Winner of 2023 Bridging The Borders Award for 23rd edition of Polish Film Festival LA has been announced on Thuersday November 7th 2024 in opening night of the festival held at El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.
The winner of the “Bridging the Borders Award for the Best Short Film” at this year’s Polish Film Festival Los Angeles is BE SOMEBODY. Polish screenwriter/director Michal Toczek lovingly and humorously depicts a family who adopt lucrative new identities after moving into the apartment once inhabited by Solidarity leader Lech Walesa.
Special Jury Mention goes to Piotr Matyja’s THE ONLY SON, which reveals the lengths to which a Polish immigrant father will go to keep his American-born son on the right path to academic success.
Bridging The Borders Award is offered by Cinema Without Borders and sponsored by 360 Media
Jury members of Cinema Without Borders for Bridging The Borders Award were:
Chale Nafus was born in Dallas during World War II, he attended public schools, spent summers on his sister’s ranch in Comanche County in the 1950s, learned Spanish from schoolmates, and dreamed of getting out of Dallas. After getting through freshman year at SMU, he worked at Texas Instruments before realizing he really needed a college education. After attending the University of Texas at Arlington (B.A., English), La Universidad Autónoma de México, and UT Austin (M.A., English/RTF), he began a long college teaching career at Texas Southmost College (Brownsville), La Universidad de Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Kingsborough Community College (Brooklyn), and finally Austin Community College (1973-1998). At the latter, he founded the Department of Radio-TV-Film, taught classes in film studies, and for seven years served as Chair of Humanities (Northridge Campus). Retiring in 1998, Chale spent 4 years traveling and writing before joining the staff of Austin Film Society as Director of Programming (2002-2015). He is now totally retired and happily serving on the boards of Austin Film Society and OUTsider Fest as well as the advisory committees of IndieMeme (South Asian film organization) and Cine Las Americas.
Bita Elahian, an Iranian-Americans filmmaker and producer, who is currently living in Los Angeles, CA. She is studying filmmaking at NewYork Academy(NYFA).Ms Elahian received several awards in states and throughout the world for her exceptional directing in drama films.
Currently, the director is a member of New York Women in Film and Television and Women in Film LA. Elahian has also previously received an award for the Best Director position from the International Women Theatre in Iran.
Arati Misro
Arati just wrapped a feature film as a Producer called Designed by Preeti and was a consulting Producer for the TV show Meet the Drapers. Arati is developing and producing several other IPs and Properties in Feature films and TV.
Arati Brings 20 years of experience in the Entertainment, Tech, Education & lifestyle business from a global perspective. Her expertise includes Feature films, TV, product sales & startups. She thrives on recognizing & prioritizing short and long-term goals to greenlight a show or scale a business from a holistic approach. Worked with Sony Pictures Fox, Netflix, Paramount and Apple to name a few. She has also worked in Operations for theatrical distribution for several studios including Sony, Fox, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal Pictures & celebrities, brands such as Lady Gaga, NFL, Kevin Hart, Jamie Fox and others. Her experience chairing Women in Film International has allowed her to home in on her passion for mentoring and giving voice to countless women worldwide who strive to pursue their goals. Chairing is one of her most meaningful accomplishments. She has programmed and produced multiple events for the Los Angeles film community and was recognized by President Obama. Partnerships and Brands include Universal Pictures , MAC , NewFilmmakers LA, BMW, MAX MARA, CAA, Kodak. She holds an MBA and holds an MFA in Producing from the prestigious American Film Institute. . To learn more about Arati, check out her work here. https://linktr.ee/aratim