27–29 july 2016 - Nowe Horyzonty
Transcription
27–29 july 2016 - Nowe Horyzonty
polish days 27–29 july 2016 Polish Days are part of the 16. T-Mobile New Horizons IFF festival organizers: Roman Gutek – Festival Director Joanna Łapińska – Artistic Director, Head of Polish Days Monica Semczyk – Polish Days Coordinator Jan Naszewski – Programming Advisor Urszula Pogorzelska, Franz Jud, Filip Grabowski – Guest Services Lila Feduniak – Hospitality Polish Days Co-Organizers (Polish Film Institute): Magdalena Sroka – General Director of Polish Film Institute Katarzyna Mazurkiewicz – Head of International Relations, Polish Film Institute Olga Domżała – Film Sales Support & Pr Manager, Polish Film Institute special thanks to: Tomasz Dąbrowski, Anna E. Dziedzic (Film Commission Poland), Anna Spisz, Michał Kosmala (Mazovia-Warsaw Film Commission), Natalia Stysło, Rafał Bubnicki (Wrocław Film Commission), Paweł Potoroczyn, Grzegorz Skorupski (Adam Mickiewicz Institute), Malwina Czajka (Toya Studios), Wojciech Kabarowski, Magdalena Widuch (ColorOffOn Film), Marlena Łukasiak (Polish Cultural Institute London), Anna MacDonald (London Film Academy), Nadia Dresti, Markus Duffner (Locarno Film Festival), Kristina Trapp (EAVE), Irena Gruca-Rozbicka, Małgorzata Stasiak (FilmPro), Michał Klimkiewicz, Katarzyna Grynienko, Anna Franklin (Film New Europe), Jolanta Tokarczyk, Ewa Kowalska (Film & TV Kamera), Michał Weksler, Anna Kaczmarek, Katarzyna Kucia, Joanna Staros (SNH). thank you! contact details: t-mobile new horizons international film festival 1 zamenhofa str. 00-153 warsaw poland tel.: +48 22 530 66 40 www.nowehoryzonty.pl contact during polish days: Monica Semczyk [email protected] tel. +48 536 179 204 www.nowehoryzonty.pl/polishdays Polish Days Programme wednesday, 27 july 2.30 pm – 5.30 pm 2.30 pm – 5.30 pm 7.00 pm 8.00 pm participants arrivals Study Trip in Wrocław organized by the Wrocław Film Commission (foreign producers and film funds have priority – please sign up at [email protected] by the 25th July 12:00 noon) LEAVING FROM PURO HOTEL AT 2.30 PM SHARP! Pitching Training (for Polish participants of Pitching and Works in Progress) – with David Pope, Patrick Fischer and Aleksandra Leszczyńska (Puro Hotel, 6 Włodkowica St.) Producers Meeting (Garden of Ossolineum, 37 Szewska St.) by invitation only Welcome Grill Party (Garden of Ossolineum, 37 Szewska St.) thursday, 28 july 9.00 am 10.45 am – 1.45 pm 1.45 pm 3.00 pm – 5.00 pm 3.00 pm 5.00 pm 3.30 pm – 7.00 pm 8.00 pm 11.30 pm friday, 29 july 9.00 am 10.45 am – 1.45 pm 1.45 pm 3.00 pm 5.00 pm 3.30 pm – 7.00 pm 8.00 pm 11.30 pm Screening of Knives Out, 90’ – New Horizons Cinema 5 Pitching (10 projects) – New Horizons Cinema 5 Lunch hosted by Gdynia Film Festival (Puro Hotel’s Garden, 6 Włodkowica St.) Sound design workshop. Case study: All These Sleepless Nights and TOYA Studios (Puro Hotel conference room) – limited space – please sign up at [email protected] Screening of Photon, 107’ – New Horizons Cinema 5 Screening of The Last Family (Ostatnia Rodzina), 124’ – New Horizons Cinema 5 – FOR FOREIGN GUESTS ONLY One-on-One Meetings (Puro Hotel’s Garden, 6 Włodkowica St.) Reception (Uff, 1a Nankiera St.) Happy Hours (Industry Section – Arsenal Festival Music Club, 9 Cieszyńskiego St.) Screening of Communion (Komunia), 72’– New Horizons Cinema 5 Screening of Works in Progress – New Horizons Cinema 5 Lunch (Puro Hotel’s Garden, 6 Włodkowica St.) Screening of The Erlprince (Królewicz Olch), 101’ – New Horizons Cinema 5 – FOR FOREIGN GUESTS ONLY Screening of Waves (Fale), 78’ – New Horizons Cinema 5 One-on-One Meetings (Puro Hotel’s Garden, 6 Włodkowica St.) Closing Reception (Muzeum Architektury / Museum of Architecture, 5 Bernardyńska St.) Happy Hours (Industry Section – Arsenal Festival Music Club, 9 Cieszyńskiego St.) New Horizons Cinema is located on 19a-21 Kazimierza Wielkiego St. 3 polish days Polish Days Partnernship with First Look of Locarno IFF / EAVE scholarship /Toya Studios Sound Design Workshop Polish Days Partnership with First Look of Locarno International Film Festival Locarno’s works in progress sidebar, designed as a springboard for the films of the future, will be focusing this year on Polish Cinema, one