On Thu, March 8, a panel discussion at the East Doc Platform attended by Kinga Galuszka, Marta Sikorska and Robert Balinski of the Polish Film Institute will focus on Poland's film legislation and on how instrumental it's been in increasing the international presence of Polish documentary film (more details below).
[Source: Polish Docs]
Polish Documentaries Grow Stronger in 2011
There is no doubt that last year was a favorable one for Polish documentaries. There are not only spectacular international successes but also a hundreds of screenings at the festivals worldwide to prove that. What films were those most frequently screened abroad in 2011? What was the total number of awards presented to Polish documentary filmmakers? Who scored the majority of them? We decided to answer those questions and sum up the last twelve months to check whether this year was better than the last one.
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2011 there were precisely 460 screenings of Polish documentary films, from which 270 in the competitive sections. If we are comparing these facts with the last year’s results, the number of screening rose significantly as 160 screening more took place. Not only the number of screenings but also the number of festivals and special programmes is quite impressive. Polish documentaries were presented at more than 240 international film events which gives around 100 more compared to last year. Among those there were the biggest and most prominent festivals such as Hot Docs in Toronto, IDFA in Amsterdam or DOK Leipzig.
Just like every year, Polish documentary filmmakers can pride themselves on their great achievements. During 2011 their output grew by another 60 awards. The unchallenged winner in this category is Piotr Złotorowicz whose short documentary Charcoal Burners was awarded 19 times. Among multiple successes of Polish cinema we have to list above all the Silver Dove Award at DOK Leipzig for Wojciech Staroń and his Argentinian Lesson, the award for the Best Documentary at Karlovy Vary IFF for Marcin Koszałka’s Declaration of Immortality or Grand Prix at Short FF in Clermont Ferrand presented to A Piece of Summer by Marta Minoriwicz.
With relation to the number of international screenings, Piotr Złotorowicz and his Charcoal Burners is first again with more than 60 screenings. Just after him comes A Piece of Summer by Marta Minorowicz, Out of Reach by Jakub Stożek and Declaration of Immortality by Marcin Koszałka. In 2011 also Little Bride by Lesław Dobrucki, Inventory by Paweł Łoziński and Phnom Penh Lullaby by Paweł Kloc received very nice feedback abroad.
For a list of all awards, please visit Polish Docs.
Don't miss the Poland-themed session at our East Doc Platform!
Thursday, March 8, 2012, 18.30-20.00
PANEL DISCUSSION: Polish Lesson
Polish film act (2005) and its impact on the development of the Polish feature and documentary film markets. Documentary boom in Poland from an institutional point of view introduced by Kinga Galuszka (PL), Marta Sikorska (PL) and Robert Balinski (PL) from the Polish Film Institute.
Open for: All types of EDP & One World accreditations
Where: Archa Palace, Battery Hall