Polish Film Institute’s co-financed productions at the 80th Venice Film Festival
We are pleased to announce that three films co-financed by Polish Film Institute will premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
It’s another stellar example of recent expansion of Polish cinema on the festival circuit. In recent years all major film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin and Venice have been screening Polish films with great success to audiences and Jury members.
Moreover - since the Oscar Awards for Best International Feature win for “Ida” by Paweł Pawlikowski in 2015, we can see a rising interest in Polish films on the festival circuit. Only at Venice Film Festival audiences had a chance to watch world premieres of such hits as “Bread and Salt”, awarded the Special Jury Prize at Venice Horizons Awards, “Never Gonna Snow Again”, awarded the Persona, Lavoro, Ambiente Foundation Award, “Corpus Christi” awarded the Label Europe Cinemas Award, “11 Minutes” honored with a Special Recognition and “Leave No Traces” that competed in the Main Competition. Not to mention Andrzej Skolimowski’s Life Achievement Award or the recognition for “The Hourglass Sanatorium” (pol. “Sanatorium pod klepsydrą”) by Wojciech Jerzy Haas.
Radosław Śmigulski on Polish films screened at Venice Film Festival
Director of Polish Film Institute, Radosław Śmigulski has very kind words about this year’s selection:
“We are very pleased with the broad involvement of Polish cinematography in prestigious festivals in Venice and Toronto. It’s a continuation of a great period in Polish cinema”.
Polish films co-financed by Polish Film Institute at Venice Film Festival 2023
In this year’s program you can find three films co-financed by Polish Film Institute, including “Woman Of…”, “The Palace” and „Housekeeping for beginners”.
“Woman Of…” is a Main Competition title and the newest collaboration between Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert, authors of such hits as: “Never Gonna Snow Again” (pol. “Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie”), awarded at Venice in 2020 with “Persona, Lavoro, Ambiente” Foundation prize, “Mug” (pol. “Twarz”), awarded Grand Jury Prize at Berlinale 2018, “Body/Ciało” awarded at Berlinale 2015 for Best Director or “In the name of…” (pol. “W imię”), which received a Teddy Award during Berlinale 2013 for Best (Queer) Feature Film. Worth mentioning is also the Special Recognition award by the Sundance Film Festival Jury for the film “Stranger” (pol. “Ono) in 2003.
“Woman Of…” is a story about a trans woman, living in Poland, whose journey to find personal liberty, is set against the landscape of Polish transformation from communism to capitalism.
“The Palace” by Roman Polański is an Out of Competition title, called an absurdist comedy set during the New Year’s Eve of 1999 at the luxurious The Palace Hotel in Switzerland. The date set for the film, which combines a series of intertwining stories is very particular – “it is not just the end of a century, but the conclusion of an entire controversial millennium, and the threat of the Millennium Bug hovers in the air”, as we read in the official synopsis for the film.
“The Palace” is a fourth film by Roman Polański to be premiering at Venice Film Festival, following the success of “J’accuse” awarded Grand Jury Prize in 2019 and “Carnage” in 2011 that received a Leoncino d’Oro (Golden Lion Cub Award). Worth mentioning is also the fact that “Knife in the water” screened in Venice in 1962 and due to this went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film the next year.
„Housekeeping for beginners” is the third picture by Goran Stolevski, an Australian author with Macedonian roots, whose previous films (“You Won’t Be Alone”, “Of an Age”) garnered a lot of media attention, topping Best Of lists from various critics around the World. “Housekeeping for beginners” is a story about a woman who was always reluctant to be a mother, but is now forced into the role of a caretaker of two children of her girlfriend. “A battle of wills ensues as the three continue to butt heads and become an unlikely family that has to fight to stay together”.
The film is a true multi-national spectacle, backed by co-production companies from Poland, North Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and Kosovo.
Films co-financed by Polish Film Institute at 80th Venice Film Festival – Screening Guide
Polish films backed by Polish Film Institute can be screened at various times and different venues. Please see the screening guide below:
„Woman Of” (pol. „Kobieta z…”), dir. Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert
Public screenings
09/08 16.15 Sala Grande
09/09 14.30 Sala Casino
Screenings for Pass holders
09/07 19.45 Sala Darsena
09/07 21.45 Sala Perla
09/08 16.15 Sala Grande
09/09 14.30 Sala Casino
“The Palace”, dir. Roman Polański
Public screenings
09/02 21.45 Sala Grande
09/03 17.45 PalaBienale
Screenings for Pass Holders
09/01 20.15 Sala Darsena
09/01 21.30 Sala Perla
09/02 21.45 Sala Grande
09/03 17.45 PalaBiennale
“Housekeeping for begginers”, dir. Goran Stolevski
Public screenings
09/06 17.00 Sala Darsena
09/07 15.30 PalaBiennale
Screenings for Pass holders
09/05 19.30 Sala Pasinetti
09/05 22.15 Sala Casinò
09/06 17.00 Sala Darsena
09/07 15.30 PalaBiennale