of Eastern Europe’s most thriving film industries. The producers of the selected projects will attend the Festival and present their work to industry professionals, with the aim of facilitating completion and distribution of their product. During the Industry Days the films in post-production will be screened for sales agents, buyers, programmers and postproduction support fund representatives attending Locarno. The initiative, organized in collaboration with the Polish Film Institute and with the support of Fundacja Polskie Centrum Audiowizualne boasts, this year, a jury composed by Kerem Ayan (Istanbul International Film Festival), Cameron Bailey (Toronto International Film Festival) and Bero Beyer (International Film Festival Rotterdam) that will hand out the First Look award on August 8 sponsored by Cinelab Romania worth 65,000 euros in post-production services, and an award offered by Le Film Français in advertising worth 5,500 euros. Polish Days Partnership with EAVE scholarship EAVE and the Polish Film Institute are joining forces for a new partnership that will offer a scholarship for one Polish producer and project for the EAVE 2017 Producers Workshop, presented during the Polish Days awards ceremony on July 29th 2016. Recent Polish projects developed at EAVE such as United States of Love (directed by Tomasz Wasilewski) received a Silver Bear at Berlinale 2016 and The Here After by Magnus von Horn screened in Directors Fortnight in Cannes 2015. EAVE is extremely delighted and could not imagine a better platform for this cooperation than the New Horizons International Film Festival, renowned for presenting uncompromising, innovative and original cinema from all over the world. 13 Summers Under the Water – Wiktoria Szymańska Birds are Singing in Kigali – Joanna Kos-Krauze,Krzysztof Krauze Toya Studios Sound Design Workshop. All These Sleepless Nights and TOYA Studios. The Butler (Kamerdyner) – FIlip Bajon Day of Chocolate – Jacek Piotr Bławut I’m a Killer (Jestem Mordercą) – Maciej Pieprzyca Zgoda – Maciej Sobieszczański “Locarno’s First Look joins forces with Polish Days in Wrocław, to highlight one of Eastern Europe’s most thriving film industries on both of these springboards for the newest productions and launching their international careers. The 2 events will present a total of 13 works in progress with only 2 being presented in both Festivals, aiming to attract the attention of Sales Agents and Festival Programmers.” Nadia Dresti, Locarno’s Vice Artistic Director and Head of International First Look on Polish Cinema (August 6 – 8) Locarno’s works in progress sidebar, designed as a springboard for the films of the future, will be focusing this year on Polish Cinema, one of Eastern Europe’s most thriving film industries. The producers of the selected projects will attend the Festival and present their work to industry professionals, with the aim of facilitating completion and distribution of their product. During the Industry Days the films in post-production will be screened for sales agents, FirstLookonPolishCinema(August6–8) FirstLookonPolishCinema(August6–8) buyers, programmers and postproduction support fund representatives attending Locarno. 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Theinitiative,organizedincollaborationwiththePolishFilmInstituteandwiththe support of Fundacja Polskie Centrum Audiowizualne boasts, this year, a jury support of Fundacja Polskie Centrum Audiowizualne boasts, this year, a jury composedby Kerem Ayan (Istanbul International Film Festival), Cameron Bailey composedby Kerem Ayan Film Festival), Cameron Bailey (Toronto International Film(Istanbul Festival)International and Bero Beyer (International Film Festival (Toronto International Filmout Festival) andLook Bero Beyer (International Film Festival Look 2016 official selection: Rotterdam) thatFirst will hand the First award on August 8 sponsored by Rotterdam) that will hand out the First Look award on August 8 sponsored by CinelabRomaniaworth65,000eurosininpost-productionservices,andanaward 13 SUMMERS UNDER THE WATER – Wiktoria Szymańska CinelabRomaniaworth65,000eurosininpost-productionservices,andanaward offeredbyLeFilmFrançaisinadvertisingworth5,500euros. BIRDS