Polish Films at Karlovy Vary IFF

Today brings the launch of the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Paweł Sala’s Matka Teresa od kotów (Mother Teresa of Cats) will be screened in the festival’s Main Competition, marking the film’s international premiere.

The news of Paweł Sala’s feature screening in the Main Competition was released at the end of April. The festival hosts mentioned that one of the lead parts in the film was played by “the talented Filip Garbacz, who was honoured with a special mention of the jury for his role in Świnki (Piggies) at last year’s edition of the Karlovy Vary film festival.” Other films in the Main Competition include projects from Russia (Drugoye nebo by Dmitri Mamulia), Argentina (Dos hermanos by Daniel Burman), and Iran (Chiz-haie hast keh nemidani by Fardin Saheb Zamani).

The complete list of twelve films screened in the Karlovy Vary Main Competition is available at: www.kviff.com.

The Documentary Film Competition will screen Przyrzeczona (Little Bride), along with documentaries from a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, and the United States. The complete lineup of 16 competition films is available on the festival website.

Rewers (Reverse) by Borys Lankosz has been selected as one of ten European films to be screened in the Variety Critics’ Choice section of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Films for this section are selected by the staff critics of Variety magazine.

Having been part of the Karlovy Vary festival for the past 13 years, the Variety Critics’ Choice remains one of the festival’s most popular sections. Ten film directors from various European countries present their films, and the films are selected by the staff critics of Variety magazine. The event is supported by the European Union’s MEDIA programme and by members of European Film Promotion (EFP).

The out-of-competition “2010. A Musical Odyssey” section will feature seven films relating to music. In addition to Beats of Freedom, this section includes such films as Ride, Rise, Roar from the United States – a biopic of the musician David Byrne, Beyond Ipanema about the history of Brazilian music, and Oddsac – a film impression about the music of Animal Collective.

One of the awards at the Karlovy Vary festival is the Europa Cinemas Label award of the Europa Cinemas network. As of 2003, this organization awards selected titles at four major international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Karlovy Vary); these films then have an opportunity for wide theatrical distribution throughout Europe. The winning title at Karlovy Vary will be selected among films screened in the Main Competition and in the “East of the West” section of the festival.

Matka Teresa od kotów (Mother Teresa of Cats), screening in competition, is automatically a contender for this award.

The Europa Cinemas Label award of the 2007 Venice Film Festival was awarded to Sztuczki (Tricks) by Andrzej Jakimowski.

The 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will last from July 2 to July 10, 2010.

Screenings of Polish films:

Matka Teresa od kotów (Mother Teresa of Cats) – July 6 and 7;

Rewers (Reverse) – July 4 and 5;

Beats of Freedom. Zew wolności (Beats of Freedom) – July 3, 7, and 10;

Przyrzeczona (Little Bride) – July 5 and 6.

Translated by Karolina Kołtun