Film director & writer
Aniela Astrid Gabryel
Films
Awards
- Grand Prix Student Competition, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, IDFA
- Main Award at Debut22 Film Festival Klosters, Switzerland
- Grand Prix Vienna International Short Film Festival
- Grand Prix Media Festival Man in Danger, Poland
- Award at the Krakow Film Festival
- New Horizons Studio Award
- Award at the Youth and Film Festival, Poland
Full list of awards and festivals
Awards:
- Main Award for the film Different paths to holiness at Debut22 Film Festival 2024, Klosters, Switzerland
- Award for the film Radical Move for the best producer, Krakow Film Festival, international and Polish competition 2023, Krakow
- Award for the best documentary project Radical Move at Doc Lab Poland 2020, Warsaw
- Award for the best feature project in development: 'Even if you fall asleep, I will wake you up’, Era New Horizons International Festival, Studio New Horizons, July 2018, Wrocław
- Grand Prix for the film When will this the wind stop, 'Man in Danger’ Film Festival 2017, Łódź
- Grand Prix for the best student documentary When will this the wind stop, IDFA International Documentary Film Festival 2016, Amsterdam
- Award for the feature film Constellations, for: 'madness, courage and sense of humor’, Koszalin Festival of Film Debuts 'Młodzi i Film’, 2014, Koszalin
- Grand Prix for the best documentary To fly or not to fly at the International Short Film Festival 'Vienna Independent Shorts’ 2014, Vienna
- Award for the film Constellations for a 'moving, emotional film’, Film Festival of the Film School 'Łodzią po Wiśle’ 2014, Warszawa
- Award at the National Independent Film Competition for the film To fly or not to fly, OKFA 2014, Konin
- Audience Award for the film To fly or not to fly, International Film Festival 'Off Cinema’ 2013, Poznań
- Audience Award at the Documentary Film Festival 'Okiem Młodych’ for the film To fly or not to fly 2013, Świdnica
- Special Jury Award at the Documentary Film Festival 'Okiem Młodych’ 2013, for the film To fly or not to fly, Świdnica
Nominations:
- Krakow Film Festival, international and Polish competition, 2023, Radical Move, Kraków
- Koszalin festival of feature debuts Youth and Film, 2023, Different paths to holiness, Koszalin
- Berlinale International Film Festival, February 2018, presentation of fragments of the work in progress documentary film Radical Move, Doc Station Berlinale, Berlin
- Nominated for the Doc Allience Award. The film When will this wind stop recognized as one of the seven best documentaries of 2017 by the following festivals: CPH:DOX Copenhagen, Doclisboa, Docs Against Gravity FF, DOK Leipzig, FID Marseille, Jihlava IDFF Visions du Réel Nyon
- Nomination for the 'Warto’ award by Gazeta Wyborcza, 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Wrocław
- ’Man in Danger’ Film Festival, 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Łódź
- 18th International Documentary Film Festival One World, 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Human Doc Film Festival, November 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Warsaw
- Ukraine Film Festival, October 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Warsaw
- São Paulo International Film Festival, October 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Brazil
- Inconvenient Film Festival, September 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Lampa Film Festival, Ukraine, August 2017, for the film When will this wind stop
- Belo Horizonte Film Festival, August 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Brazil
- Pärnu Film Festival, July 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Estonia
- Millenium Docs Against Gravity, May 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Warsaw
- Cronograf Film Festival, May 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Moldova
- TRT Film Festival, May 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Istanbul, Türkiye
- Mediawave Film Festival, April 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Hungary
- Vision du Reel, Nyon, April 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Switzerland
- One World Human Rights Film Festival, March 2017, for the film When will this wind stop, Prague, Czech Republic
- IDFA International Documentary Film Festival, November 2016, for the film When will this wind stop, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Millenium Docs Against Gravity, May 2016, for the film When will this wind stop, Warsaw
- Nomination for the 'Warto’ award of Gazeta Wyborcza, 2014, for the film To fly or not to fly, Wrocław
- Science Film Festival, 2014, for the film To fly or not to fly, New York City
- 1st Tehran Short Film Festival, 2014, for the film To fly or not to fly, Tehran
- ll Jazeera International Film Festival, 2014, for the film To fly or not to fly, Qatar
- International Short Film Festival 'Vienna Independent Shorts’, 2014, for the film To fly or not to fly, Vienna
- Doxa Documentary Film Festival, 2014, for the film To fly or not to fly, Canada
- National Independent Film Competition OKFA III, 2014, for the film To fly or not to fly, Konin
- Film Festival of the Film School in Łódź 'Łodzią po Wiśle’, 2014, for the film Constellations, Warsaw
- Koszalin Film Debut Festival Młodzi i Film 2014, for the film Constellations, Koszalin
- Gdynia Film Festival 2014, for the film Constellations, Gdynia
- International Film Festival 'Off Cinema’ 2013, for the film To fly or not to fly, Poznań
- Documentary Film Festival 'Through the Eyes of the Young’ 2013, for the film To fly or not to fly, Świdnica
- Cameral Summer 2013, for the film To fly or not to fly, Radom
- Krakow Film Festival, 2013, Night of Student Etudes, Krakow
- XV Włodzimierz Puchalski International Nature Film Festival 2013, for the film To fly or not to fly, Lódź
- Koszalin Youth and Film Debut Festival 2013, for the film To fly or not to fly, Koszalin
- Festival 'Łodzią po Wiśle’ 2013, for the film To fly or not to fly, Warsaw
- National Independent Film Competition, OKFA III 2012, for the film Quantum Fluctuations, Koninn
- Festival 'Łodzią po Wiśle’ 2012, for the film Stone Knights, Warsaw
- Watch Docs International Film Festival 2012 for the film Stone Knights, Warsaw
- Documentary Film Festival 'Okiem Młodych’ 2012 for the film Stone Knights, Świdnica
- Koszalin Film Debut Festival Młodzi i Film 2012 for the film Stone Knights, Koszalin
- Tmobile New Horizons International Festival 2012 for the film Stone Knight, Wrocław
Other Projects
In addition to my own films, I also work on recording theater performances, commercials, and music videos.
