The Pop Culture Academy of Everything, which annually awards Węże, announced nominations for the thirteenth edition of its film anti-awards, for productions that premiered in 2023 and their creators. As many as ten titles are competing for the title of “worst Polish film” again!
“We cannot say that the thirteenth edition was particularly unlucky for the Polish cinematography. As every year, the creators provided a lot of valuable content – failed films that we could enjoy all year round, both in cinemas and on streaming services. The latter took up the challenge and name slogan: anything more, they order anything and any way. Thanks!” – it was written in the statement.
“If we were to say that there was something missing this year, it would be new productions by Patryk Vega, but in recent years he has had worthy competitors, and as you can see from the nominations, the old masters are still working on something,” it added.
Snakes 2024 will be awarded in thirteen categories. These will include: the worst actor, actress, duet or performance below talent. The Academy also appreciates directors and screenwriters, embarrassing scenes in Polish cinema, bad posters and special effects. The nominees are chosen each year by members of the Pop Culture Academy of Everything, which is made up of people working professionally in the field of broadly understood culture.
The core of this year’s nominations are the films: “Mr. Samochodzik and the Templars” by debutant Antoni Nykowski (10 nominations) and “A Masterpiece or the Decalogue of a Film Producer” by Mariusz Pujszo – a veteran of Snakes, who received the statuette for his life’s work already during the second edition of the awards, and then seven more times ( !!!) won in various categories (9 nominations this time).
Hot on their heels are “The Perfect Bluff” by Michał Węgrzyn (6 nominations) and “The Perfect Wedding” by Nick Moran (5 nominations). We can probably conclude from this that the authors’ use of the terms “masterpiece” and “excellence” in their titles reflects their well-being rather than the quality of the work.
The verdicts of this year’s Snakes will be announced on April 24 at the Rakieta club in Warsaw. During the artistic part of the evening, the artists of the Comedy Club will work on the nominated films in the improv formula under the absolute leadership of Karolina Pańczyk.
BIG SNAKE:
“A masterpiece or the Decalogue of a film producer” (dir. Mariusz Pujszo, prod. Mariusz Pujszo, Consuela Pujszo) for the stubbornness worthy of a better cause in shooting the same plot for over twenty years and a fascinating systematic creative regression.
“The perfect bluff” (dir. Michał Węgrzyn, produced by Michał Nowak, Barbara Nowak, Michał Węgrzyn) – for a failed bluff, a brazen attempt to fool the viewer into believing that this is what professional commercial cinema should look like.
“Heaven in Hell” (dir. Tomasz Mandes, produced by Ewa Lewandowska, Tomasz Mandes) – for the consistency in cutting out the coupons from the success of “365 Dni” and an erotic story about the Polish justice system, which could probably excite only members of the famous “Caste” group.
“Operation Soulcatcher” (dir. Daniel Markowicz, produced by Daniel Markowicz, Mike Zawadzki) – for a fascinating attempt to transfer the content and quality straight from Ed Wood’s works to contemporary Polish cinema.
“The Palace” (directed by Roman Polański, produced by Luca Barbareschi, Jean-Lois Porchet, Marc Bloch, Wojciech Gostomczyk) – for a disgusting, stale and, above all, unfunny satire that does not befit the Masters of World Cinema.
“Mr. Car and the Templars” (dir. Antoni Nykowski, produced by Maciej Sojka, Jerzy Dzięgielewski, Roman Szczepanik, Paweł Heba) – for spoiling the film’s self-play and turning the iconic adventures of Mr. Samochodzik into a nightmare imitating Bond’s adventures, maybe on four wheels, but clearly without the fifth floor.
“Temptation” (dir. Maria Sadowska, produced by Daniel Markowicz) – for a cliched dream about Warsaw and another completely unnecessary, poorly realized and acted story in Polish cinema about Polish women’s weakness for Italian stallions.
“The Taming of the Shrew 2 or much ado about nothing” (directed by Filip Zylber, produced by Piotr Zygo, Jacek Stalewski) – for the courage and skills that allowed him to make an even worse film than the first part and again using Shakespeare as a cover.
“Radiostory” (dir. Maciej Hydr, produced by Sea Film. Unfortunately, no one was named) – for an unsuccessful attempt to evoke nostalgia for the 1990s, which only evokes memories of disastrous attempts to create genre cinema in times of transformation.
“The perfect wedding” (directed by Nick Moran, produced by Wojciech Pałys) – for perfectly screwing up the idea of a farce and persuading a distinguished group of actors to embarrass themselves on screen.
