Polish films at 40th Clermont-Ferrand IFF
Polish short films have been selected to screen in competition at the 40th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, which runs from February 2 through February 10, 2018.
Short Films from Around the World
The Clermont Ferrand film festival is one of the world’s leading events dedicated to short films. Every year the festival and the short film market bring together many industry representatives from around the world.
Proch (Dust), Jerry, and Drżenia (Tremors) at Clermont-Ferrand
Three Polish shorts will screen in the festival’s international competitions. Proch (Dust) by Jakub Radej (Radio & Television Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice) will be shown in the Lab Competition. This documentary, awarded previously in Jihlava, is a study of the journey the human body goes through from the moment of death to the funeral. In Radej’s film, the stages of this journey (mortuary, morgue, cemetery) are juxtaposed with the bureaucracy around the belongings of the deceased. A calculated account of the fate of these material objects that the deceased person has left behind is presented in an open form that might also include a question about the meaning of life and reflections on the loneliness of people who have no one to bid them farewell on this final journey.
Another Polish film at the festival will be Jerry, directed by Roman Przylipiak (Munk Studio, HAKA Films). This short narrative will screen in Clermont-Ferrand’s International Competition. Jerry is the story of an ostracised con artist who has an unusual gift. He’s a controversial character; while some say he has helped them, others claim he is extremely dangerous. Jerry himself, tired of his old life, suddenly receives an unusual power that comes to him in the form of a dog.
The third Polish film screening in competition at Clermont-Ferrand is Drżenia (Tremors), an experimental film by Dawid Bodzak. “Imagine you are in a forest. It is dark and quiet; you do not know why you are there. You want to get out of there when you suddenly hear a howl. Something is running towards you and searching for something, while you sit still. You don’t move because you don’t want it to notice you. Suddenly, a wolf appears next to you in the darkness. Then another one. And another one. They surround you. What do you do?,” reads the synopsis at Polish Shorts.
Deer Boy
Deer Boy will screen in Collections section. Katarzyna Gondek’s short film is the story of a hunter’s son born with antlers; a film about customs around killing what we love most. The film stars Janusz Chabior, Katarzyna Śnieżka-Sobiszewska, Eryk Maj, and Mieszko Czachor. Deer Boy is a co-production between Poland, Croatia and Belgium, with Paweł Kosuń and Agnieszka Janowska of Centrala Film as leading producers. Co-producers include Belgian company Bekke Films, Croatia’s Motion – Filmska Udruga, along with Stern Pictures, Alchemiq Studio, Studio Fandando, Studio PUK and The Fridge. The film received financial support from the Poznań Film Commission within the framework of the regional film fund, and from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre. At script development stage, this story of half-boy half-deer was at Euro Connection in Clermont-Ferrand, and later at the Nisi Masa European Short Pitch 2016, where Deer Boy received the award for Best Pitch. The film was also part of the Vysegrad Film Forum.
To date, Deer Boy has screened at the Krakow Film Festival, the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma – FNC in Canada and Sundance Film Festival. World sales are handled by Radiator IP Sales.
Further details about the film are available at www.deerboy.pl.
Lodz Film School to be a Special Guest at Clermont-Ferrand
As a special guest of the festival the Lodz Film School will screen the films of its most know graduates as well as those of recent students within the scheme Film School in Focus. The films are grouped in two sets and each set will be screened 10 times. The school will be represented by: Marcin Malatyński, Rector’s Proxy for International Relations, his assistant Dagna Kidoń and a direction teacher Magnus von Horn who will talk about the school during an official meeting with Festival participants. On 7 February they will also participate in a discussion panel How to promote film school productions? in reference to student films promotion and distribution.
Lodz Film School films to be presented at the festival:
- Birthday by Jenifer Malmqvist, 2010
- Echo by Magnus von Horn, 2008
- Lokatorki by Klara Kochańska, 2015
- Rogalik by Paweł Ziemilski, 2012
- Cipka by Renata Gąsiorowska, 2016
- Dwaj ludzie z szafą by Roman Polański, 1958
- Erotyk by Jerzy Skolimowski, 1961
- Zabawa by Witold Leszczyński, 1960
- Jajko by Dorota Kędzierzawska, 1982
- Krakatau by Mariusz Grzegorzek, 1986
- Kiedy ty śpisz by Andrzej Wajda, 1953
- Koncert życzeń by Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1967
- Urząd by Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1966
- Kwadrat by Zbigniew Rybczyński, 1972
- Kirk Douglas by Feridun Erol, Marek Piwowski, 1966
Polish films at the festival’s Film Market
Like every year, Polish films will also be showcased at the festival’s Film Market. The Polish Shorts stand, hosted by the Krakow Film Foundation, will be one of a number of national stands presenting short films from around the world.
Further details about the festival are available at: www.clermont-filmfest.org.
Sources: www.polishshorts.pl, www.filmschool.lodz.pl.