2022 recap
The students of the Warsaw Film School once again proved that thanks to their passion, skills and talents they are unstoppable. Despite the challenges posed by 2022, they even made it to Hollywood!
Last year we produced... A LOT! Students of the Warsaw Film School shot both a few-minute lenght film excercises and graduation 30-minute short films. Film sets and production divisions did not differ from those encountered in feature-length productions.
Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
We also worked hard on their promotion, as evidenced by the broken records, both in the number of the official selections, as well as awards, honorable mentions and nominations! Our productions received a total of 233 qualifications for festivals and film events (including as many as 10 for events that can open the way to the Academy Awards®) and won a total of 84 awards.
The largest number of qualifications was boasted by „The Dreams of Lonely People” (as many as 29) directed by Marek Leszczewski, with sophisticated cinematography of Max Bugajak. „The Howling” directed by Bartosz Brzeziński (23 in total), also shot by Max Bugajak, did a great job too. The most awards, honorable mentions and nominations (13 in total) went to the film „First...”, directed by Adam Hartwiński, with cinematography by Michał Konopka. Just behind him, again at the second place, ranked „The Howling” (a total of 12 awards).
However, what made 2022 so special in our memory? First of all, the Warsaw Film School's second Oscar® nomination in history! This time, the film „The Dress” directed by Tadeusz Łysiak, with cinematography by Konrad Bloch and editing by Mariusz Gos and a star cast: Anna Dzieduszycka, Dorota Pomykała and Szymon Piotr Warszawski competed for the most important film statuette.
Tadeusz Łysiak and Anna Dzieduszycka in Los Angeles
The film by our students won the recognition of viewers and critics around the world, and our young artists walked the red carpets of the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles together with the most important stars of world cinematography. What's more, the director of „The Dress” was invited into The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and this year, for the first time, he will take part in the voting for the Best Live Action Short Film.
Tadeusz Łysiak, the member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences / Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
However, we have another evidences of the developing international careers of the filmmakers educated by the Warsaw Film School! Our recent graduate, Natasza Parzymies, the creator of the hit web series „Control” was placed on the prestigious Variety's Young Hollywood Up Next Impact List, among the 50 names of the best young creators who have already had a huge impact on the entertainment industry. Natasza was appreciated in Poland as well – she was included in the 100 Women of 2022 list by Forbes Women Poland.
Natasza Parzymies on the Variety's List
The crowning achievement of our activity was the Award of the Polish Film Institute in the „Film Culture Promotion” category. This valuable statuette was handed over by the director of the Polish Film Institute, Radosław Śmigulski, at the gala, during the 47th Gdynia Film Festival, by our Deputy Rector for Student Affairs, Barbara Pawłowska, Ph.D.
Photo: Krzysztof Mystkowski / KFP
When the Oscar campaign of „The Dress” was coming to an end, war broke out beyond our eastern border. The community of the Warsaw Film School, moved by this tragedy, together with the Film and Game Creation-profiled High School and the Elektronik Cinema, organized a fundraiser for Ukraine. Shortly after the announcement of the charity, the patio of our school was filled with gifts, tirelessly sorted by more and more volunteers – students, graduates, employees and friends of WFS and students of our high school.
Graphic design by Katarzyna Czapska
Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
From the first days of the invasion, we were also publishing on School's social media the reports from our graduate, Adelina Borets, made in her hometown of Kyiv. Short recordings by the young director were among the first coverages from the besieged Ukrainian capital that reached the farthest parts of the world.
Stills from the reports of Adelina Borets
In spring, we organized the 10th jubilee edition of the festival for screenwriters – Script Fiesta, introduced in a new, exciting formula. As part of the event, for the first time we held the Competition for the best screenplay of a Polish feature film, with outstanding artists and experts of Polish and world cinema in its jury. Script Fiesta attracted a record number of participants, and as part of the competitions, prizes with a total pool of as much as PLN 90,000 were awarded to the winners. We can't wait for the 11th edition, which will take place from March 30 to April 2!
Graphic design of the Script Fiesta Festival: Katarzyna Czapska
Winners of the Script Fiesta 10 Competitions / Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
It is worth noting that in the current academic year we have also launched a Screenplay Course (for Polish-speakers) to help screenwriters create texts that will have a chance to hit the screens even more effectively.
The end of the summer semester brought us two fantastic premieres of diploma performances by our acting graduates. The first of them was the original musical „Pop Up” by Maria Holka, staged by graduates of the Vocal and Acting Course, who captivated the audience of our Elektronik Cinema with their performance. The second play, a stage adaptation of Lars von Trier's film „Dogville” directed by Karolina Adamczyk, was staged by New Media Acting graduates. The premiere took place on the patio of the Warsaw Film School. The delighted audience praised the skills of our young artists.
Photos from the premiere of the musical „Pop Up” / Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
Photos from the premiere of „Dogville” / Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
There were also successes in the field of video games! The production studio operating at the School together with the Klabater company released the first full-length game – „Best Month Ever!”. Its screenplay was appreciated at the PIXEL Awards Europe 2022 and received the Award in the Best Story category. During the event, we also got the Special Award for merits in gamedev for the Warsaw Film School and for our Deputy Rector and Coordinator of the Video Game Development course, Ewa Maria Szczepanowska.
Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
It is worth mentioning that we also hosted a great event for game development enthusiasts – Warsaw Game Jam PRO. The main attraction was a 36-hour game development marathon, in which competed as many as 130 participants. The winners received prizes with a total pool of PLN 90,000.
Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
The year 2023 will certainly bring a lot of new challenges for the students and graduates of the Warsaw Film School. However, we are sure that they will cope with them perfectly.
Photo: Michał Sierszak / Warsaw Film School
Films by students of the Warsaw Film School are co-financed by the Polish Film Institute