The international jury composed of: Agnieszka Smoczynska, Bina Daigeler, Alice Dawson and Andrea Riseborough have decided that the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award in the Main Competition “Making Way” goes to the film Pierce directed by Nelicia Low. The jury consisting of Dixie Chassay, Allison Gardner and Tonia Noyabrova decided that the winner in the Polish Feature Film Competition was the film Życie dla początkujących (directed by Pawel Podolski), while the Audience Award went to the film Światłoczuła directed by Tadeusz Śliwa. 

 

The jury consisting of: Agnieszka Smoczynska, Bina Daigeler, Alice Dawson and Andrea Riseborough, decided that the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award in the Main Competition “Making Way” in the amount of $25,000 for the compelling cinematic language of this director and the creation of a visually profound work that stays with us long after the screening is over, went to the film Pierce directed by Nelicia Low. For harnessing the essence of filmmaking to create an intimate and uplifting piece, the Special Mention goes to Maria Zbaska for It’s not my film. 

The jury, consisting of Dixie Chassay, Allison Gardner, and Tonia Noyabrova, decided that the winner in the Polish Feature Film Competition (award of PLN 100,000) was the film Życie dla Początkujących (directed by Paweł Podolski) for its fresh, funny, and emotional interpretation of the genre, a debut that will appeal to a wide audience. 

The jury of the Polish Feature Film Competition also awarded acting prizes, each of PLN 10,000. For a brilliant interpretation of a talented script and fascinating journey from Peter Pan to Scenes from a Marriage, the winner of the award for Best Actress (award patron: Albert Riele/Apart.pl) was Agnieszka Dulęba-Kasza for her role in Seasons.  

The award for Best Actor in the Polish Feature Film Competition (patron of the award: zondacrypto) went to Jan Englert for the film The Crossroads (directed by Dominika Montean-Pańków). Our choice for best actor delivered a brilliantly nuanced and inspirational performance. Delivering a fresh and moving interpretation of dealing with a life changing situation is the Jury’s justification. For a performance that heralds a great career trajectory. For bringing tenderness, vulnerability, and humour to the role of Monia. the winner of the Mastercard Rising Star Award is Magdalena Maścianica for her role in Życie dla Początkujących. 

The Female Voice award for women of film (the value of the award is as much as PLN 50,000), is given to outstandingly talented women who are actively involved in the Polish film industry on a daily basis, and it is Dominika Montean-Pańków for her film The Crossroads for giving us a bold debut and beautiful and rich insight into a period of life not often explored in film. 

The FIPRESCI jury composed of: Salome Kikaleishvili, Hanna Margolis and Daniel Oliveira, awarded the FIPRESCI award to The Good Sister, directed by Sarah Miro Fischer, for telling a story of violence and assault from an original point of view, based on a loving sibling relationship that provides it with nuance and moral ambiguity, crafted from a strong script directed with confidence and maturity. 

The KIPA – National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers award for the best debuting producer went to Maks Sikora for the film Smok diplodok, while the winners were Maria Leznicka and Marcin Kupiecki for the film Seasons. 

During the Closing Gala, the #63SECONDS awards, whose main organizer of the competition is the Warsaw Uprising Museum, were also handed out. The winners were: 1st place Amelia Anisiewicz for the film Z Tobą cieplej, 2nd place Hubert Bursa for the film Zachód Powróci, and 3rd place Jan Pyka for the film Przyjaźń 2.0. 

List of winners and nominees: 

The “Making Way” Main Competition for the Krakow Andrzej Wajda Award: 

• The Ugly Stepsister (dir. Emilie Blichfeldt),  

• My Fathers’ Daughter (dir. Egil Pedersen),  

• Pierce (dir. Nelicia Low) – winner,

• Sister Midnight (dir. Karan Kandhari),  

• Gülizar (dir. Belkıs Bayrak),  

• Smaragda – I Got Thick Skin and I Can’t Jump (dir. Emilios Avraam),  

• It’s not my film (dir. Maria Zbąska),  

• Chlorophyll (dir. Ivana Gloria),  

• The Good Sister (dir. Sarah Miro Fischer),  

• Rabia (dir. Mareike Engelhardt). 

Polish Feature Film Competition: 

• Where Do We Begin (dir. Monika Majorek),  

• Kulej. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold (dir. Xawery Żuławski),  

• Wet Monday (dir. Justyna Mytnik),  

• Travel Essentials (dir. Kamila Tarabura),  

• Seasons (dir. Michał Grzybowski),  

• Simona Kossak (dir. Adrian Panek),  

• The Crossroads (dir. Dominika Montean-Pańków),  

• Światłoczuła (dir. Tadeusz Śliwa),  

• Loss of Balance (dir. Korek Bojanowski),  

• Życie dla początkujących (dir. Paweł Podolski) – winner

Award for Best Actress in the Polish Feature Film Competition (award patron: Albert Riele/Apart.pl) 

• Sandra Drzymalska, Simona Kossak 

• Agnieszka Dulęba – Kasza, Seasons – winner

• Nel Kaczmarek, Wet Monday, Loss of Balance 

• Michalina Olszańska, Kulej. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold 

• Maja Pankiewicz, Where Do We Begin 

Best Actor Award in the Polish Feature Film Competition (award patron: zondacrypto): 

• Jan Englert, The Crossroads – winner

• Ignacy Liss, Światłoczuła 

• Michał Sikorski, Życie dla początkujących 

• Łukasz Simlat, Seasons 

• Tomasz Włosok, Kulej. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold 

Female Voice Award (award patron: Mastercard and BNP Paribas). 

