Iceland wins Tofifest Filmfestival 2015 in Poland

The Grand Prix – the Golden Angel of Tofifest – flies to Iceland. The awards of the 13th edition of the Tofifest International Film Festival in Toruń were given on Saturday (24th October 2015), during the Closing Ceremony. The winner of the ON AIR main competition turned out to be Rams by Grímur Hákonarson. The other awards given in international competitions were given to filmmakers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Israel, and Great Britain.

The decision to make Rams by Grímur Hákonarson from Iceland the winner of the main competition was made by the international jury, unanimously. This year, the most important of all the Tofifest awards have been given both to the producer and the director of the winning film, for the first time in the festival's history. The two awards have been funded by Marshal of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Piotr Całbecki and President of Toruń Michał Zaleski. The Silver Angel for the best director went to the Colombian film director César Augusto Acevedo for his Land and Shade (La Tierra Y La Sombra). The award has been funded by the director of the Polish Film Institute Magdalena Sroka. The Young Jury of the ON AIR competition have rewarded Viajeby Paz Fábrega from Costa Rica.

The award in the SHORTCUT competition of short films went to Ten Buildings Away by Miki Polonski from Israel. The award in that competition was funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Malgorzata Omilanowska. A special mention in the SHORTCUT competition was given to a very original British animation, The Bigger Picture, by Daisy Jacobs. 

The winner of the FROM POLAND competition of Polish films was Karbala by Krzysztof Łukaszewicz. The award was accepted by the producer of the film Włodzimierz Niderhaus from The Warsaw Documentary Film Studio. The winner of the Golden Angel Award in the LOKALIZACJE competition was Ryszard Kruk for his Ziggy Dust.

A special Golden Angel for an Outstanding European Artist was presented to an extraordinary French film director Anne Fontaine (Coco Chanel). A few days earlier, special Golden Angels for Artistic Insolence had been given to famous , Polish actors: Jan Peszek and Anna Dymna. The Golden Angel for a Rising European Talent was given to a Kurdish film director, Umut Dag, who lives and works in Austria. 

There was also a decision to award the second Flisak (The Rafter) of Tofifest Award. It went to a star of German TV, Anna (Anja) Antonowicz, who was born in Włocławek. The first of the two Flisak Awards went to actor Paweł Tchórzelski, during the Opening Ceremony. 

This year, the Tofifest Film Festival from Torun, which is known as a 'rebellious festival', offered an excellent film programme and made sure that the audience and all the guests experienced a truly great festival atmosphere. It was acknowledged by calling the film event in Torun "the coolest film festival". Tofifest presented more than 150 films, divided into 14 sections, among which there were many Polish premières. Our guests included Joe Pantoliano (Matrix, The Sopranos), Julian Sands (A Room with a View, The Killing Fields), Robert Wieckiewicz, Katarzyna Figura, and many others. The 14th edition of the festival will take place in October 2016. 

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The primary patron of the festival is the City of Toruń. The event is financed from the funds of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Government, the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Creative Europe programme – MEDIA component. The primary sponsors of the festival are TZMO S.A. and Bella Sp. z o.o.

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Awards of the Tofifest IFF 2015 

Statutory awards

• Grand Prix (the Golden Angel) in the ON AIR main competition: 

Rams (Hrútar)
Directed by: Grímur Hákonarson; Produced by: Netop Films, Iceland, 2015
Awards: the award in the amount of 20,000 zlotys for the producer of the film was funded by Marshal of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Piotr Calbecki, and another one, in the amount of 20,000 zlotys, for the director, was funded by President of Torun Michal Zaleski

• The Silver Angel for the Best Director in the ON AIR main competition: 

César Augusto Acevedo for directing Land and Shade (La Tierra Y La Sombra)

Produced by: Burning Blue, Ciné-Sud Promotion, Preta Portê Filmes, Topkapi Films; Colombia, France, Holland, Chile, Brazil, 2015

Award: the award in the amount of 20,000 zlotys was funded by the director of the Polish Film Institute Magdalena Sroka.

• The awards of the Young Jury in the ON AIR main competition: 

Viaje
Directed by: Paz Fábrega; Costa Rica, 2015

• The Golden Angel Award in the SHORTCUT competition of short films: Ten Buildings Away (Asara Rehovot Mea Etsim)
Directed by: Miki Polonski, Produced by: Minshar School of Art, Israel, 2015
Award: the award in the amount of 15,000 zlotys was funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Malgorzata Omilanowska.

• The special mention in the SHORTCUT competition of short films: 

The Bigger Picture
Directed by: Daisy Jacobs; Produced by: National Film and Television School (NFTS), Great Britain, 2015

• The Golden Angel Award in the FROM POLAND competition of Polish films: Karbala
Directed by: Krzysztof Lukaszewicz; Produced by: Wlodzimierz Niderhaus, The Warsaw Documentary Film Studio; Poland, 2015

• The Golden Angel Award in the LOKALIZACJE competition of regional films: Ziggy Dust
Directed by: Ryszard Kruk, Poland, 2015

• The Audience Award of Tofifest will be announced on Sunday, 25th October, when all votes have been counted — results are being updated systematically under the following link: http://www.tofifest.pl/pl/ranking-2015

Special Awards – Special mentions of Tofifest

• The Golden Angel for Artistic Insolence: Jan Peszek, Poland
• The Golden Angel for Artistic Insolence: Anna Dymna, Poland
• The Golden Angel for an Outstanding European Artist: Anne Fontaine, France
• The Golden Angel for a Rising European Talent:Umut Dag, Turkey/Austria
• The Flisak of Tofifest – Kujawsko-Pomorskie Film Award: Paweł Tchórzelski, Poland
• The Flisak of Tofifest– Kujawsko-Pomorskie Film Award: Anna Antonowicz, Poland

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