The closing gala took place on Saturday at the Gdynia Film Centre, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The feature, a co-production between Mongolia, France, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands and Qatar, follows Ze, a 17-year-old shaman balancing spiritual duties with everyday life, and explores tradition, modernity, and coming of age.
Purev-Ochir previously gained notice for her Venice-winning short Snow in September.
Special mentions went to Cabrini (United States), The Game (Hungary), and Triumph of the Heart (Poland/United States).
In the Polish Documentary competition, the Golden Resistor award went to Maciej Fijałkowski’s Nić Nadziei.
Jurors praised the film for evoking “the emotions of ordinary people during martial law through the example of an unusual bond between the US president and an ordinary Polish woman.”
This Jungo Life, directed by David Fedele and Abubakr Ali, took the main documentary award. It portrays the lives of young refugees from Sudan and South Sudan in Morocco.
The film was made in collaboration with the refugees themselves and filmed on mobile phones to create an intimate, unvarnished look at their daily reality.
In audio, the main Radio Report award went to Najdłuższy marsz, directed by Kamil Hypki.
Special mentions were given to Bachledówka of the Primate, Crackdown in Kwidzyn. An Indictment After Four Decades, and One Fate.
Paulina Ibek received the Janusz Krupski Award for Rachwałowa.
Mentions in that category went to Piotr Zarębski for Letters of Hope and to Jakub Klebba and Piotr Piotrowski for Popiełuszko. Testament of Freedom.
The Platform of European Memory and Conscience presented its award to the documentary 1968 – Reconstruction of Love, directed by György Lukácsy and Anikó Mária, and Poland’s National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT), recognized Anna Piasek-Bosacka for Powstaniec. The Story of Leon Prauziński.
Ibek has previously directed well received shorts, including I'll Come to You Tomorrow, and Piasecka-Bosacka has made a number of films dealing with Poland's recent history.
Honorary and special distinctions were also presented.
The Signet of Independence was awarded posthumously to Sergiusz Piasecki, a Polish writer of Belarusian descent.
The Door to Freedom statuettes, which honor people who supported Poland’s road to freedom, went to Michał Zulauf, a former anti-communist opposition activist and co-founder of Radio Solidarity; Pino Valente, a guardian of the memory of the 2nd Polish Corps and the Battle of Monte Cassino; and posthumously to László Regéczy-Nagy of Hungary, with the award accepted by his grandson.
The festival director’s award went to Rafał Salata for Three Deaths of Merian Cooper, while the Friends of NNW Festival award went to former British ambassador to Poland Robin Barnett and to Paweł Witaszek.
Founded in 2008, the NNW festival focuses on historical cinema and films about freedom.
This year’s edition screened 70 narrative and documentary titles from around the world and included debates, workshops and meetings.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP, dzieje.pl