• Maria Leźnicka, producer, Seasons 

• Monika Majorek, director, screenwriter – Where Do We Begin 

• Dominika Montean-Pańków, director, screenwriter – The Crossroads – winner

• Justyna Mytnik, director, screenwriter – Wet Monday 

 

Mastercard Rising Star Award in the Polish Feature Film Competition (award patron: Mastercard) 

• Matylda Giegżno, Światłoczuła 

• Magdalena Maścianica, Życie dla początkujących – winner

• Julia Polaczek, Wet Monday 

Audience Award: 

• Światłoczuła directed by Tadeusz Śliwa – winner

 

COMMENT FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE MASTERCARD OFF CAMERA FESTIVAL – GRZEGORZ STĘPNIAK 

It is with great joy that I accept the verdicts of this year’s Mastercard OFF CAMERA competitions. I am especially happy that the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award went to the director of the film Pierce – a Taiwanese-Singapore-Polish co-production. It’s a work that, with rare skill, combines artistic, visually stunning language with the conventions of a thriller. The fact that it’s a debut – full of courage and sense of style – is all the more gratifying. 

I was also extremely pleased to learn that a Special Mention for It’s not my film has been granted- the Polish entry in the Main Competition of “Making Way”. This is an important gesture towards domestic cinema, confirming that Polish cinematography can still move and be recognized internationally. 

As for the Polish Feature Film Competition, I am extremely pleased that the foreign jury recognized and appreciated genres often overlooked at film festivals – comedy and horror, and in the case of the award-winning film Życie dla Początkujących – comedy-horror. This is one of my favorite genres, often unfairly marginalized in the context of art cinema, and yet it is one that allows you to talk about the modern world with great intelligence. 

Huge congratulations also go to Jan Englert, winner of the Acting Award for Best Male Actor. He himself, while at the festival, said that he hadn’t played a leading role in several decades – and in The Crossroads he created an excellent, complex and multidimensional role that delighted the jury and the audience. 

I am no less pleased with the Best Actress Award, which went to Agnieszka Dulęba-Kasza. The actress, known for her films by Michal Grzybowski, with her vast theater experience, created in Seasons a character balancing between fiction, reality, and theater. The foreign jury recognized and appreciated her technique, subtlety, and depth. 

In addition, Mastercard Rising Star for Magda Maścianica (Życie dla Początkujących) is a wonderful choice – a role that is complex, non-obvious, funny and ironic. This is an example of a fresh, extremely promising talent that I hope we will see many more times on screen. 

And finally, Female Voice, an award for Dominika Montean-Pańków for the film The Crossroads. This is an important, ambivalent and non-obvious work, tackling difficult, moral issues in a way that is extremely timely – resonating with the reality in which we operate today. 

This year’s awards show that the festival is not afraid to bet on new voices, on bold cinema, on diversity of forms and genres. This gives me great hope and drives me to keep working. 

Partners of the 18th edition of the Mastercard OFF CAMERA Festival 

Title Partner: Mastercard 

Strategic Partner: zondacrypto

Main Partners: Galeria Krakowska, Bank BNP Paribas, Lipton 

Automotive Partner: HONGQI 

Partner: Albert Riele/Apart.pl 

Organizer: OFF CAMERA Foundation 

Co-financed by: City of Kraków, Polish Film Institute, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Filmoteka Narodowa Instytut Audiowizualny, 

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Fund for Promotion of Culture – state purpose fund 

Supporting Partners: Lajkonik, Bytom 

Media Patrons: Polsat, Interia, Wyborcza.pl, Wysokieobcasy.pl, Rzeczpospolita, rp.pl, Twój Styl, PANI, SHOW, Twójstyl.pl, Filmweb, RMF FM, RMF CLASSIC, RMF MAXX 

Local Partners: Hagi, ON LEMON, Kinga Pienińska, Maniewski Davroe, Nice To Fit You, Frezja, Jagiellonian University Botanical Garden, Theater im. J. Słowacki in Krakow, The Jan Matejkow Academy of Fine Arrts in Krakow, H15 Palace Cracow, Puro, Novotel, Grarnd Ascot, Ibis Styles, Hotel Stary, Likus, Scandale Royal, Soprano Trattoria, Lastriko, Post Office Meeting Club, La grande mamma, Wesele, Ceramika Krusz