Six Polish productions running for the Katarzyna Stoparczyk Young Horizons Main Award at the 13th TAURON Young Horizons IFF
Polish films for young audiences will contend for the Main Award at the 13th TAURON Young Horizons International Film Festival. For the first time, the Main Award is named after Katarzyna Stoparczyk – a journalist who worked with children for many years, showing immense compassion to the youngest viewers. The director and producer of the winning title will receive PLN 30,000.
Award for the best Polish film production
Since the very beginning of Young Horizons, our goal has been to support the development of quality Polish films and series for young audiences. The Katarzyna Stoparczyk Young Horizons Main Award, worth PLN 30,000 net, will be granted to the director and producer of the best title. The award will be given to a production that is engaging for young viewers, giving them room for reflection about their own life and the world around them.
The award jury consists of film industry experts.
The competing films are:
- Basia: My Sense of Humour Comes in Stripes – The latest series of stories about the children’s beloved five-year-old girl; Basia curiously explores the world that surrounds her, experiencing daily ups and downs, and living her little big adventures.
Director: Marcin Wasilewski
Production: Robert Jaszczurowski | Grupa Smacznego (GS Animation)
- Candidates of Death – Each summer, for more than 15 years, a father, a son, and his two friends have set out to make amateur horror films; this documentary story talks about friendship, adolescence, and a shared passion for cinema.
Director: Maciej Cuske
Production: Ewa Hoffmann, Maciej Cuske | Fundacja Bydgoska Kronika Filmowa
- The Amazing Adventures of Lost Socks 4. Get to Work! – The famous unruly socks from Justyna Bednarek’s books set off on another adventure to face incredible challenges.
Supervising director: Paweł Wendorff
Production: Paweł Wendorff | Studio Filmowe Anima-Pol, Sparkle Animation, Telewizja Polska S.A.
- Pucio Loves Animals – A continuation of the hit series for kids; Pucio, his family, friends, and a bunch of animals have a number of adventures filled with fun and emotions.
Supervising director: Marta Stróżycka
Production: Ewelina Gordziejuk | EGoFILM
- The Shrew of Destiny – The forest is under a catastrophic threat, so a group of brave shrews set out on a dangerous expedition in search of the legendary Shrew of Destiny.
Director: Marcin Wasilewski, Jacek Rokosz
Production: Ewelina Gordziejuk | EGoFILM
- Too Old for Fairy Tales 3 – The third instalment in the popular film series; Waldi has problems both at home and with his gaming team: one nasty comment triggers an avalanche of hate speech that targets a person he cares for.
Director: Kristoffer Rus
Production: Mikołaj Pokromski | Pokromski Studio, Fixafilm
The Katarzyna Stoparczyk Award
This year, for the first time, the Young Horizons Main Award for the best Polish film production is named after Katarzyna Stoparczyk. This is a tribute to the journalist, who worked at Trójka (Polish Radio Three) for many years, creating broadcasts and shows for children and their families. Katarzyna initiated charity campaigns, brought quality films closer to kids, and – above all – strove to provide young people with a platform to freely express their thoughts and feelings.
Katarzyna spoke about quality cinema with unwavering enthusiasm and great thoughtfulness. She always gave the floor to young people to hear their voice and caringly accompanied them in their explorations and discoveries, recalls Kamila Tomkiel-Skowrońska, Director of Young Horizons. Her sensitivity, curiosity, and genuine joy derived from cinema will always be a source of inspiration for us, says Kamila.
For years, Katarzyna Stoparczyk worked closely with Young Horizons: she moderated meetings with filmmakers, co-created festival events, and was a member of the jury in the Short Documentary Competition in 2022. This year, the festival programme will feature one of her favourite childhood films – Pippi Longstocking (dir. Olle Hellbom).
The festival takes place from 25 September to 4 October in Warsaw, Wrocław, and other Polish towns and cities. Other Polish productions and co-productions in the festival programme include:
- Born in the Jungle (dir. Edmunds Jansons)
- All the Colours of the Youth (dir. Agnieszka Kalińska)
- Alert Little Eyes: Unbelievable! Dottie is Wearing Glasses (dir. Katarzyna Agopsowicz)
- Meow Clique: The Mystery of the Missing Herrings (dir. Marek Lachowicz, Piotr Szczepanowicz)
- The Boy at the Edge of the World (dir. Grzegorz Wacławek, Marta Szymańska)
From 8 to 25 October, selected films will be available as part of the online festival programme at festiwal.mlodehoryzonty.pl/.
Supporting the development of Polish films addressing young audiences is one of the main objectives of Young Horizons. Many productions are conceived at the Young Horizons Lab workshops for filmmakers developing their scripts. Polish productions become part of the festival programme. Then, they are released in cinemas across Poland as part of the Young Horizons Education and Distribution projects. During the Young Horizons Industry international co-production forum, we offer filmmakers an opportunity to pitch their projects and build partnerships. Some of the productions that were originally presented at the forum are Pucio, Pixie. The New Beginning, Kitty Kotty, and Lampo. The Travelling Dog. The next edition of YHI will take place on 28–30 September.
