News
Winners of the 50th Krakow FF
Tonight marked the closing of the 50th edition of the Krakow Film Festival. Over 30 awards were presented at the closing gala, held at Krakow's Kijów cinema. The event was opened by a Tomasz Stańko recital. The guests of the ceremony and gala host Wojciech Mann were then invited on stage.
"I see a lot of young people receiving awards at this festival. Their films are proof of incredible professionalism and sensitivity, so eagerly awaited by audiences," said Bogdan Zdrojewski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, in his speech.
"Little Rose" and "Reverse" in Moscow
Two Polish films, Różyczka (Little Rose) by Jan Kidawa-Błoński and Rewers (Reverse) by Borys Lankosz will screen in competition at the 32nd Moscow International Film Festival. Both features are "Golden Lions" Grand Prix winners at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia (Różyczka is this year's winner, while Rewers won the award in 2009).
New Film by Jerzy Hoffman
Jerzy Hoffman will begin filming the next major Polish production next month. The feature Bitwa Warszawska 1920 will be the realization of a dream he has carried with him for years. This period piece will feature historical figures, such as Józef Piłsudski, played by Daniel Olbrychski, colonel Wieniawski, played by Bogusław Linda, and general Rozwadowski, played by Marian Dziędziel. Natasza Urbańska and Borys Szyc will play the film's young protagonists.
Launch of the 50th Krakow FF
The 50th Krakow Film Festival opening ceremony was held on Monday night. That day at noon, the International Cultural Centre at Krakow's Main Square was the site of the festival press conference and release of a special album publication, dedicated to the history of the Festival.
35th PFF: First Award Winners Announced
Friday night brought the "small gala" of the 35th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. The festival's non-statutory awards were presented at this ceremony.
Awards of the 35th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia
The "Golden Lions" Grand Prize of the 35th Polish Film Festival for best feature film went to the creators of Różyczka (Little Rose) - director Jan Kidawa-Błoński and producer Włodzimierz Niderhaus. The "Platinum Lions" Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Janusz Morgenstern, director of such films as: Trzeba zabić tę miłość; Jowita; Do widzenia, do jutra (Good Bye, Till Tomorrow) and Mniejsze zło (The Lesser of Two Evils) - fragments of which were screened at the Gala.
35th Polish Film Festival in Gdynia Takes Off
Tonight's gala at Gdynia's Teatr Muzyczny marked the opening of the 35th edition of the annual Polish Film Festival.
The festival brings an opportunity to see dozens of films in four main sections: the Main Competition, the Panorama of Polish Cinema, the Young Cinema Competition, and the Independent Cinema Competition. Winners will be announced Saturday.
J. P. Bławut Awarded in Cannes
The winner of the Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for best script at this year's fourth edition of the ScripTeast workshop was announced yesterday at the 63rd Cannes International Film Festival.
Cannes: Variety Spotlights Poland
Nick Holdsworth writes about Polish cinema in the special Cannes Daily edition of Variety. He presents several Polish films screened at the Cannes Film Market, and profiles the hottest directors from Poland's young generation of filmmakers.
7th PDR Award Winners
Awards in ten different categories were handed out on May 15 at the closing gala of the 7th Planete Doc Review film festival. The ceremony was hosted by festival director Artur Liebhart. "Ten days of screenings in three cinemas in Warsaw and another 20 cinemas throughout the country proved that documentary film is very popular in Poland. We had the honour of welcoming some of the most acclaimed filmmakers in the field, who presented their latest films at our festival," Liebhart said.
Polish Films at Short Film Corner
Several Polish films will be screened this year at the seventh edition of Short Film Corner in Cannes.
Poland at 63rd Cannes Film Festival
Today brings the start of the world's key film event - the Cannes International Film Festival, which, along with the Marché du Film (or Film Market), will screen hundreds of films over the next eleven days. This year Poland is represented by two films: Turysta (Tourist) by Matej Subieta, and the Polish-French co-production Robert Mitchum est mort (Robert Mitchum Is Dead), directed by Olivier Babinet and Fred Kihn.
Producers' Meeting at PFF in Madrid
The first Polish-Spanish meeting for producers and filmmakers was held on May 6, as part of the 1st Polish Film Festival, organized by the Polish Institute in Madrid with support from the Polish Film Institute. Maciej Karpiński, representative of the General Director of the Polish Film Institute for International Issues, attended the meeting.
7th Planete Doc Review Gala Opening
The gala opening of the 7th Planet Doc Review documentary film festival was held on May 6 at Warsaw's Kinoteka cinema. Attending guests were welcomed by Artur Liebhart, the festival's director.
"Each year we make a tremendous effort to ensure that our festival programme is of the highest quality and that the films we screen help bring our audiences closer to the complex world we live in. We try to make sure that the stories these films present are deeply personal," said the Planete Doc Review festival director at the opening gala.
NY Polish Film Festival Outcome
The winner of the Krzysztof Kieślowski "Beyond Borders" award, the festival's grand prize for Best Film, was Jacek Borcuch's feature Wszystko co kocham (All That I Love).
Reverse at 9th TIFF in Romania
Rewers (Reverse) by Borys Lankosz will be screened in Main Competition at the 9th Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF). Krystyna Janda will be attending the festival as a special guest.
Three TVP Films Awarded in NYC
Three films produced by TVP received awards at this year's 53rd edition of the prestigious New York Festivals competition for television production.
Waldemar Pokromski Awarded
The German Film Awards (Deutscher Filmpreis) awards ceremony was held on April 23. The winner of the Best Film of 2009 award was Michael Haneke's Das weisse Band (The White Ribbon). Waldemar Pokromski won the award for Best Makeup for his work on Haneke's feature, sharing the credit with Anette Keiser.
Award for Snow White and Russian Red
Wojna polsko-ruska (Snow White and Russian Red) by Xawery Żuławski was awarded the "Elephant" grand prize at the 3rd "Wisła" Polish Film Festival in Moscow.
50th Krakow Film Festival
The team responsible for organizing the 50th Krakow Film Festival met with the press on April 28. This year's Krakow Film Festival will last from May 31 to June 6.
Protector Wins Off Plus Camera
Protektor (Protector) by Marek Najbrt, the story of a difficult love in wartime occupied Czechoslovakia, was yesterday announced the winner of the Off Plus Camera film festival in Krakow. The award was presented to the Czech filmmaker by Jacek Majchrowski, mayor of Krakow, and Agnieszka Odorowicz, general director of the Polish Film Institute. For "setting the path" (the theme of the Main Competition), Najbrt received a cash prize of 100,000 dollars, along with two grants: one million PLN from the Polish Film Institute for producing his next project in Poland, and another million PLN based on a similar principle from Leszek Czarnecki, owner of festival sponsor Noble Bank.