News
9th Planete+ Doc FF Awards
May 19 brought the awards gala of the 9th Planete+ Doc Film Festival in Warsaw. The winner of the Millennium Award was 5 Broken Cameras by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi. Special recognition went to Christian Holten Bonke and Andreas Koefoed, the creators of Ballroom Dancer.
Polish Film's World Sales Agent
Fuck for Forest, the latest documentary film from Michał Marczak, is now in the hands of an international sales agent. Thanks to UK-based Dogwoof, theatrical distribution rights have now been sold for Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway.
Launch of the 65th Cannes IFF
May 16 marks the opening of the 65th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival. The festival lineup features several Polish films co-financed by the Polish Film Institute. This year's Cannes film festival runs through May 27.
"In Darkness" Wins Gdynia FF
The winners of the 37th Gdynia Film Festival have been announced. With a total of nine awards including the Golden Lions Award for Best Film, this year's undisputed winner of the festival is W ciemności (In Darkness) by Agnieszka Holland. The Silver Lions Award went to Obława (Manhunt) by Marcin Krzyształowicz. The jury also gave a special prize to Droga na drugą stronę (Crulic - the Path to Beyond) by Anca Damian. The Platinum Lions Award for lifetime achievement went to cinematographers Witold Sobociński and Jerzy Wójcik.
Canal Plus Production Studio
May 11, 2012 marked a presentation of the Canal Plus production studio, as a side event of the 37th Gdynia Film Festival for representatives of the Polish film industry. The meeting was attended by Agnieszka Odorowicz, general director of the Polish Film Institute.
37th Gdynia Film Festival Launched
The 37th Gdynia Film Festival has begun. The event was opened by Michał Chaciński - artistic director of the Gdynia Film Festival, Wojciech Szczurek - mayor of Gdynia, and Agnieszka Odorowicz - General Director of the Polish Film Institute. The festival opened with a screening of Jesteś Bogiem (You're a God) by Leszek Dawid, produced by Studio "Kadr" and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Interview with Michael Radford
After the results of the Polish Film Competition at the 5th Off Plus Camera Film Festival were announced, we interviewed Michael Radford, British director, screenwriter, producer, and chairman of the international jury that judged the Polish competition films.
In this interview, Michael Radford speaks about the winning picture Ki (My Name Is Ki), the feature debut from Leszek Dawid, and shares his opinion about Polish cinema in general.
Polish Producer at Cannes IFF
Polish producer Marta Plucińska is one of this year's participants in the "Producers on the Move" programme that will take place during the 65th Cannes International Film Festival.
"Drawn from Memory" at Cannes
The short feature Portret z pamięci (Drawn from Memory) by Marcin Bortkiewicz, produced by Munk Studio within the framework of the "30 Minutes" programme, will screen in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 65th Cannes International Film Festival. This year's edition of the Cannes film festival runs from May 16 through May 27. Drawn from Memory was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
"Courage" Wins at Rome Film Festival
Wymyk (Courage) by Greg Zglinski, co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, became the winning film at the Rome International Film Festival, which closed on April 20, 2012.
"Teddy Bear" Wins Off Plus Camera
Teddy Bear by Mads Matthiesen won the fifth edition of the Off Plus Camera film festival in Krakow. The director received a cash prize of 100,000 US dollars. Agnieszka Odorowicz, General Director of the Polish Film Institute, also presented Matthiesen with a 1 million PLN subsidy from the Polish Film Institute as funding to be used to produce his next film in Poland. The closing gala of this year's Off Plus Camera festival was attended by Bogdan Zdrojewski, Poland's Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
10th Edition of Filmland Polen
The tenth edition of the Filmland Polen New Polish Film Festival will launch in Hanover, Hamburg, and Lübeck between April 28 and April 30, 2012.
"80 Million" at Moscow IFF
80 milionów (80 Million) by Waldemar Krzystek will screen in main competition at the 34th Moscow International Film Festival. This year's Moscow IFF will run from June 21 through June 30, 2012. 80 Million was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
"The Big Leap" starts shooting
The shooting of "The Big Leap", a Polish-Swedish co-production by Kristoffer Rus, will start on the 15th of April in the newly-opened ATM Studio in Warsaw. The film starring Tilly Scott Pedersen ("Dark Horse", dir. Dagur Kári), Gustaf Skarsgård ("The way back", dir. Peter Weir) and Arkadiusz Jakubik ("The wedding", dir. Wojtek Smarzowski) is a black comedy about moral dilemmas in the time of global financial crisis. The short film, shot entirely using green box technology, is a milestone in Polish CGI production.
"In Darkness" Among Best Films
Agnieszka Holland's W ciemności (In Darkness), co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, was voted one of the twelve most important films of 2012 by the Raindance International Film Festival in London.
13 Films in Main Competition
The Main Competition lineup of this year's 37th Gdynia Film Festival has been released. The films competing for the Golden Lions Grand Prize this year include seven world premieres, three films by first-time directors, and one film by a second-time director. Several of the competition films have already seen their theatrical release.
Polish Films at Hot Docs
The 19th edition of the Hot Docs Film Festival begins on April 26. 189 of the world's best documentaries will screen in Toronto over the course of eleven days. Among them are two Polish documentary films, both co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Polish Director Wins BAFTA Award
Agata Jagodzińska received the BAFTA New Talent Award for Best Screenplay in the Fiction: Under 30 Minutes category. The New Talent Awards are dedicated to young filmmakers and awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Eagle Awards: "Rosa" Wins Best Pic
The 14th edition of the Polish Film Awards drew to an end with the Eagle awards ceremony, held on March 19 at Warsaw's Grand Theatre. The Polish Film Academy voted Róża (Rosa) by Wojciech Smarzowski as Best Picture of the Year. Rosa won a total of seven awards.
Żuławski Retrospective in LA & NYC
The first complete US retrospective of films by Andrzej Żuławski is taking place in Los Angeles and New York City. Supported by the Polish Film Institute, this event has won the acclaim of US audiences and critics.
Polish-French Co-Production Deal
On March 5, 2012 in Paris, Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski and French Minister of Culture and Communication Frédéric Mitterrand signed an agreement on international film co-production.