Award for the best film that tests the boundaries of documentary film in the SEFF '15 European Competition, in the amount of 15,000 PLN, funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. "Leslie's Journey", dir. Marcos Nine.
Hollywood is a dream machine that can also be the land of the second chance for an actor. Leslie Howard was never the main character in his films but here, with fragments of them (memories), he goes to the borders of reality and becomes a hero. Chimeras and Illusions become one with the Truth.
Award for the most innovative documentary film language in the SEFF '15 European Competition, in the amount of 10,000 PLN, funded by the Polish Film Institute. "Mother-Rythm", dir. Francesca Fini.
In her video the author undertakes an offensive adaptation of the mother motif. In a surprising mixture of analogue and digital material she still finds original solutions, playing a fascinating game with masks, pictures, and rituals. Inspired by Alejandro Jodorowsky's "Psychomagic," Francesca Fini gets close to the mother myth, freeing herself from it in the act of creation. She follows the tradition of 20th-century video and performance, while also creating a very personal but never entirely private universe.
Award for the most moving film in the SEFF '15 European Competition, in the amount of 10,000 PLN, funded by the Marshal of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
"Talk to Me", dir. Marta Prus.
This film is a psychological roller-coaster. The director unwittingly becomes the protagonist in her own film and is forced to enter the story she is telling. She breaches the boundaries of documentary film, because she does not abandon her professional task while she takes on the responsibility for her protagonist's fate, even trying to influence it. Admittedly, she does violate the definitions of the art she pursues, but at the same time she experiences a humanistic initiation, simultaneously pulling the viewer into an unexpected emotional spiral.
The Award of the President of Szczecin for the best SEFF '15 Polish Competition film that opens the documentary genre to new perspectives, in the amount of 10,000 PLN, funded by the City of Szczecin.
"Amerykanka. All Included.", R: Viktar Korzun.
The film we are awarding tells a story of man's pursuit of freedom, in a way that is subtle and percipient, and at the same time funny and ironic. It is a film which goes beyond the convention of classic documentary, one that is creative, makes skilfull use of the form, and presents the biography of an individual while putting it in a broader historical context.
The Award of Findling Landesverbandes Filmkommunikation e.V. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is a tour of the best Polish film from the SEFF '15 European or Polish Competition. The tour, worth 7,000 €, will be held in film clubs and art-house cinemas throughout Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The director of the selected film will participate.
"Niewidzialne", dir. Zofia Pręgowska.
At first the film seems touch upon the fragility and challenges of old age. Then we are filled with energy with which the elderly lady records her poems through a wooden microphone. The camera remains very close to her, the world of her poems, and her surroundings. There is not much of a statement here, merely suggestions - we, the viewers, are the ones to add meanings here. This emphatic and subtle portrayal of Mrs. Krystyna leaves her with dignity - and shrouded in a kind of mystery.
The Audience Award in the SEFF '15 European and Polish Competition, in the amount of 1,000 €, funded by Polish Television (TVP).
"Niewidzialne", dir. Zofia Pręgowska.
The Award of the Director of the Pomeranian Dukes' Castle in Szczecin. The organisation of a premiere screening of the laureate of the SEFF '15 West Pomerania Shorts Final at the Castle Cinema.
"Honor", dir. Mateusz Żegliński.
The Special Award of the Český Film film pub for the laureate of the SEFF '15 West Pomerania Shorts Final. In-kind prize.
"Honor", dir. Mateusz Żegliński.
The OFFicyna Association Award for the winner of the SEFF '15 TELEPHONE ART competition, the presentation of the winning film during post-festival screenings in Poland and Germany, and an in-kind prize.
"Śladami Chąśników", dir. Szymon Pawlik.
A distinction of the OFFicyna Association for the finalist of West Pomerania Shorts for the positive use of film art in inter-generational integration.
"...bawmy się razem...Woodstock 2013", dir. Krzysztof Kuźnicki, Anna Wiśniewska, Andrzej Richter, Ryszard Soldat, Maria Soldat, Magdalena Richter, Helena Biała, Halina Jarmołowicz.
The OFFicyna Association Award, which constitutes a nomination of the film's director to be a jury member of Extra Shorts SEFF 2016.
