Polish films at Toronto International Film Festival 2021
Four productions co-financed by the Polish Film Institute will be presented at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival. The Platform competition section includes Aga Woszczyńska’s film „Silent Land”, while the official selection also includes the Turkish-German-Danish-Polish co-production of „Anatolian Leopard” by Emre Kayis (Discovery) and the Irish-Polish film „Wolf” by Nathalie Biancheri (Special Presentations). As part of the market shows, the film „Leave no traces” by Jan P. Matuszyński will be screened. Festival will be held on September 9-18.
„Silent Land”
Aga Woszczyńska’s full-length feature debut, „Silent Land”was the only Polish film to be included in the Toronto International Film Festival competition. The drama with Agnieszka Żulewska and Dobromir Dymecki in the lead roles will compete for the award in the Platform section, which includes eight films. The protagonists of „Silent Land” are Anna and Adam, who rent a holiday home on a sunny Italian island. On the spot, it turns out that the dream villa does not meet their expectations, and the island is struggling with a lack of water. The presence of a workman hired to repair the pool will start an unexpected chain of disturbing events. In a seemingly harmonious marriage, dark instincts and deeply hidden emotions will come to the fore.
Agnieszka Wasiak from Lava Films, Giovanni Pompili from Italian Kino Produzioni and Jordi Niubo from Czech i/o post are responsible for the production of „Silent Land”. The film is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, EC1 Łódź – City of Culture, Eurimages, MIC – Ministero della cultura Direzione generale Cinema ed audiovisivo and the Czech Film Fund.
„Anatolian Leopard”
Among the sixteen films in the Discovery section is „Anatolian Leopard”. The picture, directed and scripted by Emre Kayis, is a Turkish-German-Danish-Polish co-production. The description of the plot of the film shows that in Turkey’s oldest zoo, a lone director and an introverted clerk have an unusual bond. In order to stop the privatization process, the zoo decide to conceal the death and fake the disappearance of its most valuable inhabitant – the Anatolian leopard. Thus, they start an avalanche of absurdity that quickly gets out of control. Above the gray and quiet capital of Turkey, the ghost of a Leopard hovers…
„I chose the Anatolian leopard – an almost extinct native of Anatolia – as a metaphor to illuminate the emotional world of people crushed by the spirit of modern times. From the perspective of two lonely characters who, like the Anatolian leopard, feel their world falling apart, I decided to create a Kafkaesque atmosphere filled with bitter humor that would allow me to explore the subject of existential anxiety, identity crisis and alienation,” we read in the director’s note.
„Wolf”
In the Special Presentations section, among 30 images, the Irish-Polish co-production „Wolf” will be shown, directed by Nathalie Biancheri and with cinematography by Michał Dymek. The action of the film happens in a place inhabited by young people, who are convinced that they are closer to animals than to people. This is an allegorical cinema about an identity crisis. The main character of the film, Jacob, believes that he is a wolf trapped in a human body. He comes to a clinic called „Zoo”, which specializes in the treatment of a disease – real and more and more common in our society – known as species dysphoria. It is mainly found among teenagers and children who think they are squirrels, tigers, pandas, etc.
Patients undergo a variety of treatments that are often repressive. Unlike his teenage peers who gradually „renounce” their pets, he is increasingly moving away from „curing”. The only relief for his ever-growing anxiety is Kocica – a 22-year-old enigmatic patient who recognizes his true nature. Will he be able to give up his true self in the name of love? Will he be able to live suppressing who he is, to abide by the norms that society dictates?
„Leave no traces”
The Toronto festival is accompanied by TIFF Industry, the industry part of the festival, which includes meetings, panels and conferences. TIFF Industry also supports the sale of films to international markets. As part of the market shows, the film „Leave no traces” by Jan P. Matuszyński, co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, will be presented.
Based on a report by Cezary Łazarewicz, this is the story of the murdered Grzegorz Przemyk, whose case was known throughout Poland in the 1980s. The main roles in the film are played by Tomasz Ziętek and Sandra Korzeniak, as well as Mateusz Górski as Grzegorz Przemyk. They are partnered by Jacek Braciak, Agnieszka Grochowska, Robert Więckiewicz, Aleksandra Konieczna, Adam Bobik and Tomasz Kot.
