Winners of 2019 Papaya Young Directors Competition Revealed

The sixth edition of the Papaya Young Directors competition has drawn to a close. This year’s Grand Prix went to Julia Popławska for her Decathlon commercial. Jakub Zarzycki, the Patryk Karbowski-Michał Wiśniowski duo, and Szymon Kuriata were also presented with awards. 

The Grand Finale crowning the sixth edition of the competition took place on June 12 in Warsaw. The Grand Prix went to Julia Popławska, a multimedia artist who helmed the surprising and unpredictable Decathlon commercial ‘Doesn’t Matter How You Started’ for Decathlon. 

First Prize went to Jakub Zarzycki, a copywriter who directed filled with dark humour and irony ad for Nationale-Nederlanden called ‘The Branch’.

Patryk Karbowski and Michał Wiśniowski’s offering for McDonald’s, ‘The Welcom’,  was one of the most surprising films of this year’s competition. The filmmakers drew heavily on tropes from B movies and low-budget sci-fi flicks. The photographer-cinematographer duo received this year’s Second Prize. 

The only Honorable Mention went to Szymon Kuriata, who wrote, shot, and directed the music video for Żurkowski’s ‘Ciemność’, for Żywiec Męskie Granie. 

The awards gala was the most important but not the only part of the event. The finale also featured live music performances from the winners of the Męskie Granie Young competition, Robert Cichy and Żurkowski. After the awards ceremony, The Dumplings premiered their latest release, ‘Gorące letnie noce’, along with a music video-slash-commercial for the track developed for Durex. 

Papaya Young Directors is a unique competition for emerging and beginner filmmakers, addressed to students and graduates of film schools as well as aspiring directors without film school diplomas. In the sixth edition of the competition, participants tackled briefs from brands such as Allegro, BNP Paribas, Coca-Cola, Decathlon, Desperados, Durex, McDonald’s, Nationale-Nederlanden, and Żywiec Męskie Granie. Out of nearly 1,000 submitted treatments, the jury selected eighteen that would go on to compete for the top honours. 

Grand Prix: Julia Popławska ‘Doesn’t Matter How You Started’ for Decathlon

First Prize: Jakub Zarzycki, ‘The Branch’ for Nationale-Nederlanden 

Second Prize: Patryk Karbowski, Michał Wiśniowski, ‘The Welcome’ for McDonald’s 

Honorable Mention: Szymon Kuriata, music video for ‘Ciemność’ by Żurkowski, produced for Żywiec Męskie Granie Young

Heliograf Special Prize, in recognition of particular visual sensibilities: director-DP duo Joanna Żero and Paweł Labe, ‘Shopping Odyssey’ for Durex

Panavision Special Prize: Szymon Kuriata, music video for ‘Ciemność’ by Żurkowski, produced for Żywiec Męskie Granie Young

ATM System Special Prize, for best production effort by a director and production manager: Adrian Kuciel, Michał Korzewski, and Maja Turek, ‘The Revolution’ for BNP Paribas 

MAKOnline Ubezpieczenia Special Prize: Joanna Żero, ‘Shopping Odyssey’ for Durex