TV SFA – Special Achievement Award

TV STUDIO OF ANIMATION FILMS IN POZNAŃ
2023 PFFA SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD for 43 years of extraordinary artistic output with outstanding present continuation which is well illustrated by 2023 PFFA film “A Great Worry” by Zbigniew Kotecki, Polish Film Festival in America, Chicago, 2023-11-19

The film A GREAT WORRY directed by Zbigniew Kotecki, with art by Maria Balcerek and music by Kacper Krupa.

Our intention is to produce an animated film based on a simple and yet wise and funny story written by Leszek Kołakowski, an outstanding Polish philosopher, entitled „Who Would Like to Console One Unlucky Rhino?”
A combination of the children’s world of imagination with the gravitas of a philosopher means that the film can be watched by both children and adults, even those with highly refined intellectual tastes. 
This dichotomy of the work, resulting from the idea behind the narration and from the inherent humour, as well as its potential encouraging deeper reflection led us to selecting this story as the literary basis of our film. 

However, setting aside philosophical references, this film is, above all, a tale about:

• a difficult and unusual friendship,
• attempts to turn unrealistic dreams into reality,
• the changing faith in our abilities,
• seeking one’s own identity,
• friendship and empathy,
• the path to self-acceptance,
• the acceptance of diversity in all its guises

But also about:

• the fact that true happiness begins with realising who we are,
• discovering our strengths and weaknesses,
• understanding who we are,
• and about drawing the joy of life from this understanding.

It is also a story about growing up which, from the point of view of the adolescents, is full of all sorts of problems related to our concept of ourselves and who we want to be in our adult life. 
Although the main character of our film initially suffers one failure after another, the audience leaves deeply convinced that one should always keep searching and hoping that in the end everybody can find themselves and their place on the earth. This tale entertains and educates, stimulates sensitivity of the young viewer, invites to a discussion, encourages independent reflection. 
In this context, the title “A Great Worry” is intended as a means of depicting these particular aspects of growing up, as well as a reason for questioning it thanks to the happy end. 
Regardless of any philosophical context, our intention is to create a film story told to children at bed-time. For this reason, the visual side of the film is directed towards “soft and joyful” imaging. It could be compared to a “cuddly toy” from a world populated by characters made of soft fabric, entangled in a story with a deeper message.