News
Skolimowski: Guest at Camerimage
The Plus Camerimage Film Festival in Bydgoszcz features a retrospective of films by Jerzy Skolimowski. Audiences will have the opportunity to see not only the acclaimed director's latest films such as Cztery noce z Anną (Four Nights with Anna) and Essential Killing, but also his films from the 1960s. Awarded around the world, these minimalist films are not widely known to contemporary audiences. After Ręce do góry (Hands Up!) and its unfavourable reception and subsequent banning by the censor's office, Skolimowski decided to stop directing.
Changes in Eurimages Regulations
We spoke to Eurimages representative in Poland Irena Strzałkowska about the upcoming changes in regulations of the Eurimages fund.
Polish Films in Tallinn
Five Polish films are featured in the lineup of the 14th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia. A short feature made by a student of the Łódź Film School also received an award at one of the Black Nights festival's side events.
"Grand Off" Awards Presented
On November 27, Warsaw's Kamienica theatre was the site of the 4th edition of "Grand Off" World Off Film Awards ceremony.
17th "Etiuda&Anima" IFF Closes
November 25 brought the closing ceremony of the 17th "Etiuda&Anima" International Film Festival in Krakow.
Polish Animations Compete for Oscar Nominations
According to the US-based website Cartoonbrew, the latest films by two Polish filmmakers: Danny Boy by Marek Skrobecki and Animowana historia Polski (Animated History of Poland) by Tomasz Bagiński are among 33 titles that fulfilled the necessary qualifications to be considered for an Academy Award nomination in the Best Animated Short category.
"Essential Killing" Triumphs at Mar del Plata IFF
Jerzy Skolimowski's latest feature received the Golden Astor (Astor de Oro) Grand Prize at the 25th Mar del Plata International Film Festival in Argentina, which closed today. The Silver Astor (Astor de Plata) Best Actor Award went to Vincent Gallo, who played the lead in Jerzy Skolimowski's film, portraying an Afghan fugitive by the name of Mohammed. Essential Killing also received the ACCA Award (Argentinian Film Chronist Association). The Mar del Plata awards mark yet another prestigious win for Essential Killing, after the success in Venice last September.
"North of Calabria" Premiere
Marcin Sauter's documentary film Na północ od Kalabrii (North of Calabria) had its premiere on November 16 at Warsaw's Kultura cinema. On November 19 the film will be released in Warsaw, Krakow, and Poznan. Later it will screen throughout Poland.
"Back to Your Arms" Premiere
November 17 marks the premiere of the Polish-Lithuanian co-production Back to Your Arms (Powrócić w twe ramiona) by Kristijonad Vildžiūnas. The film will premiere within the framework of the "Scanorama" European Film Forum in Vilnius.
Kościukiewicz Wins Cybulski Award
The winners of the Zbyszek Cybulski Awards were announced last night in Warsaw. The top prize went to Mateusz Kościukiewicz for his performance in Matka Teresa od kotów (Mother Teresa of Cats) by Paweł Sala. The 10,000 PLN cash prize was funded by the Polish Film Institute.
Awards for Polish Filmmakers
November 7 brought the closing of the 20th Cottbus International Film Festival. The 2011 edition of the festival included an award in the German/Polish Youth Competition section, presented for the first time this year. A jury of Polish and German high school students gave the award to Jacek Borcuch's Wszystko co kocham (All That I Love), selecting the winning picture from among six competing films. In the director's absence, the award was accepted by Mateusz Kościukiewicz, who played one of the leads in Borcuch's film.
4th "Sputnik" Russian Film Festival
November 4 brought the opening gala of the 4th "Sputnik over Poland" Russian Film Festival. The evening was hosted by Jan Szczygieł, who welcomed guests as they gathered in the Concert Hall of Warsaw's Palace of Culture. Honourable guests included Russian Ambassador to Poland Alexander Alexeev, advisor to the President of the Russian Federation for Cultural Matters Yuri Laptev, representative of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Margarita Tersaakova, and deputy director of the Russian National Film Archive Vladimir Dmitriev. The festival is also attended by filmmakers, critics, actors, and producers from Russia.
Gdynia Festival Dates Set
The Organizing Committee of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia decided that next year's 36th edition of the festival will run from June 6 to June 11, 2011.
Awards for Polish Films
Animowana historia Polski (An Animated History of Poland) by Tomasz Bagiński received the 2010 Animago award for Best Visualisation.
Silver Eye Awards for Polish Films
Several awards for best film were presented at this year's East Silver film market, part of the 14th Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. This year marked the second edition of the Silver Eye Awards - last year's award winners included Bartek Konopka's Królik po berlińsku (Rabbit a la Berlin). This year Polish filmmakers received recognition for several short films and one feature-length film.
4th "Five Flavours" FF Launched
October 26 brought the opening of the 4th "Five Flavours" Film Festival. The festival was opened by Joon Jae Lee, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Poland. Over the next few days, film enthusiasts will have an opportunity to enjoy Asian cinema - first in Warsaw, later in Krakow, Poznan, and Katowice.
Polish Films Awarded in Leipzig
October 24 marked the closing of the 53rd DOK Leipzig International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film. Of the seven films representing Poland, two received prestigious awards. The Young Talent International Competition Jury awarded the Grand Prize for Short Documentary Film to Kawałek lata (A Piece of Summer) by Marta Minorowicz. The Prize of the Trade Union ver.di and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury went to Marcin Sauter for Na północ od Kalabrii (North of Calabria).
Polish Film Competition
The Plus Camerimage festival team has announced the Polish Film Competition lineup.
Awards for Abel Korzeniowski
Awards for the world's best composers of film music were presented at the closing gala of the World Soundtrack Academy, part of the 37th Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent (Belgium). The WSA awards have been presented annually since 2001.
Europe-India: Panel Discussion
On October 15, a panel discussion and presentation of co-production opportunities between India and European countries was held at Warsaw's Rejs cinema. This event was part of the Warsaw Script Meeting - the European segment of the Primexchange Europe-India workshop. The second session will be held next month at the Film Bazaar in Goa.
Klimkiewicz Debuts in England
Three projects by young filmmakers will receive funding from the city of Bristol, as city authorities are keen on promoting the city through its artist. One of the selected projects is to be directed by young Polish filmmaker Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, whose acclaimed short feature Hanoi-Warszawa (Hanoi-Warsaw) was recently nominated for best short at the European Film Awards. The Bristol-backed project Flying Blind will be Klimkiewicz's full-length feature debut.