 |
| Grzegorz Dębowski, centre, and the What Belongs To Others team Photo: Klaudia Kot/WIFF |
The Polish film, directed by Grzegorz Dębowski, had its world premiere in Venice earlier this year and follows a petty thief who sees a dead man as an opportunity to construct a new life. The director receives PLN 120,000 (£23,000), funded by the mayor of Warsaw.
The winners were announced during an awards ceremony this weekend, with the directing award going to Cai Chengjie for Suzhou Quartet, while Maria Dębska received a Special Jury Award for her performance in Through The Wall. The Polish Film Institute Award, given to the film rated highest by audiences, went to Josephine, directed by Beth de Araújo.
Awarding the top prize to What Belongs To Others, the jury praised "its precise and delicate storytelling, its exceptional performances, and its complex portrait, devoid of judgment, of a flawed and elusive woman who undergoes a transformation as she slips into a stranger’s identity and life, and therein finds the possibility of her own”.
In Competition 1–2: Agia, directed by Lorin Terezi, won the top award for his "subtle story of a young woman rebelling against patriarchal tradition and a world in which family honour is valued above life itself.”
The documentary award went to Meanwhile in Namibia, directed by Jonas Spriestersbach, with the jury saying they "chose to award a documentary that trusts the power of images rather than words". They added: "The director demonstrates an amazing ability to frame reality with extraordinary precision, letting the images slowly unfold and reveal the unsettling and absurd contradictions of human behaviour. The film addresses moral complexity without simple judgements, allowing viewers to construct their own meaning.”
The full list of awards:
• Grand Prix: What Belongs To Others, Grzegorz Dębowski
• Best Director Award: Cai Chengjie for Suzhou Quartet
• Special Mention: Bloody Men, directed by Jens Sjögren.
• Special Jury Award for acting: Maria Dębska for her performance in Through the Wall
• Competition 1–2 (First & Second Features) Winner: Agia, directed by Lorin Terezi; Special Mention:
• Everything That’s Wrong with You, directed by Urša Menart
• Best Documentary Feature: Meanwhile in Namibia, directed by Jonas Spriestersbach
• Short Grand Prix & Best Live Action Short: Meteorite, directed by Elisabeth Werchosin
• Best Animated Short: Knowing Gaze, directed by Dylan Glynn
• Best Documentary Short: A Letter To Home, directed by Sina Aghazadeh
• Ecumenical Jury Award: The Child, directed by Linda Olte.
• FIPRESCI Award: Through The Wall, directed by Maciej Sobieszczański
• Young FIPRESCI Award: Lover, Not A Fighter, directed by Martina Buchelová.
• NETPAC Award: Mentor, directed by Keisuke Yoshida.
• Polish Film Institute Award (presented to the film rated highest by festival audiences): Josephine
• ORLEN Award in the Best Polish Short Films section: Dying of the Young Deer, directed by Angelika Cygal.
• Speakers’ Avenue Film School Award: The Death Of A Bird, directed by Felipe Sánchez García. KIPA Award for Best Producing Debut: Dagmara Piasecka for producing Pixie. The New Beginning
• A Special Mention: Karolina Śmigiel and Jarosław Wszędybył for producing Letters from Wolf Street.
