Snakes 2025 Selected: These Polish Films Most Disappointed Audiences and Critics

The Pop Culture Academy of Everything has announced the nominations for the Snakes, or film anti-awards. Among the films that the jury considers particularly underwhelming, "Quo Vadis" and "Mr. Kleks' Academy" are among those with the best chance of winning the infamous statuette. The acting Snake, meanwhile, could be awarded to Tomasz Kot, Magdalena Cielecka, and Joanna Koroniewska, among others.

The Snakes are anti-awards that "honor" the worst Polish films of the past year. The statuette was conceived by film critics Kamil Śmiałkowski, Krzysztof Spór, and Konrad Wągrowski. The first ceremony took place on April 1, 2012. On Thursday evening, the Pop Culture Academy of Everything published a list of titles and the creators behind their failures who will inadvertently compete for these shameful trophies at the 14th edition of the Snakes Awards.

The organizers noted that last year "ambition did not always go hand in hand with talent."

"Polish cinema, despite numerous efforts, continues to provide us with a wealth of excellent material for our awards, which, with surgical precision, pinpoint the year's most painful failures. (...) We are proud to observe how a significant number of Polish filmmakers have managed to create productions that evoke extreme emotions, from embarrassment to... embarrassment. (...) Our awards are a bitter but necessary commentary on what is happening in our home film industry," the academy emphasizes.

The top of the inglorious list is the historical animation "Quo Vadis" directed by Anira Wojan and Sukankan Roy , which received as many as 13 nominations for its "titanic attempt to disgust Nobel Prize-winning prose."

Right behind the picture that was crushed by critics was "Mr. Kleks' Academy" (10 nominations) by Maciej Kawulski, which was "honored" for "wasting practically everything - the expectations of the audience, a great character, outstanding actors and potential that will probably not be repeated in Polish cinema for years."

The extended podium with 7 nominations included two productions by Szymon Gonera - the drama "The Influencer's Girl" , which was considered "a charming, unnecessary proof that you can create a story about influencership as empty, boring and unreliable as influencership itself" and " Bachelor Party" , which is "a reminder that 'Kac Wawa' taught Polish filmmakers nothing" - we read in the justification.

The main prize, the Great Snake , is also up for grabs for the documentary "Buddha, the Kid '98" and the crime comedy "How I Stole 100 Million." According to the jury, the creators unwittingly supported Polish cabarets with poor reputations.

- After watching this film, they suddenly become hilarious, brilliant and worthy of huge applause - the organizers sneer in a press release.

Acting nominations were received by, among others , Magdalena Cielecka ("A-Team"), Joanna Koroniewska ("The Influencer's Girl"), Dorota Stalińska ("Baby Boom, or Kogel Mogel 5"), Antoni Królikowski ("How I Stole 100 Million"), Mateusz Banasiuk ("Bachelor Party") and the duo Tomasz Kot and Sebastian Stankiewicz ("Mr. Kleks's Academy").

The winner will be announced during the final gala, which will take place as part of the Copernicon 2025 Fantasy Festival in Toruń. The three-day event, scheduled for September 19-21, will feature meetings with film critics and pop culture creators, workshops, competitions, discussion panels, and electronic and board game competitions.