“Bread and Salt” and “Pamfir” awarded in Cairo
The director of the film “Bread and Salt” Damian Kocur received the Bronze Pyramid for the best debut in the Main Competition of the International Film Festival in Cairo. In turn, the International Critics’ Week Shadi Abdel Salam Award was won by the Ukrainian-Polish-French-Chilean co-production “Pamphir” (dir. Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk). Both films are co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The 44th edition of the Egyptian festival took place on November 13-22, 2022.
The Cairo International Film Festival is one of only 15 events in the world awarded with the “A” class by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations FIAPF. This year, the International Jury in the Main Competition was led by the winner of the festivals in Cannes and Locarno, Japanese director Naomi Kawase.
“Bread and Salt”
“Bread and Salt” is Damian Kocur’s full-length feature debut. It had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, where it was honored with the Special Award in the Orizzonti competition section. Then the director received a statuette at the “Golden Orange” festival in Antalya, Turkey. In turn, the International Film Festival in Cottbus brought the film the Special Award for Best Director and the Dialog Award. The film also received the Youth Jury Award at the festival in Spanish Gijon – just like at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, where it was additionally awarded the Journalists’ Award and Don Quixote – a statuette of the Polish Federation of Film Discussion Clubs.
It is a story about Tymoteusz, a student of the Warsaw University of Music, who returns for holidays to the small town where he grew up. A man becomes a witness of a growing conflict between his former colleagues and people of Arab origin who have been employed in a new kebab bar. The film is inspired by real events and played by amateurs: Tymoteusz Bies, Jacek Bies, Dawid Piejko, Nikola Raczko, Nadim Suleiman and Nadeem Shalave.
Tomasz Woźniczka is responsible for cinematography, Alan Zejer for editing, and Ewa Mroczkowska for set design. The costumes were created by Zuzanna Kot, and the sound was created by Katarzyna Białas and Łukasz Kaczmarski. The producers of the film are: Jacek Bromski, Ewa Jastrzębska and Jerzy Kapuściński (Studio Munka SFP and Canal+ Polska), and co-producers: Silesia Film, Kivi Rental, King House Michał Sadowski, Exa Studio. The international sales agent for the film “Bread and Salt” is IKH Pictures Promotion. It will appear on the screens of Polish cinemas on January 27, 2023, and Kino Świat is responsible for its distribution.
“Pamphir”
The picture directed by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk is a Ukrainian-Polish-French-Chilean co-production. It had its world premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section. It won an award at the Palić European Film Festival (Serbia) and is nominated for the European Film Awards in the European Discovery 2022 category – Prix Fipresci. This story takes place in the west of Ukraine on the eve of the traditional Malanka carnival. Pamphir returns to his family after months of absence. He is soon forced to revisit his troubled past when his only child starts a fire in a house of worship. In order to pay off his son’s guilt, Pamphir decides to take a risky path with irreversible consequences.
On the Polish side, Bogna Szewczyk and Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska (Madants) are responsible for the production, while the other producers are: Aleksandra Kostina (Bosonfilm), Laura Briand (Les Films d’ici) and Giancarlo Nasi (Quijote Films). The film was edited by Nikodem Chabior. Starring: Oleksandr Yatsentyuk, Stanislav Potiak and Solomiya Kyrylova.