Animated Polish Film PUSSY Wins Golden Horseman at Filmfest Dresden

"Cipka" ("Pussy") from Renata Gąsiorowska
“Cipka” (“Pussy”) from Renata Gąsiorowska

The Polish director Renata Gąsiorowska scooped up several awards with her courageous and original animated film Pussy “Cipka” at the 29th Filmfest DresdenA total of nine Golden Horsemen and four special prizes were awarded by the juries.

And here are the Prize-Winners of the 29th Filmfest Dresden 2017.

International Competition

Golden Horseman Best Animation Film International Competition
Cipka” (“Pussy”) from Renata Gąsiorowska

Social taboos should be discussed and confronted with a laugh. The jury had a lot of fun watching this peaceful connection between a woman and her body. For its original graphic style and its fluid animation technique.

Golden Horseman Best Short Fiction International Competition
“Painting with History in a Room Filled with People with Funny Names 3” from Korakrit Arunanondchai

The jury was struck by the generous and chaotic power of a total work of art; or what we like to call “expanded cinema”. It is made by a fearless artist who has no time to waste on labels and other conventions. He has created an anarchic love poem in which he looks at all sides and elements of a complex society.

Golden Horseman of the Audience International Competition
Home” from Daniel Mulloy (Kosovo/United Kingdom, 2016)

Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury International Competition
“Planemo” (Croatia 2016)  from Veljka Popovic

Unique images and powerful metaphors permit the audience to immerse themselves in the extraordinary situation of the protagonist. A key event leads to some grave changes in his relationship with his surroundings. This situation is filmically adapted through the atmospheric composition of innovative 3D animations and real footage.

National Competition

Golden Horseman Best Animation Film National Competition
 “Ein Aus Weg” from Hannah Stragholz and Simon Steinhorst

A colorful, expressive world of animation encounters a sound track from a unique everyday life. The combination of animation and documentary reportage develops into a form full of expression, which is both close and faraway to us at one and the same time. And equally moving.

Golden Horseman Best Short Fiction National Competition
“Ela – Szkice na pozegnanie” (“Ela – Sketches on a Departure”) from Oliver Adam Kusio

This is the story of separation as a new beginning. A film about the desire to get away and the duty to remain. With the camera seeking answers just like the protagonists. Tender and haunting, existential in both large and small. It is a profound look into the future of a generation. A moving film full of meaning without being intrusive.

Golden Horseman of the Audience National Competition
“Gabi” from Michael Fetter Nathansky

Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury National Competition
“Un Etat D´Urgence”  (“State of Emergency”) from Tarek Roehlinger (2016)

With its gloomy and tense atmosphere, the film draws us into a world in which everyday actions have become and remain suspicious. Thanks to its topicality and the danger it engenders, it seems as though reality and fiction have become indistinguishable. A conflict arises among the characters between living freedom and defending freedom. Marked by tension, mistrust and skepticism, the film radiates an intensity for the audience that captures them and creates an unforgettable experience.

Minister of Fine Arts Promotion Prize
 “Prima Noapte” (“First Night”) from Andrei Tănase

A special moment in the life of a young man. Which he imagined would be different. And he overreacts in his helplessness. The director sensitively reveals the fragility of the male identity during the process of maturing, and casually casts a glance at a specific social milieu. A film authentic in the moment. A film that stays in mind.

DEFA Promotion Prize Animation
 “zu zahm!” from Rebecca Blöcher

Trapped in their roles. With expectations and stereotypes newly shuffled and exposed. The film leaves space for discovery.

National and International Competition 

Golden Horseman Best Sound Design
 “Eine Villa mit Pinien” Music: Ralf Hildenbeutel Sound: Michał Krajczok

The impressionistic images in the film are complemented with a completely unique tonal language. With aural worlds created in a constant interplay doing so, that add a threatening dimension to the exuberant filmic canvas. The music plays a fundamental role, comparable to a protagonist, reaching into the story and advancing it structurally. Working on the utmost level and with extraordinary ingenuity, the composer and the sound designer of this film manage to build bridges between the various plot levels through the sound.

ARTE Short Film Prize
“Cipka” (“Pussy”) from Renata Gąsiorowska

This creative and clever animated film, which focuses on first sexual desires in a courageous and nimble way, sweeps us away on a surprising journey of discovery to the deepest moments of intimacy. The confronting of one’s own gender here is characterized by so much humor and charm, that the film becomes irresistible. We congratulate the director and are looking forward to more creative pieces by him.

Audience Award Regional Film Night
 “No one misses me!” from Erik Lemke

SPECIAL MENTIONS 

Special Mention Best Animation Film International Competition
A nyalintás nesze (“The Noise of Licking”) from Nadja Andrasev

For its imaginative and original story, elegant style and careful pacing.

Special Mention Animation Film in National Competition
“Wegzaubern” from Betina Kuntzsch

Special Mention Youth Jury International Competition
“Empire of Evil” from Harald Hund

The mockumentary “Empire of Evil” deals with the subject of one-sided Western reporting in a very authentic and humorous manner. With us asking ourselves at times what constitutes the truth. The everyday film footage is skillfully transformed with creative image editing and absurd ideas about the “threat to the West”. In this way, an entertaining, media-critical parody has resulted about our opinion of the Middle East.

Special Mention Sound Design
“Cipka” (“Pussy”) from Renata Gąsiorowska

The timing in this story is excellent in terms of both the moving images and the music. Skillfully linked with gentle humor, this thoughtful film was worthy of a special mention from us. It is borne by the various equivocal sound levels, which never slip into the obscene. In this way, Volodymyr Antonic, Ewa Bogusz and Wiesław Nowak have provided a humorous and uninhibited sound track.

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