Jakub Pączek >> Born in 1984, in Kraków. Graduate of Film Directing at The Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, Katowice, and History of the Church at The Pontifical Academy of Theology, Kraków, Poland. He has also studied the history of art.

He has directed several short films based on his own scripts, among them the much acclaimed "The Washing Machine", a sarcastic, black-humoured study in dysfunctional family relations, and "Rolls of Identity" a one-minute short on the cultural importance of toilet paper; the latter one having brought him worldwide recognition for his talent in encapsulating the inherently oppressive nature of a communist regime in a dramatic shortage of a most coveted everyday necessity. International premiere of his documentary, "The Best Chicks on the Train", took place at the 2010 International Student Film and Video Festival, Beijing Film Academy, China. His graduation film entitled "The A Side" had its premiere at the CAMERIMAGE Film Festival in 2011. For his thirty-minute professional debut "The 128th Rat" he received, among others, The Prize for the Best Directing at the 53rd Kraków Film Festival.

He attended the Screenwriting Lab 2009 (Poland) and the Breaking Shorts Campus 2009 in Nijmegen (Holland), as well as RIFF Talent Lab 2012 (Iceland), Interaction Film Camp 2012 (Serbia), Film Spring Open Workshops (2011 and 2012) and RIFF Summer Institute 2013 (Iceland). In 2010 and 2021 he received The City of Kraków Scholarship, and in 2011 The Award of the Chancellor of the Silesian University for Outstanding Students. In 2014 he was also granted the Młoda Polska Scholarship founded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland as well as the Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland in 2024.

He also worked as an assistant director to Maciej Pieprzyca in his feature films "Life Feels Good" and "I'm a Killer".

His first feature movie entitled "Chain Reaction" was released in Poland on the 8th of December 2017.

In 2018 he directed two TV plays "Reytan. The Other Side of the Door" (for the Polish TV Theather), for which he recieved the best debut on the Two Theathers Festival 2019 in Sopot, and "The Machine for Living In (Falowiec)", for which he recieved the critics award on the Teatroteka Fest 2019 in Warsaw as well as Platinum Remi in the Independent Shorts - Comedy - Black/Dark category on the WORLDFEST in Houston.

In 2020 he directed and co-produced his first short animated film "Chodowiecki" based on life and works of the Polish-born artist Daniel Chodowiecki (1726-1801).

>> selected prizes awarded for my short films

2024 - Scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland

2021 - City of Krakow Scholarship

2020 - The Machine for Living In (Falowiec) - Platinum Remi in the Independent Shorts - Comedy - Black/Dark category on the WORLDFEST Houston, USA

2019 - Reytan. The Other Side of the Door - The Best Debut Award on the Two Theathers Festival 2019 Sopot, Poland

2019 - The Machine for Living In (Falowiec) - The Critics Award on the Teatroteka Fest 2019, Warsaw, Poland

2014 - The 128th Rat - The Jury Special Mention on the Tous courts International Short Film Festival Aix-En-Provence, France

2014 - The 128th Rat - Polish Independent Film Awards - award for the Best Screenplay

2013 - The 128th Rat - GRAND PRIX of the 12th International Independent Feature Film Festival CINEMAFORUM, Warsaw, Poland

2013 - The 128th Rat - BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD for a short film - Honorable Mention on the 14th POLISH FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES

2013 - The 128th Rat - The President of TVP S.A. (Polish Television) Prize for the Best Directing on the 53rd Kraków Film Festival, Kraków, Poland

2012 - The A Side - prize for the Best Short Film KAMERA AKCJA FILM FESTIVAL, Łódź, Poland

2012 - The A Side - The Jury Special Mention, QUEST EUROPE FILM FESTIVAL, Zielona Góra, Poland

2012 - The Best Chicks on the Train - 4th prize on the RAILFILM Fest, Austria

2011 - nominated for the Independent Cinema's Discovery of the Year Award, founded by STOPKLATKA.PL and KINO POLSKA TV, for the one-minute film Rolls of Identity

2011 - Rolls of Identity - Honorable Mention in the FREE SUBJECT competition and the MINUTE TROPHY at the ONE MINUTE FILM FESTIVAL BRAZIL, Brazil

2011 - Rolls of Identity - 1st Prize (Documentary Films Category), SNAP FILM FESTIVAL, Kraków, Poland

2011 - The Washing Machine - Prize for the Best Use of Cinematic Knowledge on the KAMERA AKCJA FILM FESTIVAL, Łódź, Poland

2011 - Rolls of Identity - MINUTE D'OR - BEST OF THE FESTIVAL AWARD at the ONE MINUTE FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL, Toronto, Canada

2011 - The Washing Machine - Prize for the Best Student Fiction Film on the KolorOFFon FILM FESTIVAL, Bydgoszcz, Poland

2011 - Rolls of Identity - 2nd Prize - Silver Medal of the CROMINUTE FILM FESTIVAL, Pozega, Croatia

2011 - Award of the Chancellor of the Silesian University for Outstanding Students

2011 - Rolls of Identity - The Jury Prize on the FilmOneFest, Atlantic Highlands NJ, USA

2010 - Rolls of Identity - Prize in the Polish Final, and a nomination to the semi-finals of the DEMOCRACY VIDEO CHALLENGE, USA

2010 - City of Krakow Scholarship

2010 - Rolls of Identity - 2nd Prize on the AZYL FF Bratyslava, Slovakia

2010 - nomination in the Seven Diamonds of My City competition, as held by the MMKRAKOW.PL website

2009 - The Washing Machine - 1st Prize (Short Films Category) on the Polish Comedy Films Festival SAMI SWOI 2009 Lubomierz, Poland

2009 - The Washing Machine - The Audience Award RePeFeNe FF 2009 Rybnik, Poland

2009 - The Washing Machine - Prize for the Best Student Film on the Kult OFF Kino Festival as held by TVP Kultura, Poland

2009 - Rolls of Identity - The Jury Special Mention on the Festival of Unserious Films "Nakręceni" Bełchatów, Poland

2008 - The Washing Machine - The Jury Prize on the ORANGE FACTOR FILM FESTIVAL Kraków, Poland

2008 - The Washing Machine - 1st Prize (Student Films Category) on the GOFFR FF Gliwice, Poland