offeredbyLeFilmFrançaisinadvertisingworth5,500euros. ARE SINGING IN KINGALI – Joanna Kos-Krauze & Krzysztof Krauze FirstLook2016officialselection: THE BUTLER (Kamerdyner) – Filip Bajon FirstLook2016officialselection: DAY OF CHOCOLATE – Jacek Piotr Blawut 13SUMMERSUNDERTHEWATER-WiktoriaSzymańska 13SUMMERSUNDERTHEWATER-WiktoriaSzymańska I’M A KILLER (Jestem mordercą) – Maciej Pieprzyca BIRDSARESINGINGINKINGALI-JoannaKos-Krauze&KrzysztofKrauze ZGODA – Maciej Sobieszczański BIRDSARESINGINGINKINGALI-JoannaKos-Krauze&KrzysztofKrauze THEBUTLER(Kamerdyner)-FilipBajon 4 polish days Jan Passeman (sound designer), Katarzyna Szczerba (set sound / sound editor) and the director Michal Marczak will explain their creative thought process of using extensive ADR, full sound reconstruction and over ninety tracks of music to create a unique soundscape that seamlessly blends in from the subjective to the objective and from dream to reality. Date: 28 July 2016, Thursday Hour: 3 p.m. Place: Hotel Puro Guests: Jan Passeman (sound designer), Katarzyna Szczerba (sound editor), Michal Marczak (director), Marta Golba (producer) welcome Joanna Łapińska Head of Polish Days, Artistic Director of T-Mobile New Horizons IFF fot. Ania Jochymek Welcome to Polish Days! For several years now, we’ve shared with you different faces of Polish cinema and established a networking forum for Polish and international film industry professionals. Each year, we hear how important Polish Days has become for many of you, which obviously delights us. It also reinforces our belief that we make a genuine contribution to helping you, which is the greatest compliment of our efforts. It is with great pleasure, then, that I invite you to this year’s screenings of Polish films and meetings with filmmakers. I expect you are familiar with some of the directors presenting their films at Polish Days 2016 because they have been with us before. We’re thrilled to see their latest projects. Polish cinema has recently experienced dynamic growth, and we’re happy to also present new directors to you. Polish Days would not be possible without the help of our partners. Thank you all for being with us. The Polish Film Institute has been with us from the start. We are grateful for the support of the city of Wrocław, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, T-Mobile, as well as the National Audiovisual Institute, Film Commission Poland, Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission, Wrocław Film Commission, Coloroffon Film, Toya Studios, First Look of Locarno Film Festival, EAVE and Festivalscope. What a pleasure and privilege it has been to prepare this event in such great company. I hope you’ll enjoy this celebration of Polish cinema, filled with excellent, intense and fruitful sessions at Polish Days! I wish you all a great time during our Polish Days! Joanna Łapińska Head of Polish Days / Artistic Director of T-Mobile New Horizons IFF Magdalena Sroka General Director of the Polish Film Institute fot. Marcin Kułakowski Ladies and Gentlemen, This year marks the fifth edition of Polish Days, the top industry event of the T-Mobile New Horizons IFF. This joint initiative of the Polish Film Institute and the festival team has become one of the most interesting events dedicated to promoting Polish cinema and showcasing film projects at all stages of production. The importance of Polish Days for the international promotion of Polish cinema cannot be overstated. We are happy to see so many of you attend this event every year and participate in screenings of Poland’s latest film projects. I hope that Wrocław, the European Capital of Culture 2016, along with Polish filmmakers will encourage you to return next year. The fifth edition of Polish Days will feature special screenings of several completed Polish films, as well as over a dozen projects currently in development or in production. The Polish film industry is developing rapidly thanks to the energy of young and emerging filmmakers. I encourage you to discover new talented Polish film artists and discuss the projects with their respective creators. I hope that you find the films screened in Wrocław appealing on both the artistic and