Film Fund: Our Film Wins Award at International Festival
Sebastian Kwidziński’s film Mother has received another award, this time at the Independent Shorts Awards international film festival in Los Angeles, where it won in the Best Student Short category. The production was co-financed by the Kujawy and Pomorze Film Fund.
Mother marks an important stage in Sebastian Kwidziński’s artistic career. The film’s director, screenwriter and editor is a graduate of the Wajda School and the Warsaw Film School, where he studied film directing. Mother was made as his graduation film at the Warsaw Film School. It was shot, among other locations, in Toruń and the Osie municipality. It is another example of a production demonstrating that the region can serve not only as a filming location, but also as an important base for young filmmakers and independent cinema.
There are stories in which returning home does not mean returning to normality. On the contrary, it can become the beginning of a confrontation with the past, guilt and the consequences of decisions that can no longer be undone. This is the case with Sebastian Kwidziński’s Mother – a 29-minute feature film telling the story of an attempt to rebuild the relationship between a woman and her eleven-year-old son. Paulina is 35 years old. After serving a six-year prison sentence, she returns to her hometown. Her main reason for coming back is the desire to see her son, Nikodem. The boy, however, remains in the care of Jadwiga – the mother of Paulina’s late husband, Andrzej. Her mother-in-law refuses to allow the meeting to take place. She is still grieving the death of her son and is unable to forgive Paulina for what happened.
Paulina is played by Magdalena Maścianica, who received a Special Acting Mention for the role at the Tony Curtis International Film Festival in 2025. Jadwiga is played by Maria Pakulnis.
The film has received, among others, the special “Cinema Without Borders” award at the Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles. It was also selected for Euroshorts and included in the programme of the Zoom – Zbliżenia International Film Festival. The production has gone on to receive further distinctions. Magdalena Maścianica was recognised for her performance at the Tony Curtis International Film Festival, while the film itself received awards at the “Złoty Samorodek” Lower Silesian Film Festival and the “Fresco” festival in Armenia, where its message concerning motherhood was particularly appreciated.
Department of Promotion
Paweł Jankowski
21 September 2026