News
Polish Documentaries in Thessaloniki
This year's edition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival gives special focus to Polish documentaries. The event, taking place from March 12 to 21, will screen over thirty Polish films, divided into three sections: a Krzysztof Kieślowski retrospective, films by Andrzej Fidyk, and the latest Polish documentaries.
Academy Award Winners Announced
The Academy Awards ceremony is now in the past. The undisputed winner is The Hurt Locker, with a total of six awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Both awards were accepted by director Kathryn Bigelow.
The Cove at the 7th Planete Doc Review
The Cove by Louie Psihoyos, winner of this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, will be the opening film at the 7th Planet Doc Review film festival.
IFMCA Award for Korzeniowski
Last Monday the International Film Music Critics Association gave Abel Korzeniowski the Best Original Score for a Drama Film award for his score to A Single Man by Tom Ford.
Winners of the 2010 Polish Film Awards
The 2010 Polish Film Awards "Orły" (Eagles) ceremony was held at Teatr Polski. The undisputed winner was Rewers (Reverse) by Borys Lankosz, sweeping a total of eight awards, including best film. Agata Buzek and Anna Polony received best actress awards, while Reverse also took best screenplay, best original music, best production design, and best costume design. Director Borys Lankosz was dubbed the Discovery of the Year.
Before the Oscars: Press Conference by the Creators of Rabbit a la Berlin
Just before leaving for Los Angeles, the creators of Rabbit a la Berlin (Królik po berlińsku) held a press conference at Warsaw's Kultura cinema. The film was presented by director Bartek Konopka, editor Mateusz Romaszkan, original score composer Maciej Cieślak, head of post-production Grzegorz Korczak, assistant production manager Alicja Kizińska, author of commentary Michał Ogórek, and Maciej Skalski from MS Films, which produced the film.
Silver Bear for Roman Polański
At the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, which ended last Saturday, Roman Polański received the Silver Bear for Best Director for his latest feature The Ghost Writer. The film was released in Polish cinemas on Friday, February 19.
The Magic Tree at Film Festivals
Over the coming months, Andrzej Maleszka's The Magic Tree will be screened at several international film festivals.
KINOTEKA Festival in London
The eighth edition of the KINOTEKA Polish Film Festival in London will last from March 4 to April 13. Ten cinemas throughout London will screen the latest Polish films, and a retrospective of short features and early films by Roman Polanski.
Exhibition: Polański. Actor. Director
February 14 brought the opening of the Roman Polański. Actor. Director exhibition in Magda Potorska's Der Ort gallery in Berlin. It was attended by Olivia Williams and Ewan McGregor, stars of Roman Polański's latest feature The Ghost Writer.
Buzek Shooting Star
The Shooting Stars press conference was held on Sunday in Berlin. Shooting Stars is a pan-European initiative that focuses on promoting young European actors. Among this year's Shooting Stars is Polish actress Agata Buzek.
Zero at Film Festivals
Paweł Borowski's Zero will have a rather busy festival schedule over the next few months. Borowski was named one of seven directors to watch by a reviewer of the popular Twitchfilm website, who also stated that his "talent is undeniable".
PFI Rebuttal to Sobolewski's Article
Last Friday, Gazeta Wyborcza published an article by Tadeusz Sobolewski entitled "Tak dobrze, że aż źle" ("So good it's bad", freely translated), which focuses on the issues of international promotion for Polish films. Unfortunately, the Polish Film Institute, so often referred to in this text, had no opportunity to present its stand on the many comments about us in the article. Nor were we allowed to publish a response in the paper. Which is why today we are publishing our rebuttal.
Machulski Sets New Trends
At the press conference held after the press screening of The Lullaby (Kołysanka), director Juliusz Machulski talked about how his latest feature coincidentally fits into the current vampire trends of world cinema.
Polish Film Nominated for Oscar
Announced today, the list of Academy Award nominations features some Polish names. Among this year's Oscar nominees are the creators of Rabbit à la Berlin (Królik po berlińsku): director and screenwriter Bartek Konopka, and producer Anna Wydra.
More Funds for Epic Films
New financing regulations raise the maximum subsidy levels for epic features to 9 million PLN (over 2.2 million EUR), as opposed to the earlier 6 million PLN (1.5 million). In the case of Polish majority co-productions, the Polish Film Institute subsidy can amount up to 13 million PLN (3.2 million EUR). The Polish Film Institute has long tried to introduce these changes, but they needed to be approved by the European Commission. The new and higher film budgets will enable better reproduction of selected historical periods, improve the quality of realistic period costumes, and enable the design and construction of realistic and historically accurate film sets.
Polish Filmmakers in Helsinki
This year's DocPoint documentary film festival in Helsinki puts a special emphasis on Polish filmmaking. Each day of the festival brings an opportunity to view Polish films and discuss Polish cinema.
Polish Films in Rotterdam
All That I Love by Jacek Borcuch, Piggies by Robert Gliński, and Zero by Paweł Borowski will be screened at the prestigious Rotterdam Film Festival, starting tomorrow.
All That I Love and Piggies will be screened in the Spectrum section that focuses on films by acclaimed filmmakers with references to the traditions of world cinema. Zero will be shown in the Bright Future section that promotes new talent and presents films by first- and second-time filmmakers.
2009 Summary
2009 was quite a special year for Polish cinema. Films by Polish directors haven't received this much acclaim in years. Multiple awards at festivals abroad, record-breaking admissions in Polish cinemas, general acclaim of the critics and audiences - all these factors suggest that the enthusiastic opinions about the rebirth of Polish cinema that appeared after last year's Polish Film Festival in Gdynia are fully justified. What was the past year like for the Polish Film Institute?
Jadowska Wraps Latest Shoot
Z miłości, the latest feature by Anna Jadowska, is the story of Ewelina and Piotr - a young married couple. Having recently had a baby, they are also having some financial troubles. Piotr doesn't have a steady job, nor any ideas for supporting his family. After a talk with friends, they decide to play in a porn film, which to them is an easy and fun way to make a large sum of money very quickly. Ewelina decides that she and Piotr will only shoot one such movie.
Festival of the Polish Institute in Berlin
The fifth edition of the filmPOLSKA festival will be held on 15-21 April 2010. Audiences in Berlin and Potsdam will have an opportunity to attend nearly 100 screenings in various venues in both towns.