Golden Angels flew away — The Closing Ceremony of the 17th edition of the TOFIFEST International Film Festival
The Closing Ceremony of the 17th edition of the Tofifest IFF is already behind us. The winner in the On Air main competition of the festival is the Czech film Let There Be Light, while the triumphant of the From Poland competition is Boże ciało / Corpus Christi, directed by Jan Komasa. The Golden Angels for Artistic Insolence went to the hands of Agnieszka Holland, Dawid Ogrodnik, and Paweł Pawlikowski. The Golden Angel for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Krzysztof Globisz. The “Metropolis - Mass - Machine” concert added splendour to the Closing Ceremony of the festival, featuring special performances by Kayah and Paulina Przybysz.
On Saturday, the big auditorium at the Cultural and Congress Centre Jordanki was full of great cinema personalities. The most rebellious of the actors and filmmakers of both sexes were awarded the Golden Angels for Artistic Insolence, just as it happens every year. This year, one of such Angels was presented to Dawid Ogrodnik, an actor famous for many award-winning film productions (such as Chce się żyć / Life Feels Good, Ostatnia rodzina / The Last Family, or Cicha noc / Silent Night). When expressing his gratitude for receiving the award, the actor said: In the most delicate of its forms, humbleness itself can also be humble.
Another Golden Angel, or rather a She-Angel, was awarded to the film director Agnieszka Holland. The film director made a good point, when she remarked that both the angel seen in the city emblem of Torun and the angel used in our statuettes are females. It is a very goof festival. Being rebellious has usually brought me nothing but problems, and now I have received a fantastic award for it, said Agnieszka Holland.
The third Golden Angel went to the film director Paweł Pawlikowski, who won an Academy Award for his Ida. Paweł Pawlikowski also commented on the importance of being rebellious in this line of work: All our lives they tell us to learn to be humble. Fortunately, we have film festivals, which appreciate such lack of humbleness, for it is the essence of filmmaking.
A special Golden Angel for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Krzysztof Globisz, an actor adored by audiences. When receiving the award, the actor famous for his appearances in films made by Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, or Jan Jakub Kolski, could not hide his emotions. Krzysztof Globisz has been struggling with health issues for several years. Fortunately, it did not stop him from arriving at the Closing Ceremony and thanking the audience. People in the auditorium gave the actor a standing ovation, and even Kafka Jaworska, director of the Festival, shed a tear.
The winner in the On Air main competition of the festival is the Czech film Let There Be Light. The triumphant of the From Poland competition was Boże ciało / Corpus Christi. It is a tradition of our festival that the main prize in the competition of Polish films is awarded by the festival audience. Jan Komasa could not come in person to receive the award at the Closing Ceremony, but he sent a message recorded for that particular occasion. I always make films having viewers in mind, and they are addressed to them. Nothing beats the moment when your own audience show you appreciation, he emphasised thanking for the award.
The Golden Angel in the On Air competition was awarded to Mounia Meddour for her Papicha, the film also awarded by the Students’ Jury. This film is an Algerian candidate for Academy Awards. The Young Jury chose My Thoughts Are Silent as the best film of the festival.
The winner of the Shortcut competition turned out to be the Spanish film Watermelon Juice, which discusses the controversial subject of sexual abuse. According to the film director herself, it was her intention to show a story dedicated to a woman, who is capable of recovering and healing her wounds after being hurt and wronged. I truly hope that this film will bring hope to many women, who have to live with the stigma of sexual abuse, letting them appreciate the beauty of life, commented Irene Moray, author of the film. The jury also decided to give a special mention to Animal Behaviour, directed by David Fine and Alison Snowden.
The “Metropolis - Mass - Machine” concert added splendour to the Closing Ceremony of the 17th edition of the Tofifest International Film Festival. The concert was arranged by Bartek Staszkiewicz, who has been a regular partner of the Festival for several years. Special performances were given by Kayah and Paulina Przybysz, who fantastically sang popular hits rearranged and reinterpreted for that particular occasion, blending electronic music, rock, and synth pop. We could also see stage performances by Tomasz Pacak and Aga Czyż. The audience enjoyed some of the true gems of music from the 1980S, including: “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode, “Self Control” by Raf, or “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics. The concert took us on a journey to a futuristic reality foresaw by Tadeusz Peiper in his manifesto, and then took us back in time for a much more sentimental experience.
Angelika Jasiulewicz
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