Two Films from Łódź at Locarno
Films from the National Film School in Łódź continue their lucky streak. Two Łódź productions: Opowieści z chłodni by Grzegorz Jaroszuk and Bez śniegu by Magnus von Horn will screen in the Pardi di domani / Leopards of Tomorrow short film competition of the 64th Locarno International Film Festival, one of the key film events in the world. Directors that launched their careers in Locarno include Stanley Kubrick, Milos Forman, Mike Leigh, Aleksander Sokurov, Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, and Gus Van Sant.
One of the Leopards of Tomorrow competition jury members is Luc Toutoungh, co-producer of Świteź (The Lost Town of Świteź) by Kamil Polak, which will also screen in Locarno.
Both competition films already have a history of success. Produced by the National Film School in Łódź and by EasyBusyProductions, Opowieści z chłodni won the Targowa Street Film&Music Festival in Łódź, which closed on Sunday. In April, the film won the Grand Prize and Audience Award at the “Łodzią po Wiśle” film festival in Warsaw. The film will also screen in the Polish Shorts section of the upcoming New Horizons film festival. Opowieści z chłodni is a tongue-in-cheek story about two supermarket employees who have two days to find their purpose in life.
Bez śniegu, produced by the National Film School in Łódź and by Lava Films, previously won the Lucjan Bokiniec Grand Prize in the Young Cinema Competition at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, the Silver Hobbyhorse at the Krakow Film Festival, and 1st prize, the second most important award at “Łodzią po Wiśle”. Inspired by real events, Magnus von Horn’s film focuses on circumstances that led to a man shooting two boys in his backyard.
Locarno’s International Competition lineup also includes the feature animation Crulic – Droga na drugą stronę (Crulic), directed by Anca Damian. The film was partly shot in Poland, while Krakow area based Studio Alvernia handled post-production. The film’s Polish co-producer is the Magellan Foundation.
The 64th Locarno International Film Festival runs from August 3 through 13.
Translated by Karolina Kołtun