Organized by the Lodz Film School every other year since 1965, the Andrzej Munk Prize Competition is famous for promoting unconventional full-length fiction debut films, which seldom follow the main stream in filmmaking. In its over 50-year-long-history the Munk Prize has been won by the best Polish directors such as Skolimowski, Kieślowski, Żuławski.
Andrzej Munk studied cinematography and film direction at the Lodz Film School. Since 1957, until his death in 1961 he was a Lodz Film School lecturer. He died tragically in a car crash at the age of 40 leaving behind the unfinished film, "Passenger". The Andrzej Munk Prize is one of the oldest film awards in Poland. The first Andrzej Munk Prize Competition winner was Jerzy Skolimowski with his film, "Walkower" (1965). The following editions of the competition awarded select, young film-makers who nowadays have placed themselves among the best Polish representatives of auteur cinema. Among others, the Munk Prize was received by: Andrzej Żuławski for "Trzecia część nocy" (1971), Krzysztof Kieślowski for "Personel" (1975), Piotr Szulkin for "Golem" (1980), Mariusz Grzegorzek for "Rozmowa z człowiekiem z szafy" (1993), Łukasz Barczyk for "Patrzę na Ciebie Marysiu" (1999). In 2014, the Prize was won by Sebastian Buttny, the director of the film "Heavy mental" and Michał Sobociński, a cinematographer of the film "Kamczatka" (dir. J. Kowynia).

The films which entered the Munk Prize Competition this year are:

BABY BUMP, dir. Kuba Czekaj, photography Adam Palenta, production: BALAPOLIS, 2015
CÓRKI DANCINGU, dir. Agnieszka Smoczyńska, photography Kuba Kijowski, production: WFDiF, 2015
CZERWONY PAJĄK, dir. Marcin Koszałka, photography Marcin Koszałka, production: MD4 Sp. z o.o., 2015
FALE, dir. Grzegorz Zariczny, photography Weronika Bilska, production Studio Munka – Stowarzyszenie Filmowców Polskich, 2016
HEL, dir. Paweł Tarasiewicz, Katia Priwieziencew, photography Clemence Thurninger, Joaquin del Paso, Paweł Tarasiewicz, production: AMONDO Films, 2016
INTRUZ, dir. Magnus von Horn, photography Łukasz Żal, production: LAVA FILMS sp. z o.o., 2015
KAMPER, dir. Łukasz Grzegorzek, photography Weronika Bilska, production: KOSKINO Natalia Grzegorzek, 2016
KOSMOS, dir. Marcin Kamiński, photography Wojtek Rytel, production: Lodz Film School, 2015
KRYSZTAŁOWA DZIEWCZYNA, dir. Artur Urbański, photography Zuzanna Kernbach, production: Lodz Film School, 2016 MAQUINARIA PANAMERICA, dir. Joaquin del Paso, photography Fredrik Olsson, production: AMONDO Films, 2016
MAŁY JAKUB, dir. Mariusz Bieliński, photography Arek Tomiak, production: WFDiF, 2016
MUR, dir. Dariusz Glazer, photography Wojciech Staroń, production: Studio Munka – Stowarzyszenie Filmowców Polskich, 2015
NA GRANICY, dir. Wojciech Kasperski, photography Łukasz Żal, production: Metro Films sp. z o.o, 2016
NOWY ŚWIAT, dir. Elżbieta Benkowska, Michał Wawrzecki, Łukasz Ostalski, photography: Sławomir Witek, Cezary Stolecki, Piotr Pawlus, production: AKSON STUDIO sp. z. o.o., 2015
PLAC ZABAW, dir. Bartosz M. Kowalski, photography Mateusz Skalski, production: Film It. sp. z.o.o., 2016
SPRAWIEDLIWY, dir. Michał Szczerbic, photography Jacek Petrycki, production: WFDiF, 2015
ŚPIEWAJĄCY OBRUSIK, dir. Mariusz Grzegorzek, photography: Przemysław Brynkiewicz, production: Lodz Film School, 2015
ZUD, dir. Marta Minorowicz, photography Paweł Chorzępa, production: Otter Films, Zero One Film, MM Films

The films will compete in two categories:

Nominations in the BEST DIRECTION CATEGORY:
KUBA CZEKAJ – BABY BUMP
AGNIESZKA SMOCZYŃSKA – CÓRKI DANCINGU
MARCIN KOSZAŁKA – CZERWONY PAJĄK
GRZEGORZ ZARICZNY – FALE
PAWEŁ TARASIEWICZ, KATIA PRIWIEZIENCEW – HEL
MAGNUS VON HORN – INTRUZ
ŁUKASZ GRZEGORZEK – KAMPER
MARCIN KAMIŃSKI – KOSMOS
JOAQUIN DEL PASO – MAQUINARIA PANAMERICA
MARIUSZ BIELIŃSKI – MAŁY JAKUB
DARIUSZ GLAZER – MUR
WOJCIECH KASPERSKI – NA GRANICY
ELŻBIETA BENKOWSKA, ŁUKASZ OSTALSKI, MICHAŁ WAWRZECKI – NOWY ŚWIAT
BARTOSZ M.KOWALSKI – PLAC ZABAW
MICHAŁ SZCZERBIC – SPRAWIEDLIWY
MARTA MINOROWICZ – ZUD

Nominations in the BEST PHOTOGRAPHY CATEGORY:
ADAM PALENTA – BABY BUMP
WERONIKA BILSKA – FALE
CLEMENSE THURNINGER, JOAQUIN DEL PASO, PAWEŁ TARASIEWICZ – HEL
WOJTEK RYTEL – KOSMOS
ZUZA KERNBACH – KRYSZTAŁOWA DZIEWCZYNA
FREDRIK OLSSON – MAQUINARIA PANAMERICA
SŁAWOMIR WITEK, CEZARY STOLECKI, PIOTR PAWLUS – NOWY ŚWIAT
MATEUSZ SKALSKI – PLAC ZABAW
PRZEMYSŁAW BRYNKIEWICZ – ŚPIEWAJĄCY OBRUSIK
PAWEŁ CHORZĘPA – ZUD