Four TVP’s documentary films have proceeded to the Finalist level in the 2015 New York Festivals World's Best TV & Films™.

„The Cabaret of Death” by Andrzej Celiński, „Blue Notebook” by Natasza Ziółkowsk - Kurczuk, „Wartime Portraits” by Cezary Iber, Rafał Skalski, Tomasz Matuszczak and „The Promise of a Happy Childhood” by Ryszard Kaczyński and...

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Founded in 1957, The New York Festivals comprises six international competitions: "TV and Film Awards", "Radio Program Awards," "Midas Awards Financial Advertising”, „Global Awards for Healthcare Advertising and Marketing”, „AME Awards Advertising and Marketing Effectiveness” This year the Awards Ceremony will take place during the Las Vegas NAB Show on April 14th.

TVP's films compete in different categories: Documentaries – „The Cabaret of Death”; Biography and Profiles – „Blue Notebook”; History & Society – „Wartime Portrait”; and Social Issues – „The Promise of a Happy Childhood”. TVP's films are there among other major players: TVE, ABC News, Discovery Channel, CTV, WDR, BBC, CBC, ORF, ZDF, CNN, CBS, HBO i NHK. With entries from over 50 countries, this year’s International TV & Film Awards presented a strong competition.

Recently Premiered at the Montreal Festival of Films of Art – FIFA, produced by TVP 2 and Kwiecinski Film Studio „The Cabaret of Death” directed by Andrzej Celinski, is a feature length documentary about a WWII story of Jewish artists who struggle with the wartime reality by the only means available to them: music, theatre and film. They defend themselves from the Nazi repression with humour, cabaret, shows, skits, performances, songs, and concerts organized in concentration camps and ghettos all around Europe. They fight for their lives, but most importantly - as they highlight - they fight for their souls and for their dignity.

„Blue Notebook” directed by Nataszy Ziółkowskiej – Kurczuk, produced by TVP 2 and Aurum Film, Taskovski Films and Lightcraft is a feature length documentary about a famous composer, Witold Lutoslawski, a brilliant musician and a mysterious man whose work and private life have become a great challenge for a contemporary composer, Leszek Mozdzer. He travels across Europe, meets Lutoslawski’s family members and friends, to try to understand the origins of Lutoslawski’s method. He also finds the enigmatic Blue Notebook which covers a 25-year period of Witold Lutoslawski’s observations and opinions on the world, human nature, music and art. Blue Notebook had its international premiere at Golden Prague Festival last year.

„Wartime Portraits” directed by Cezary Iber, Rafał Skalski, Tomasz Matuszczak produced by TVP 2 and SHIPsBOY sp. z o.o. is a documentary series dedicated to young audience devoted to the fate of the World War II heroes . Character narrative, full of emotion and tension stories of Jan Zumbach, Bronisław Hellwig, Zdzisław Pacak-Kuźmirski, Józef Beck and Jan Gruziński clearly express courage, bravery, willpower and sometimes even recklessness. In individual episodes those characters have been successfully evocated, creating inspirational legends for young generation. In pictorial facet, every episode consists of an archival footage, statements of experts and dramatized documentary, where in cartoon-stylised frames a real actor is moulded into the skilfully drawn scenes.
The winner of „Silver Plaque” Award at Chicago International TV Festival „The Promise of a Happy Childhood” was directed by Ryszard Kaczynski and Piotr Morawski. The story begun in 90’s, when an American couple came to Poland to adopt five siblings. Soon after the adoption trial verdict, the children landed in the suburbs of St. Louis. It is really not clear what motivated the Browns to adopt those children. Some witnesses claimed that Barbara Brown’s aim was to eliminate – by the adoption – some psychological blocks that made it impossible for her to get pregnant. Because – when it suddenly happened that after years of infertility this 40 years old woman became pregnant – the Browns started to get rid of their legally adopted children. And then the dream of a better life overseas became a nightmare. More information about the festival:
www.newyorkfestivals.com