Launch of the 62nd Berlinale
The 62nd edition of the Berlin International Film Festival is opening on February 9, 2012 and will run till February 19. Polish films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute will be screened during the event, as well as new projects looking for foreign co-producers. General Director of the Polish Film Institute Agnieszka Odorowicz will attend the festival.
Polish films at the 62nd Berlinale
Sponsoring (Elles) by Małgorzata Szumowska is one of the two films opening the Panorama section. Its world premiere took place during the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was distributed in French cinemas; the rights to distribute the film have been bought in over 30 countries.
- 10.02, 8.30 pm, International
- 11.02, 1:30 pm, CinemaxX 7
- 12.02, 2:30 pm, Cubix 9
- 17.02, 6:00 pm, FriedrichstadtPalast
Berlinale’s Forum section will feature Sekret (Secret) by Przemysław Wojcieszek. It is the director’s third film presented at the Berlin Film Festival.
- 11.02, 9:00 pm, CinemaxX 6 (press screening)
- 12.02, 8:00 pm, Arsenal
- 14.02, 4:30 pm, Delphi-Filmpalast
- 15.02, 10:00 pm, CineStar 8
- 19.02, 8:00 pm, Cubix 9
Shooting Star 2012
Polish cinema will be represented also by actor Jakub Gierszał who was chosen one of the European Shooting Stars. Press conference and the Shooting Star Award ceremony will take place on February 13.
Further details available at: www.shooting-stars.eu.
Berlinale Talent Campus 2012
Film critic Michał Oleszczyk, producer Anna Wydra, director Krzysztof Szot, producer Magdalena Nowacka, director Marcin Maziarzewski and cinematographer Tomasz Ziółkowski will take part in this year’s Berlinale Talent Campus.
Further details about Berlinale Talent Campus available at: www.berlinale-talentcampus.de.
Co-Production Market 2012
Two Polish projects will take part in the 9th edition of the Co-Production Market. This year the organisers received 311 entries and selected 25 feature projects that will attend the meeting for feature co-productions. Poland is represented by The Pope’s Toilet by Jakub Ziemnicki (Polish producer: Ewa Puszczyńska/Opus Film), and The Word by Anna Kazejak (Polish producer: Łukasz Dzięcioł/Opus Film).
Marta Parlatore, a graduate of the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School, is writing the script for the first project. – The Pope’s Toilet is a film rooted in the 1980’s and is neutrally connected with the Pope’s John Paul II visit to Poland. However, it will not be a historical film. The production is planned in Poland with the participation of Polish actors – says producer Ewa Puszczyńska. It is worth mentioning that both the director and scriptwriter spent many years abroad.
– A new project by Anna Kazejak is in the early development stage. So far I can say that Magnus von Horn, a well-known young generation filmmaker, is writing the script together with the director – said Łukasz Dzięcioł, The Word producer. Co-Production Market is held during the 62nd Berlinale from February 12 to 14.
Further details about Co-Production Market available at: www.efm-berlinale.de.
European Film Market 2012
Following Polish films and co-productions will take part in the European Film Market at the 62nd Berlinale: 1920. Bitwa warszawska (1920. Battle of Warsaw) by Jerzy Hoffman, Droga na drugą stronę (Crulic – The Path to Beyond) by Anca Damian, Księstwo (Heritage) by Andrzej Barański, W ciemności (In Darkness) by Agnieszka Holland, Róża (Rosa) by Wojciech Smarzowski, Kret (The Mole) by Rafael Lewandowski, Znieważona ziemia (Terre outragée) by Michale Boganim, Now, Forager: A Film About Love and Fungi by Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin, Paths of Hate by Damian Nenow, Wygrany (The Winner) by Wiesław Saniewski, and a debut Bez Wstydu (Shameless) (working title Taboo) by Filip Marczewski.
Detailed programme available at: www.efm-berlinale.de.
Berlinale features also Polish film funds and festivals, among them Off Plus Camera, as well as the Krakow Film Commission, whose members will attend the Film Commission Poland presentation.
Cinema Total and Pitch Stop
February 11 will bring the beginning of Cinema Total 5, an event organised by the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin and the Polish Institute in Berlin. On February 13 Cinema Total 5 will feature two events; at 3:00 pm True Stories with director Przemysław Wojcieszek and two sisters: director Teona Strugar Mitevska and actress Labina Mitevska. At 9.00 pm Film Talk with Dariusz Gajewski, representing the Munk Studio.
Cinema Total 5 programme includes also meetings with representatives of film institutions and festivals from Central and Eastern Europe, including Izabela Kiszka-Hoflik (Polish Film Institute) and Stefan Laudyn (Warsaw Film Festival) from Poland.
Further details available at: www.hungaricum.de.
The accompanying events to the Cinema Total 5 are the Pitch Stop workshops and pitching. Producer Anna Wydra will take part in this event with a feature project Niemy (The Mute), developed at EAVE workshops, directed by Bartek Konopka. Weronika Członowska from Easy Busy Production (producer of Opowieści z chłodni / Frozen stories) will present her new project Baby. The presentation will take place on February 15. Cinema Total 5, a series of events for Central and Eastern European film professionals, is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
ScripTeast 2012
The 62nd Berlinale will feature also the second session of the 6th edition of the ScripTeast, workshops for experienced scriptwriters. Out of 12 best projects from Central and Eastern Europe, 4 are Polish: Paweł Sala (Heroina), Dariusz Gajewski (Samotni mają pierwszeństwo), Rafał Kapeliński (Na dachu), and Marcin Wrona, Katarzyna Bonda and Marcin Skóra (Piosenka o miłości). The aim of this annual programme is to select best Central and Eastern European scripts and to give the scriptwriters possibility to work with leading filmmakers.
ScripTeast is organised by the Independent Film Foundation with the support of the European Union Media Programme, the Polish Film Institute, and the Apple Film Production, in co-operation with the European Film Academy, the Producer’s Network and ACE, Film New Europe, Final Draft, and TVP (Polish Television).
Further details about the 62nd Berlinale available at: www.berlinale.de.
The Polish Film Institute stand at the 62nd Berlinale:
Polish Cinema Stand No. 140
European Film Market Berlin 2012
Martin-Gropius-Bau
The Polish Film Institute, the Polish Filmmakers Association and TVP (Polish Television) are co-organisers of the stand. The project is accomplished for the 7th time and for the second time it will independently function as a Polish stand. This year the stand is situated in a new place and has a bigger exhibition space designed for meeting with film professionals. Materials advertising Polish films will be available at the stand, including New Polish Films 2012 catalogues and Production Guide Poland 2012.
Marta Sikorska
Translated by Monika Miziniak