Golden Lions 2023 for the song “Kos” by Paul Maloney

– We have awarded the complete film – said Filip Pajon, president of this year’s jury, announcing that the Golden Lions of the 48th Polish Feature Film Festival went to “Kos” by Pawel Malona.

It’s an excellent movie. It takes place in Poland in the 18th century. Tadeusz Kościuszko returns from the United States with an African-American companion. Driven by the idea of ​​rebellion, he finds himself in the middle of class struggles between nobles, peasants, conquerors, landowners, state officials, and common bandits. Paweł Maślona, ​​in a film composed of several very expressive characters, goes beyond the boundaries of costume cinema. Because violence and cruelty do not know the framework of a historical era, and the national character is shaped by decades of disputes, wounds, and accounts of mistakes. This brilliantly realized story, devoid of the stereotype of the national hero, says more about our attitude to politics, power, freedom, and social inequality, and turns out to be very contemporary. There is no point in comparing the movie “Blackbird” to the cinema of Tarantino or even Peckinpah. It’s a very Polish work. It’s not easy, but it’s exciting to watch. And smart. Maślony’s film also received three other awards – for Robert Więckiewicz’s supporting male role, editing and make-up.

The Silver Lions went to “Imago” by Olga Chagdas. This is very fun A post-punk psychodrama about a young woman who, in the harsh reality of the late Polish People’s Republic and its beginning of transformation, tries to scream her need for freedom. This story begins in Tricity in 1987 and ends in 1989, after Poland’s first free elections. Its background is Tri-City’s rebellious music scene of the late 1980s, and the music’s composer, Andrzej Smolik, and the actress who plays the lead role, Lena Gura, also received local awards for their work in this film.