40TH GDYNIA FILM FESTIVAL — MAIN COMPETITION AND VISIONS APART COMPETITION

The official selection lineup in Main Competition and the Visions Apart competition at the upcoming 40th Gdynia Film Festival has been announced.

Main Competition

On July 13, 2015, the Organizing Committee of the 40th Gdynia Film Festival, based on recommendations from the Selection Board and the Artistic Director of the Gdynia Film Festival, decided to select the following titles to screen in Main Competition:

• 11 minut (11 Minutes), directed by Jerzy Skolimowski;
• Anatomia zła (Anatomy of Evil), directed by Jacek Bromski;
• Body/Ciało, directed by Małgorzata Szumowska;
• Chemia (Chemo), directed by Bartek Prokopowicz;
• Córki dancingu (The Disco Daughters), directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska;
• Demon, directed by Marcin Wrona;
• Excentrycy, directed by Janusz Majewski;
• Hiszpanka (InfluenZ), directed by Łukasz Barczyk
• Intruz (The Here After), directed by Magnus von Horn;
• Karbala, directed by Krzysztof Łukaszewicz;
• Letnie przesilenie (Summer Solstice), directed by Michał Rogalski;
• Moje córki, krowy (These Daughters of Mine), directed by Kinga Dębska;
• Noc Walpurgi (Walpurgis Night), directed by Marcin Bortkiewicz;
• Nowy Świat, directed by Elżbieta Benkowska, Łukasz Ostalski, Michał Wawrzecki;
• Obce niebo (Strange Heaven), directed by Dariusz Gajewski;
• Panie Dulskie, directed by Filip Bajon;
• Ziarno prawdy (A Grain of Truth), directed by Borys Lankosz
• Żyć nie umierać (Life Must Go On!), directed by Maciej Migas

Visions Apart Competition

The Committee has also selected the following films for screening in the Visions Apart competition:

• Baby Bump, directed by Kuba Czekaj;
• Czarodziejska góra (The Magic Mountain), directed by Anca Damian;
• Performer (The Performer), directed by Łukasz Ronduda, Maciej Sobieszczański;
• Śpiewający obrusik (The Singing Napkin), directed by Mariusz Grzegorzek;
• W spirali, directed by Konrad Aksinowicz
• Walser, directed by Zbigniew Libera

“It has been a good year for Polish cinema and this year’s rich selection simply mirrors that,” says Michał Oleszczyk, Artistic Director of the Gdynia Film Festival. “The choice was, as always, difficult, because we had even more submissions than last year — a total of 53 films were submitted for consideration in both Competitions. However, I believe we have found the golden mean. My greatest reason for joy is the multitude of debut films, a large number of premiere titles, and the Visions Apart section, which continues to gain in significance; the competition for the first Golden Claw award in festival history will be truly fierce.”

This year’s edition of the festival will mark the first time the Visions Apart section is organized as a competition. In 2014, this section was a showcase, presenting films with a unique artistic form. This section is intended for creators of inter-genre and experimental films; films that aren’t easy to label. The top prize in the Visions Apart competition is the Golden Claw award “for courage in terms of form and subject matter,” which comes with a cash prize of 30,000 PLN (18,000 PLN for the director and 12,000 PLN for the producer). The structure of the Main Competition has not changed. Due to the introduction of Visions Apart in competition form, the Special Award in Main Competition will no longer be awarded.

press release

Translated by Karolina Kołtun