17.09.11r. - The 30th anniversary 'Youth and Film' Koszalin Debut Films Festival has finished

The 30th anniversary 'Youth and Film' Koszalin Debut Films Festival has finished. For the last 6 days, Koszalin was filled with film atmosphere: workshops, 'Honesty for honesty' discussions, meetings, exhibitions and concerts.

On Saturday evening, there was a closing gala led by Grażyna Torbicka. The evening began with a film summarising the 30th edition of the festival consisting of edited fragments of pictures presented during the festival for the last few years.

- 'They reveal the bright face of Polish film debut full of optimism' -commented the presenter.

The award ceremony began with additional distinctions. 'Dass' by Adrian Panek received the journalists' award. The youth jury appreciated 'Between Two Fires' by Agnieszka Łukasiak, while the audience awarded 'The Mole' by Rafael Lewandowski. The winner of the award for the screenplay in Grolsh Film Works competition was 'Vocuus' by Agata Rudniewska. The author received PLN 50,000 from Grolsh for production of the film, which will be presented during the next edition of the festival.

The jury of the Short-length Film Debuts Competition, consisting of Andrzej Fidyk, Marta Minorowicz, Dorota Lamparska, Paweł Flis and Mariusz Dąbrowski, awarded the main prizes and distinctions. The latter went to Paweł Prewencki for his animated film 'What Happens When Children Don't Want to Eat Their Soup?', to Łukasz Borowski for his documentary '3 Days of Freedom' and to Aleksander Dembowski for his feature film 'Basia from Podlachie'. The 'Jantar' Prizes in feature film category (two joint ones) were awarded to 'Twist & Blood' by Kuba Czekaj and 'Amigos Forever' by Sylwester Jakimow. The 'Jantar' Prize for a documentary went to Piotr Sułkowski for 'The Conversation', while the jury did not award the main prize in the animated film category.

The jury of the Full-length Film Debuts Competition, consisting of Filip Bajon, Krzysztof Łukasiewicz, Joanna Orleańska, Witold Stok and Mariusz Sienkiewicz, considered 'Heniek' by Eliza Kowalewska and Grzegorz Madej to be the best film debut of the year. The president of the jury declared the verdict in one sentence, making an explicit reference to Witold Gombrowicz:
- 'Heniek is a finger; the finger is Gombrowicz; Gombrowicz is youth'.

The Stanisław Różewicz 'Jantar' Prize for direction was awarded to Leszek Dawid for his film 'Ki' and to Agnieszka Łukasiak for her screenplay 'Between Two Fires'. Also, the actors were appreciated - Mariusz Bonaszewski for the leading male part in 'Dass' by Adrian Panek and Katarzyna Herman for the leading female part in 'In the Bedroom' by Tomasz Wasilewski.
The debut actors from the film 'Heniek', Beata Schimscheiner, Maciej Słota and Jacek Milczanowski, were awarded as well. It was an exception to award three people jointly so they were joking:
- 'We're thinking about living together to share the prize'.

The 'Jantar' Prize for cinematography went to Arkadiusz Tomiak for 'Dass' and the 'Jantar' Prize for the sound, founded by TOYA Studios, to Piotr Domeradzki and Mirosław Makowski.

The special 30th Anniversary 'Jantar' Prize for a Mentor, Patron and Visionary was awarded to Jacek Bromski, the President of the Association of Polish Filmmakers.
- 'Thank you for the 30th Anniversary 'Jantar' Prize, but I have to admit I would prefer to be a debutant', he was joking. 'I'm happy about the fact that the festival in Koszalin has become the second most important festival after Gdynia and that the young artists rule here'.

The festival was officially closed by the Mayor of Koszalin, Piotr Jedliński.
- 'Six days of great emotions and honest meetings. I hope the directors will remember the city of Koszalin, where they were honestly evaluated and appreciated.' - he summed up.

After these words, Grażyna Torbicka invited everybody to a music feast, the concert of 'Pustki' band.

Marcin Radomski