Little Rose (Różyczka) by Jan Kidawa-Błoński won the Golden Lions at the 35th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.

The film is set during the student protests and anti-Semitic campaign of 1968. Security police Captain Rożek is assigned the task to gather information on a well-known dissident writer. He sends his mistress to him, a secret agent nicknamed Little Rose,  a young and beautiful woman. She eventually wins not only the writer’s trust but also his love. Rożek controls the agent, collects her reports and receives approval from his superiors. Surprisingly, Little Rose comes to appreciate the writer’s intelligence and personality, and begins to see the vulgarity of her life with Rożek. She tries to break up with the past.

Magdalena Boczarska won the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Little Rose. The film also received a special prize for the longest applause from the festival audience.

Feliks Falk won the Best Director and Best Screenplay Awards for Joanna. Set during World War Two, it tells the story of a young woman, who, after her husband went missing, takes care of an abandoned Jewish girl. Her presence in Joanna’s apartment is the source of constant fear. Soon, the woman becomes the victim of denunciation.  After a German officer discovered her secret, she gets into a ‘romance’ with him in order to save the child.

The jury verdict has been criticised by some critics who claim that several high-calibre films failed to receive awards. In their view, unlike last year, the jury favoured ‘academic’ rather than innovative cinema. (mk)