because the very fact that someone finished a script and sent it in is really a great achievement. I am happy to be in such a family of writers, and I hope to see your films and the films of people who are not here, but who also entered the competition – Kupryjanowicz said at the award reception.
Finally, the participants had the opportunity to watch the short film “Live.” It is worth noting at this point that in the short film category, the finalists also get the opportunity to have their film made by the Wajda Studio and WFDiF based on a script chosen from among the finalists’ texts. Free script consultations also await all finalists in both categories.
Aleksandra Kubas
photo Filip Radwański