7 September 2007: Polish director Andrzej Jakimowski’s TRICKS (Sztuczki) has won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European film in the Giornate degli Autori/Venice Days section, it was announced today by a jury of four Europa Cinemas exhibitors. The Label will be awarded tomorrow.

This marks the fourth year that the Europa Cinemas Label has been awarded at Venice, and complements the Labels awarded at the Panorama section in Berlin, the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes and Karlovy Vary.

TRICKS (Sztuczki) will now receive the invaluable support of extended theatrical exposure and additional promotion from the Europa Cinemas network.

The Europa Cinemas Label in Venice consisted of: Jan de Clercq (Exhibitor at the Cinema Lumière in Bruges, Belgium); Antonio Llorens Sanchis (Exhibitor at the Cines Babel and Albatros in Valencia, Spain); Stefan Kitanov (Exhibitor at the Cinema House in Sofia, Bulgaria) and Thomas Bertacche (Exhibitor at the Cines Visionario and Centrale in Udine, Italy).

In a statement, the jury said, “This is a director with real promise, maintaining the long and proud tradition of great Polish cinema. TRICKS is a touching and intimate look at everyday working class life in the Polish countryside, an emotive insight into the new Europe. Jakimowski’s direction of his cast is particularly impressive, as is the cinematography by Adam Bajerski.”

Produced, directed and written by Andrzej Jakimowski, TRICKS stars Damian Ul, Ewelina Walendziak, Rafal Guzniczak, Tomasz Sapryk, Iwena Fornalczyk and Johanna Liszowska. Produced and sold internationally by Zjednoczenie Artystõw, TRICKS is co-produced with Telewizja Polska SA and Wytwõrnia Filmõw Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych.

Six year old Stefek challenges fate. He believes that the chain of events he sets in motion will help him get closer to the father who abandoned his mother. His sister Elka, 17, helps him learn how to “bribe” fate with small sacrifices. Tricks and coincidences eventually bring the father to the mother’s doorstep but things go wrong. Desperate, Stefek tries his luck with the riskiest of tricks.

Born in 1963, Andrzej Jakimowski studied Philosophy in Warsaw and film making in Katowice. His first feature Squint Your Eyes won numerous awards at Festivals, including San Francisco, Sochi and Gdynia, as well as collecting four Golden Eagles, Poland’s top film awards.

Founded in 1992, the Europa Cinemas network now consists of a remarkable 1689 screens in 690 cinemas in 403 cities in 55 countries. Europa Cinemas’ aim is to support the programming and visibility of European films outside their country of origin, and to foster initiatives aimed at encouraging younger audiences to develop their interest in European films and cultural diversity.

Previous winners of the Europa Cinemas Label are:

Cannes/Directors’ Fortnight
2003: The Mother (Roger Michell, UK)
Kitchen Stories (BentHamer, Norway/Sweden)
2004: In the Battlefields (Danielle Arbid, France/Belgium/Lebanon)
2005: La Moustache (Emmanuel Carrère, France)
2006 : 12 :08 East of Bucharest/A Fost sau n-a fost ? (Corneliu Porumboiu, Rumania)
2007: Control (Anton Corbijn, UK)

Berlin/Panorama
2005: Live and Become (Radu Mihaileanu, France/Belgium/Israel)
Crustacés et Coquillages (Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau, France)
2006 : Tough Enough/Knallhart (Detlev Buck, Germany)
2007: El Camino de los Ingleses/Summer Rain (Antonio Banderas, Spain)

Venice/Venice Days
2004: Darwin’s Nightmare (Hubert Sauper, Austria/France/Belgium)
2005: Le Petit Lieutenant (Xavier Beauvois, France)
2006: Azul Oscuro Casi Negro /Dark Blue Almost Black (Daniel Sánchez Arévalo,Spain)

Karlovy Vary (Main Competition and East of the West section)
2006: Frozen City (Aku Louhimies, Finland)
2007: The Class (Ilmar Raag, Estonia)