Polish Competition - set III

Nastia’s Zoom lessons on using a laptop for her mom are disrupted by unstable internet—and resurfacing family traumas.  

Anastazja Naumenko is a visual artist and director, whose main investigation focuses on intertwinement and co-relations between real and fictional worlds, hence most of their works are mix of documentary and fiction. They are currently studying at die Angewandte in Vienna. Their first film “We hope you won’t need to come back” was shown on more than 25 festivals around the world.  

A young girl grapples with unexplained nosebleeds that hinder her normal functioning. Filled with frustration and helplessness, the protagonist begins to slowly uncover the source of the problem. This poignant film blends realism with metaphor, exploring themes of vulnerability, change, and the inexorable passage of time.  

Helena Stańczyk is a 4th-year student of Animation and Special Effects at the Łódź Film School and a graduate of the State Secondary School of Fine Arts in Warsaw, specializing in Intermedia Production. As the author of the comic „Ni pies, ni wydra”, published in 2024 by Dwie Siostry publishing house, she combines various forms of visual storytelling in her work. Her first-year film „49385” gained recognition at numerous festivals, receiving a special mention at the Etiuda&Anima Festival and a nomination for the Jan Machulski Award.  

In “Peachy Story”, we witness the meeting of two farmers, who have different ideas of what it means to grow the perfect peach. The first farmer, Kiki, is a small creature who believes that the smaller the seed is, the better the fruit. Kiki is very lively, neurotic, and stubborn. The second farmer, Bouba, is chill and easy-going. He grows peaches with large seeds, and moves very slowly… that is, until someone tries to mess with his trees.  

We met through our University students club. Not long after that, we got an amazing opportunity to create our first project for internship in COLA Animation; " Kiki&Bouba a Peachy Story ". We weren’t expecting how far this journey would take us. Our group decided to keep working together, as a collective called Studio Mufka to take on new challenges and projects. 

It’s the middle of the night, and the protagonist wakes up, disturbed by sounds coming from behind her bedroom door. In the darkness, she tries to make sense of the unsettling situation, observing the light seeping through the door and listening intently to the noises. Unable to see what is happening, she realizes that, while she is observing the unseen, something is also watching her. 
The film was created as a form of art therapy, based on the personal experience of losing someone in a shared space. It serves as a sensory analysis of those events, examining feelings of fear and uncertainty.  

Paulina Woźniak is a young artist currently studying animation at the University of the Arts in Poznań. Her passion for art flourishes in various forms, blending her experiences in expressive drawing, sculpture, graphic design, and illustration, all of which influence her storytelling approach. Rarely using dialogue in her works, her filmic creations focus on exploring emotions.  

The film deals with the topic of experiencing difficult emotions related to the loss of loved ones and coping with it. Together with the 12-year old heroine Krysia, we go on a journey through places and times that were, which are not, and which we want to remember. The film, based on a story by Katarzyna Jackowska-Enemuo, supports young viewers in meeting their own emotional "black holes" and brings relief. The film is intended for children aged 10-12, but its profound meaning and contexts allow people over 12 years old to experience a journey within themselves and history. 
 

Karina Paciorkowska - was born in 1994 in Warsaw, where she graduated from secondary school of fine arts. She graduated in Animation and Special Effects from Polish National Film School in Łódź. She raises social issues in her films, and also takes care of the visual aspects of several social campaigns.  

Łukasz Kamil Kamiński - was born in 1986 in Warsaw. Graduated from Film and Television Academy in Warsaw (directing and editing) and Warsaw University (Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology). Author of short documentaries, reports, animations, commercials and video art.  

A sunray gains consciousness and descends to a frozen planet, where it discovers a stiff body buried in the snow. It decides to do its best to bring the corpse back to life. 
 

Born in 2001 in Warsaw, she is a student of Animated Film and Special Effects at the Faculty of Cinematography and Television Production at the Polish National Film School in Łódź. She works with animation, illustration, and comics. She is a co-creator of „Paszcza Komiksowa”.
 

A short film by Agata Mikina and Kacper Porczyk tells a coming of age story of a girl driven by passion. A dreamlike tale told without words, takes you on a journey through woods and swamps with imagery inspired by the beautiful Polish landscape. The viewer is drawn into a fantastic world of amazing depth through the water coloured hand painted characters, backgrounds and decorations in this cut out animation. Piotr Kubiak composed the musical score that is performed by a chamber orchestra and soprano to perfectly compliment the eerie atmosphere.  

Director - animated film, 2D and 3D animator, layoutwoman, author of character designs and set designs for animated films (drawing, puppet). Author of book illustrations, painter.  

The animation is a documentary and interview-based film about the question, "Who did you want to be?" It showcases people's dreams of the professions they aspired to pursue as children. Based on conducted interviews, ten professions were selected, each requiring the use of different animation techniques. Thus, the animation combines various forms of stop-motion animation into a single composition, including puppet animation, cut-out animation, and pixilation. The animation presents a mosaic of childhood dreams—each scene reflects a different profession, symbolizing the diversity of aspirations while reminding us that we all shared the common experience of childhood imagination. The central character is a mermaid, representing the director's dream. Surrounding her are other professions depicted within frames. These include a cashier, created as a puppet with movable arms set against a collage-like store background, and a pathologist, portrayed solely as gloved hands.  

Martyna Cisińska (b. 1999 in Opole) is an animator, painter, and graduate of the Opole High School of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, where she studied animation. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Animation at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznań. She is the creator of short stop-motion animations, showcased at events and festivals. She has also participated in the Animator Student Act Festival and the O!PLA Live Festival. Her work often explores autobiographical and documentary themes, wrapped in satire and symbolism.  

Where Wildflowers Grow is an animated short that follows two young girls engrossed by a classic fairytale of a princess waiting to be saved by a brave knight. When one girl playfully asks her friend what she would do if she were trapped like the princess, her friend declares she would rescue her, no matter what. The story then shifts to an older version of the friend, now a knight, navigating through the palace in search of the princess. In the climactic final fight, the knight finds the princess but is overpowered by a mage controlling a beast. In a twist, the princess steps in to save her, leading to their heartfelt reunion and a happy-ever-after. In the end, we’re left wondering if their journey was real or just the vivid imagination of two friends inspired by the fairytale they read. 

Animatorka i autorka filmów animowanych, absolwentka animacji na Uniwersytecie Artystycznym w Poznaniu. W swojej twórczości koncentruje się na kobietach — ich relacjach, emocjach i związkach.  

Jej film Where Wildflower Grows to połączenie klasycznej estetyki animacji 2D z próbą skonfrontowania heteronormatywnych form narracji poprzez wprowadzanie do nich queerowych postaci. Tworzy z myślą o młodych kobietach i nastolatkach, oferując im historie, w których mogą odnaleźć bliskość, akceptację i przestrzeń na własne emocje.  

Szczególną inspirację czerpie z dawnych filmów Disneya oraz wizualnej estetyki anime, budując autorskie światy balansujące pomiędzy nostalgią a współczesnością. Poza animacją z pasją zajmuje się ilustracją, komiksem oraz projektowaniem postaci, traktując je jako przestrzeń osobistej eksploracji stylu, koloru i charakteru bohaterów. W centrum jej uwagi pozostaje kobiecość — najczęściej skupia się na tworzeniu postaci kobiecych i opowiadaniu ich historii.