Filming Theatrical Performances & Performative Actions
My first studies were theater studies. From the beginning of my studies at the Film School in Łódź, I was fascinated by discovering new possibilities of filming performative events. The first time I saw the performance The Living Room, created by the FRT group from the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, I immediately knew that I wanted to find a cinematic language to capture this performance.
I invited my regular collaborator, cinematographer Zuzanna Kernbach, to join me in this challenge. The unique nature of the performance we were dealing with required us to develop our own method of filmmaking.
Commercials
For many years, I worked for GPD Agency, where I primarily directed commercials for Lidl. I also collaborated with Papaya Films (Papaya Rocks), where I directed spots for various clients. Additionally, I produced commercials for the Łódź City Hall and for the Baltic Action in Gdańsk.
Music Videos
I directed a music video for the band Timingeriu in a documentary style, involving the local community in the project. This resulted from my interest in conducting documentary workshops in small towns, but also from the nature of this wonderful band, which focuses on the songs of ethnic minorities in Poland. Meeting local people and engaging them in this artistic project was a moving filmmaking challenge and a beautiful personal experience.
Workshops
I conduct film workshops and classes for students, teenagers, and children. The program for my narrative film workshops includes the basics of film directing, an introduction to various methods of working with actors, and improving acting skills through alternative approaches.
I also offer a program focused on documentary filmmaking, in which I have extensive personal and workshop experience.
In addition to writing scripts and making films, teaching and working with students, teenagers, and children is one of my greatest passions. Studying Art History and completing a degree in Theatre Studies provided me with a solid theoretical and intellectual foundation. I learned to think critically and analytically. During my Film Directing studies at the National Film School in Łódź, I developed practical skills in film and theater craftsmanship.
As part of my doctoral work, I worked on the feature-length documentary Radical Move at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards. While directing the film, I explored the possibilities of filming performative actions. For six years, I studied one of the most fascinating methods of working with actors at the legendary Workcenter. It was an incredible opportunity to learn a renowned acting method, shrouded in mystery and unavailable anywhere else.
Working on film sets and participating in numerous workshops and various academic courses has given me a broad perspective on teaching methods and inspired me to create my own classes and workshops.
About
Aniela Astrid Gabryel, film directress and screenwriter.
A graduate of Film Directing at Polish National Film School in Lodz and of Theatre studies at Jagiellonian University. She received her PhD in Film Arts at Polish Film School in Lodz with honours. Her short films have been awarded and shown at many festivals in Poland and around the world. The short documentary film „Fly – or not to fly” received, among others, the Grand Prix at the „Vienna Independent Shorts” film festival in Vienna and was on the Top European Shorts list. Her feature-length documentary debut „When Will this Wind Stop” received an award at the IDFA festival. In 2023 her documentary „Radical Move” premiered at the Krakow Film Festival, where it won the award for best producer (KOI Studio). In 2024 her feature debut „Different paths to holiness” has been shown at many international film festivals around the world. In her films, she experiments and looks for new ways of storytelling.
A graduate of Film Directing at Polish National Film School in Lodz and of Theatre studies at Jagiellonian University. She received her PhD in Film Arts at Polish Film School in Lodz with honours. Her short films have been awarded and shown at many festivals in Poland and around the world. The short documentary film „Fly – or not to fly” received, among others, the Grand Prix at the „Vienna Independent Shorts” film festival in Vienna and was on the Top European Shorts list. Her feature-length documentary debut „When Will this Wind Stop” received an award at the IDFA festival. In 2023 her documentary „Radical Move” premiered at the Krakow Film Festival, where it won the award for best producer (KOI Studio). In 2024 her feature debut „Different paths to holiness” has been shown at many international film festivals around the world. In her films, she experiments and looks for new ways of storytelling.
Education
In 2023, I received a Ph.D. in Film Arts with distinction from the Faculty of Film Directing at the National Film School in Łódź.
My academic path includes:
- Art History, University of Wrocław
- Theatre Studies, Jagiellonian University
- Film Directing, National Film School in Łódź
- Doctoral studies at the Faculty of Directing, National Film School in Łódź
Diplomas:
- Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Studies, Jagiellonian University
- Master’s degree in Theatre Studies, Jagiellonian University
- Bachelor’s degree in Film Directing, National Film School in Łódź
- Ph.D. in Film Arts with distinction, National Film School in Łódź
Contact
Feel free to contact me for workshops, filming theater performances, creating commercials, music videos, and more.
aniela.astrid.gabryel@gmail.com