"80 Million" and Docs in Moscow

80 milionów (80 Million) by Waldemar Krzystek will screen in main competition at the 34^th Moscow International Film Festival, which runs from June 21 through June 30, 2012. The festival lineup also features two Polish documentaries: Decrescendo by Marta Minorowicz and Argentyńska lekcja (Argentine Lesson) by Wojciech Staroń. All three films were co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

New Film by Krzystek in Competition at Moscow IFF

The main competition at the Moscow International Film Festival features a lineup of approximately 20 films. One of this year’s contenders will be 80 milionów (80 Million) by Waldemar Krzystek.  This will be the second film by Krzystek to screen in main competition at this festival. In 2009, Mała Moskwa (Little Moscow) screened in competition, winning the Audience Award.

80 milionów (80 Million)

The latest film from Waldemar Krzystek focuses on the struggle against the communist system. 80 Million is set in Wrocław in 1981, and is based on real events that took place ten days before martial law was introduced in Poland. The head of the Wrocław regional unit of “Solidarity” Władysław Frasyniuk and four of his colleagues went to a bank and withdrew 80 million from “Solidarity” accounts. The money was then used to build the underground movement.

Film Supported by the Polish Film Institute

80 Million was produced by Media Brigade. The screenplay was co-written by Waldemar Krzystek and Krzysztof Kopka. Piotr Śliskowski acted as director of photography. The film features performances by Wojciech Solarz, Krzysztof Czeczot, Maciej Makowski, Piotr Głowacki, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Agnieszka Grochowska, and Marcin Bosak. 80 Million was co-financed by the Lower Silesian Film Fund and by the Polish Film Institute.

Grand Prize: Golden St. George

The films screening in main competition will compete for the festival’s grand prize – the Golden St. George Award for Best Film. Three Polish directors have won this award to date: Andrzej Wajda in 1975 for Ziemia obiecana (The Promised Land), Krzysztof Kieślowski in 1979 for Amator (Camera Buff), and Krzysztof Zanussi in 2000 for Życie jako śmiertelna choroba przenoszona drogą płciową (Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease).

Awards for Films Co-Financed by the Polish Film Institute

Previous editions of the festival have also brought a number of awards for films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. In 2011, Urszula Grabowska, star of Feliks Falk’s Joanna, received the Silver St. George Award for Best Actress. Joanna also received the Award of  Russian Journalists and the Award of Russian Film Clubs. In 2010, Jan Kidawa-Błoński received the Best Director Award for his feature Różyczka (Little Rose), while Rewers (Reverse) by Borys Lankosz was voted Best Film in the “Perspectives” section of the Moscow IFF.

Polish Documentaries in Moscow

Both documentary films will screen in Moscow’s out of competition section “Free Thought”. Last year’s “Free Thought” lineup featured three Polish films: Deklaracja nieśmiertelności (The Declaration of Immortality) by Marcin Koszałka, Kołysanka z Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh Lullaby) by Paweł Kloc, and Kawałek lata (A Piece of Summer) by Marta Minorowicz.

The Fourth Dimension

The festival audience will also have an opportunity to see in the competition section “Perspectives” The Fourth Dimension – an international co-production that includes a short film directed by Polish director Jan Kwieciński.

Moscow IFF

The Moscow International Film Festival is considered to be one of the world’s top film events. Since 2011, the festival is run by Russian actor and director Nikita Mikhalkov.

The final main competition lineup will be announced in early June.

Further details about the festival available at: www.moscowfilmfestival.ru.

Sources: www.wyborcza.pl, PFI archive materials

Translated by Karolina Kołtun