Hero and no hero at all
World premieres of Polish films in the international documentary film competition at the 61st Krakow Film Festival.
Every year, several outstanding Polish productions are included in the international competitions at the Krakow Film Festival. In the prestigious group of the latest and the most important films from all over the world, they have a chance to vie for the highest festival trophies and recognition of the domestic audience and the film industry from Poland and abroad. This year, in the international film competition, we will see the films “No hero at all” by Michał Kawecki and “Walk with Angels” by Tomasz Wysokiński.
Find Yourself
The eponymous “No hero at all” is Miszka, a guy with many faces. A petty criminal and a promising Alpine skier, in spite of a serious disability and difficult living conditions, he makes the most of life. He surprises with an exceptional sense of humour and distance. The director of the film, Michał Kawecki, meets him at a crucial moment when he enters adulthood and gets his last chance to participate in the Paralympic Games. Above all, however, Miszka must decide for himself what is most important to him and how he imagines his future.
Jerry is the protagonist of the documentary film “Walk with Angels” by Tomasz Wysokiński. He undertakes the extraordinary mission of finding lost children in the Republic of South Africa. Every year, the children disappear in unexplained circumstances, run away from homes or are kicked out by troubled relatives. Some are abducted for child trafficking or prostitution, others are being killed for organs. In the film, we accompany him in his search for a girl kidnapped in Soweto. The ancestral spirits say that the girl is still alive, but warn that finding the child could result in her mother’s death. The search opens Jerry’s old wounds and brings back painful memories – his early life in the streets, being recruited as a child soldier by the ANC, and his heroic fight against the apartheid regime. The confrontation with the past reveals Jerry’s true soul.
The cinematic experiences at the cinemas and on the couch
International premieres of the two films, thanks to the hybrid formula of the Festival, will be available both at the cinemas in Krakow and online for viewers all over Poland. In the programme, there are also meetings with the protagonists and the film-makers.
It will be a very strong competition! announces Krzysztof Gierat, the director of the Krakow Film Festival. We have invited two Polish films to the group of 15 international documentary film productions from recent months, the films which captivated us with their stories, told in an extremely original way, and with a harmonious use of the most suitable forms of expression. I am already looking forward to meeting the charismatic protagonists of both films.
No hero at all, dir. Michał Kawecki 
Walk with Angels, dir. Tomasz Wysokiński
The best start in Krakow!
The films in the international competition will compete for the three main awards: the Golden Horn for the director of the best film (30,000 PLN) and two Silver Horns for the director of a film of high artistic value and for the director of the film dealing with social issues (15,000 PLN each), as well as a chance for an Oscar and an EFA award. The Krakow Film Festival is included on the prestigious list of film events qualifying for the Academy Awards in the short film competition (feature film, animated film, documentary film) and feature-length documentary film, and it also recommends the films to the European Film Awards in the same categories.
It is worth noticing that both films at the development stage have already been awarded in Krakow at the Doc Lab Poland — the largest and the most multi-faceted industry programme in Poland, held within the frames of the KFF Industry and consisting of presentation of the latest Polish documentary film projects at various stages of production. “Walk with Angels” was awarded by the Krakow Film Cluster in 2018 in the competition Docs to Start, whereas “No Hero at All” — in the competition Docs to Go! the ColorOffOn Award in 2019. Doc Lab Poland is organized by the Władysław Ślesicki Film Foundation in cooperation with the Krakow Film Foundation.
The full program of the Festival will be announced in mid-April.