Launching the Oscar campaign for Reverse

lankosz, buzek, janda

Borys Lankosz, Agata Buzek and Krystyna Janda on the set of Reverse

 

Reverse, winner of this year’s Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, soon to be released in cinemas nationwide, is also Poland’s official candidate in the Best Foreign Language Film category for two of the most prestigious awards in the world of film – the Oscars of the Academy of Motion Pictures and the Golden Globes, awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

 

The Golden Globes are widely considered to be the forerunners for the Oscars, as both campaigns run simultaneously. Winners of the Golden Globes will be announced on January 17, 2010. Academy Award nominations in all categories are to be announced on February 2, whereas the ceremony itself will be held on March 7.

 

The race for both awards is already on. The international campaign for Reverse is jointly run by the film’s producer SF Kadr, its distributor Syrena Films, and (like in previous years) by the Polish Film Institute.

 

The PR agency of Kolar&Kean Communications is working on promoting the film in Los Angeles. This company has previously successfully campaigned for a nomination for Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn.

 

The first official screening of Reverse, for Academy members only, has already taken place. It was held on Saturday, October 31 and a significant number of Academy members attended. It must be noted that the nominations stage for Best Foreign Language Film is not voted by all Academy members, but instead by a special committee of approximately 400 members.

 

The next screening will take place on November 10, during the American Film Market in Los Angeles. Invited guests include representatives of the film industry, foreign distributors and critics, but also members of the Academy. This screening is organized by European Film Promotion as part of its programme covering eight European countries presenting their respective Oscar candidates.

 

November and December will bring several other closed screenings of Reverse (to enable a maximum number of committee members to see the film), but also open screenings for a wider audience that will serve to enhance a positive image of the film and build press relations. It is only these screenings that permit the participation of the film’s creators; Academy regulations do not permit it at the closed Academy screenings.

 

In addition, all key industry press titles, including Variety, will run special “For Your Consideration” ads that are an important aspect of drawing attention to a particular film (each of these magazines has special editions, dedicated to Best Foreign Language Film candidates).

 

The screening for members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Agency that awards the Golden Globes (approximately 80 members) will take place on November 28.

 

Translated by Karolina Kołtun

04.11.2009