Polish Documentaries in Thessaloniki

This year’s edition of the Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival gives special focus to Polish documentaries. The event, taking place from March 12 to 21, will screen over thirty Polish films, divided into three sections: a Krzysztof Kieślowski retrospective, films by Andrzej Fidyk, and the latest Polish documentaries.

The Krzysztof Kieślowski retrospective will show a wide range of his documentary works, from one of his earliest works Z miasta Łodzi (From the City of Lodz; 1969), followed by Robotnicy’71 (Workers 1971; 1972), all the way to Gadające głowy (Talking Heads; 1980). The event will also bring the first international screening of Legenda, Kieślowski’s 1975 documentary about Stefan Żeromski.

The section focusing on the works of Andrzej Fidyk will include such films as Prezydent (President; 1985, winner of awards in Paris and Mannheim), Kiniarze z Kalkuty (1998, awards in Amsterdam, San Francisco, and Athens), and the director’s latest works: Białoruski walc (Belorusian Waltz; 2007) and Historie z Yodok (Yodok Stories; 2008).

The section dedicated to the latest Polish documentaries will include Chemia (Chemo) by Paweł Łozińsk (winner of Prix Europa 2009), Sześć tygodni (Six Weeks) by Marcin Janos Krawczyk (awarded at IDFA in Amsterdam), and Andrzej Wajda: Róbmy zdjęcie! (Andrzej Wajda: Let’s Shoot!) by Maciej Cuske, Marcin Sauter, Piotr Stasik and Thierry Paladino.

The festival’s film market will include more Polish films: the documentary series Dekalog… po Dekalogu, based on an idea by Beata Januchta, Bocznica (Side-Track) by Anna Kazejak, Atijat, pierwsza żona (Atijat, the First Wife) by Anna Błaszczyk, Still Alive – film o Krzysztofie Kieślowskim by Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz, and Inventarium śladów by the Quay Brothers.

The Thessaloniki festival will screen a total of almost 170 documentary films from around the world, many of which will be international premieres, including When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun by Dirk Simon (USA) featuring music by Philip Glass, Kraftur, the Last Ride by Arni Gunnarsson (Iceland), and The Five Cardinal Points by Fridolin Schönwiese (Austria).

Further details about the festival are available at www.filmfestival.gr.

Press release

Translated by Karolina Kołtun