Polish Films at 30th IDFA

Films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute will screen in key sections of the 30th IDFA festival in Amsterdam. The festival runs from November 15 through November 26.

Eight Polish documentaries have been selected to screen at this year’s edition of IDFA. Six films will compete for awards in the festival’s competition sections, while two others will screen out of competition.

8 Polish Documentaries at 30th Edition of IDFA

Amsterdam’s IDFA Documentary Film Festival is one of the top documentary festivals in the world. Every year, the festival gathers an audience of over 250,000, including over 3000 industry representatives. Films screened at IDFA often go on to become festival favourites. This year’s IDFA runs from November 15 through November 26, marking the 30th edition of the festival.

One of the films screening in the Feature-Length Documentary Film Competition is Over the Limit, a film directed by Marta Prus and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. The IDFA screening will mark the film’s world premiere. The documentary Najbrzydszy samochód świata (The Ugliest Car), directed by Grzegorz Szczepaniak and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, screening in the Mid-Length Documentary Film Competition, and Żalanasz – pusty brzeg (Zhalanash – Empty Short) by Marcin Sauter, screening in the Short Documentary Competition, will both have their international premieres in Amsterdam. Both films had their world premieres at the 57th Krakow Film Festival.

Two Polish films have been selected to screen in the Student Documentary Film Competition: Call Me Tony by Klaudiusz Chrostowski and The Celebration by Alexandra Wesolowski. Wolta (Volte) by Monika Kotecka and Karolina Poryzała will screen in the Kids&Docs competition.

The festival’s Best of Fests section, showcasing films that have gathered acclaim at major film festivals over the past year, will feature the documentary Książe i dybuk (The Prince and the Dybbuk) by Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski, which received the Venice Classics Award for best documentary about cinema at the 74th Venice IFF. IDFA’s music documentary section will feature Ethiopiques – Revolt of the Soul, a film by Maciej Bochniak.

The festival is accompanied by the Docs for Sale film market, first launched in 1996, which is visited annually by the documentary film industry. Much like in previous years, the market video library features a number of Polish documentaries.

Polish Films at IDFA

Polish films have screened at the IDFA festival since its first edition. In recent years, Polish films have received a number of important awards and distinctions. In 1998, the award for Best Feature Documentary went to Dariusz Jabłoński’s Fotoamator. In 2009, Sześć tygodni (Six Weeks) by Marcin Janos Krawczyk received the grand prize in the Short Documentary Competition. A year later, one of the nominees in the Student Film category was Seans w kinie Tatry by Igor Chojna. In 2012, two Polish films were nominated for IDFA awards: Bad Boy – cela dla niebezpiecznych (Bad Boy — High Security Cell) by Janusz Mrozowski in the Feature-Length Documentary Competition and Rogalik by Paweł Ziemilski in the Short Documentary section. In 2013, one of the nominees in the student documentary section was Nasza klątwa (Our Curse) by Tomasz Śliwiński, and in 2014 the Special Jury Prize went to Hanna Polak for her film Nadejdą lepsze czasy (Something Better to Come). In 2015, the festival winner was Don Juan, a Swedish film directed by Jerzy Śladkowski and lensed by Wojciech Staroń. And in 2016, Kiedy ten wiatr ustanie by Aniela Gabryel received the ARRI IDFA Award for Best Film in the Student Film Competition, while Zofia Kowalewska’s Więzi (Close Ties) received the Special Jury Prize.

Source: www.polishdocs.pl.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun