Paweł Hejbudzki - director / screenwriter

Filmography: https://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?osoba=1189906

Paweł Hejbudzki - born in 1980 in Toruń. He graduated from the Film Directing Department of the Warsaw Film School and the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Department of Environmental Protection, specializing in ecological engineering).

He began his artistic journey at the student radio station UWM FM Olsztyn, where he directed and edited commercials and radio dramas inspired by Orson Welles. In 2006, he won the Creative Valley Contest and the grand prix of the Summer of Films in Toruń for his first documentary (30 minutes) titled "State of Mind." His graduation film at the directing department, a short feature film "Charon" (30 min), won the Grand Prix at the 40th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia for the best film school short in 2015. "Say Yes or No" (2020) is his feature-length documentary debut. The premiere took place during the 17th Millennium Docs Against Gravity in the Polish Film Competition. The film was made at the Budzik Clinic in Warsaw.

The premiere of the documentary "Early Apex" took place during the 63rd Krakow Film Festival 2023 in the Polish Film Competition, where the film received awards for best cinematography and an honorable mention for directing. "Early Apex" was filmed on go-kart tracks, including in Toruń and Bydgoszcz. It won the award for best documentary film in October 2024 at the 27th Sportfilm Festival in Liberec, Czech Republic. This was followed by a nomination for the so-called Oscars of sports films in Milan: the 42nd SPORT MOVIES & TV 2024 – 42nd MILANO INTERNATIONAL FICTS FEST. In June 2024, the film was successfully presented in South Korea at the 25th Jeonju International Film Festival. The film was also screened at the prestigious Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF 2023).

Simultaneously with "Early Apex" a second feature-length documentary was complited titled: "The One I Love" (2023), which won the award for best feature documentary at the "Edukino" Film Festival (Warsaw 2023), and its European premiere took place at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival in China and the 39th Warsaw Film Festival in the international competition. The film was shot entirely in Toruń on Kopernika Street and partly in Mexico City and The Hague. The film recently received a nomination for best documentary film in the competition at the 25th Polish Film Festival in Los Angeles (November 2024); at the 3rd Rome International Documentary Festival in Italy (December 2024). The film is still being submitted to film festivals.

Previous 2 films:

I. 2023 - „Early Apex” 2023 time: 79min (producer: Movie Mates, PISF, Canal+, MFF, PZM) Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F_xJkBiqLI
• 63. Krakow Film Festival, Poland (2023)
"Special Mention for directing" National Competition, Krakow Film Festival, Poland (2023) ; "Special Award - Best Cinematography"
• 27. Tallinn Black Nights FF (PÖFF), Estonia (2023)
Estonian Olympic Committee Sports Film Programme - screening
• 25. Jeonju International Film Festival - South Korea (2024)
Cinema Fest section - screening
• 27. Sportfilm Liberec - Czech Republic
"Best documentary award" in international competition
• 42. SPORT MOVIES & TV 2024 – 42. MILANO INTERNATIONAL FICTS FEST & World FICTS Challenge - ITALY (2024)
Nomination in the MOVIES category

II. 2023 - „The One I Love” 2023 czas: 93min (producer: Airy Movies - Filip Luft, TVP)
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dJc24M2NaI
• 39. Warsaw International Film Festival
2nd audience award, Section: Documentary Competition

• 14. Edukino International Film Festival
Best feature documentary - Golden Copernicus, Section: Documentary Competition

• 22. Tofifest International Film Festival
Special Screening

• 25. SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
International Panorama - Special Screening

• 3. Rome International Documentary Festival
Nomination in World DOC section (december 2024)

• 25. Polish Film Festival Los Angeles
Nomination for the Hollywood Eagle Award for the best documentary film (november 2024)