WORST DIRECTOR:
· Daniel Markowicz – “Operation Soulcather”
· Antoni Nykowski – “Mr. Car and the Templars”
· Mariusz Pujszo – “A masterpiece or the Decalogue of a film producer”
· Maria Sadowska – “Temptation”
· Michał Węgrzyn – “The Perfect Bluff”
WORST CASE SCENARIO:
· Dawid Kowalewicz – “Operation Soulcatcher”
· Michał Maruda, Łukasz Światowiec – “All that sex”
· Mariusz Pujszo – “A masterpiece or the film producer’s decalogue”
· Bartosz Sztybor – “Mr. Car and the Templars”
· Michał Węgrzyn – “The Perfect Bluff”
WORST MALE ROLE:
· Mateusz Janicki – “Mr. Car and the Templars”
· Maciej Musiał – “Today you sleep with me”
· Mariusz Pujszo – “A masterpiece or the Decalogue of a film producer”
· Mikołaj Roznerski – “The Perfect Bluff”
· Rafał Zawierucha – “The Guardian”
WORST FEMALE ROLE:
· Aleksandra Adamska – “The Perfect Wedding”
· Karolina Chapko – “The Perfect Bluff”
· Helena Englert – “Temptation”
· Magdalena Lamparska – “The Taming of the Shrew 2 or Much Ado About Nothing”
· Katarzyna Sawczuk – “Heaven in Hell”
WORST DUO:
· Roma Gąsiorowska & Maciej Musiał – “Today you sleep with me”
· Grzegorz Halama & Mariusz Pujszo – “Masterpiece: or the Decalogue of a Film Producer”
· Mateusz Janicki & car – “Mr. Samochodzik and the Templars”
· Magdalena Lamparska & Mikołaj Roznerski – “The Taming of the Shrew 2 or Much Ado About Nothing”
· Dawid Ogrodnik & alcohol – “One Soul”
PERFORMANCE UNDER TALENT:
· Magdalena Boczarska – “Heaven in Hell”
· Sandra Drzymalska – “Mr. Car and the Templars”
· Piotr Głowacki – “Radiostory”
· Dawid Ogrodnik – “One Soul”
· Adam Woronowicz – “The Perfect Wedding”
WORST SEQUEL, PREQUEL OR REMAKE:
· “A Masterpiece or the Decalogue of a Film Producer” (dir. Mariusz Pujszo, produced by Mariusz Pujszo, Consuela Pujszo)
· “Mr. Samochodzik and the Templars” (director: Antoni Nykowski, producer: Maciej Sojka, Jerzy Dzięgielewski, Roman Szczepanik, Paweł Heba)
· “Porady na zdrady 2” (director: Sara Bustamante-Drozdek, producer: Kazimierz Rozwałka)
· “The Taming of the Shrew 2, or Much Ado About Nothing” (dir. Filip Zylber, produced by Piotr Zygo, Jacek Stalewski)
· “Różyczka 2” (director: Jan Kidawa-Błoński, producer: Mariusz Łukomski)
COMEDY THAT DOESN’T FUNNY:
· “A Masterpiece or the Decalogue of a Film Producer” (dir. Mariusz Pujszo, produced by Mariusz Pujszo, Consuela Pujszo)
· “Perfect Bluff” (dir. Michał Węgrzyn, produced by Michał Nowak, Barbara Nowak, Michał Węgrzyn)
· The Palace (directed by Roman Polański, produced by Luca Barbareschi, Jean-Lois Porchet, Marc Bloch, Wojciech Gostomczyk)
· “The Ikea Generation” (director: Dawid Gral, producer: Monika Raj)
· “The Perfect Wedding” (director: Nick Moran, producer: Wojciech Pałys)
MOST EMBARRASSING SCENE:
· Mariusz Pujszo couches filmmakers – “Masterpiece or the Decalogue of a Film Producer”
· Maciej Musiał dancing with an iron – “Today you sleep with me”
· Final shot – “The Palace”
· Modern scout talks – “Mr. Car and the Templars”
· Duel between Adam Woronowicz and Piotr Głowacki – “The Perfect Wedding”
EFFECT OF SPECIAL CARE:
· Random loss of camera focus – “A masterpiece or the Decalogue of a film producer”
· Final Blast – “Operation Soulchatcher”
· Toy Car – “Mr. Toy Car and the Templars”
· Fighting the air in the lighthouse – “Mr. Car and the Templars”
· Magdalena Boczarska playing with herself as mother and daughter – “Różyczka 2”
WORST POSTER:
· “Opiekun” (produced by Andrzej Sobczyk, Przemysław Wręźlewicz, Halina Marchut, Tomasz Balon-Mroczka, distributed by Rafael Film)
· “Radiostory” (produced by Sea Film, distributed by Mayfly)
· “Little Beauty. The Beginning” (produced by Krzysztof Bałtyk, distributed by Teraz Serwis)
· “Tościowie 2” (produced by Michał Kwieciński, distributed by Next Film)
· “Life in the Mud is Golden” (producer: Katarzyna Kujawińska, distributed by Galapagos Films)
WORST TITLE TRANSLATION:
· “Demeter: Awakening of Evil” – org. “The Last Voyage of Demeter” (distributed by Monolith Films)
· “Forgotten Love” – org. “Quack” (Netflix dir.)
· “Dangerous Lover” – org. “Cat Person” (distributed by Kino Świat)
· “Fake lovers” – org. “Robots” (Best Film Dist.)
· “Between us elements” – org. “Elemental” (Disney)
Multi-nominations for films:
“Mr. Car and the Templars” – 10
“A masterpiece or the Decalogue of a film producer” – 9
“The Perfect Bluff” – 6
“The Perfect Wedding” – 5
“Operation Soulcatcher” – 4
“The Taming of the Shrew 2 or Much Ado About Nothing” – 4
“Tonight you sleep with me” – 3
“Heaven in Hell” – 3
“The Palace” – 3
“Temptation” – 3
“Radiostory” – 3
“One Soul” – 2
“The Guardian” – 2
“Little Rose 2” – 2
Pop Cultural Academy of Everything (PAW) has nearly 200 people involved in cultural activities in our country, journalists, creators, cultural animators and others. Every year they award Węże (awards for the worst Polish films). According to the originators’ assumptions, Snakes are intended to encourage discussion in a humorous way about the quality of Polish cinema and draw attention to dangerous trends that do not serve the development and prosperity of Polish cinematography.
In the history of the Snake Awards so far, the awards for the worst films of the year have gone to: “Integration Trip” (2012), “The Hangover” (2013), “Ostra randka” (2014), “Foreign Body” (2015), “Ostatni Klasacyjny” (2016) ), “Smolensk” (2017), “Botoks” (2018), “Studniówek@” (2019), “Futro z misia” (2020), “365 dni” (2021), “Sciema po polsku” (2022), “The Invisible War” (2023).