the production level. Enjoy your experience with the latest in Polish cinema. Magdalena Sroka General Director of the Polish Film Institute 5 polish days completed films Knives Out Przemysław Wojcieszek 7 Communion Norman Leto Ostatnia Rodzina 8 The Erlprince Komunia Anna Zamecka The Last Family Photon Kuba Czekaj 6 polish days 9 Waves Królewicz Olch 10 Jan P. Matuszyński Fale 11 Grzegorz Zariczny 12 GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Przemysław Wojcieszek PRODUCER: Agata Walkosz PRODUCTION COMPANY: CHŁOPIEC PTAK I ANIOŁ PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 20 000 EUR WORLD PREMIERE: T-Mobile New Horizons IFF WORLD SALES: Open Knives Out PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Przemysław Wojcieszek CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Przemysław Wojcieszek, tel. + 48 513 067 333 Six twenty something year olds meet at a lakeside summer house. This is their first time getting together since high school. Some of them have started careers, while others have not. Some of them enjoy the pleasures in life, while others vent their hidden frustrations. The seventh character is a young Ukrainian named Solomia who works at the same company as one of the evening’s protagonists, Igor. Solomia is an outsider and is at times an object of hatred on the part of Hubert, who persuades others, drunk and lost, to take part in an act of violence against the girl. Director’s statement: It’s the only film dealing with the rise of nationalism and xenophobia in today’s Poland. It was produced independently as all film institutions in Poland are already taken over by the far right. The New Horizon screenings are the film’s world premiere. Przemysław Wojcieszek Polish film and theatre director and screenwriter. He studied Polish at the Jagiellonian and Wrocław Universities. Wojcieszek authored the script to Witold Adamek’s film Monday, as well as all of his own films; his directorial debut came in 1999 with Kill Them All. He received the ‘Polityka’ magazine Passport (promising young artist award) in the film category. In 2004 he debuted as a playwright and theater director with the play Made in Poland. His films The Perfect Afternoon, Made in Poland and Secret screened at Berlinale. CHŁOPIEC PTAK I ANIOŁ – The company was established in 2015 It’s aim is to independently produce feature films with a strong political and social context. 7 polish days GENRE: Docudrama DIRECTOR: Norman Leto PRODUCER: Daniel Markowicz PRODUCTION COMPANY: Lightcraft PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 1 600 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open WORLD PREMIERE: Open Photon PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Daniel Markowicz, Norman Leto, Piotr Galon CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Daniel Markowicz, [email protected] Photon is inspired by David Deutsch’s bestseller, “Beginning of Infinity” which is a summary of the human knowledge of life and evolution. The film shows what we know about the creation of matter. The first part (The Beginning) focuses on the creation of matter, stars and the planets. Next, the story goes on to the second part (Life). The narrator explains what we know about the creation of life. Thanks to an eloquent example of a pensioners family (Emilia and Wojciech), the film explains causes of such phenomena as alcoholism or domestic violence. The last chapter is the story of a TV channel which is being watched by the mentioned family (with astonishment because of the topics). The TV channel is about the future of human kind. The extremely plastic story ends with a physician’s predictions about the apocalypse. This gives perfect symmetry to the first scenes of the film that show today’s model of the big bang at the beginning of time. Director’s statement: Photon will summarize human knowledge of the universe. I do not care about excessive poetic pathos (like Tree of Life) or about achieving the warm documentary tone of the BBC series Life, which is packed with special effects foreshadowing the contents. The story will conclude by showing the currently operating predictions about the end of time and space as we know them today. This will create a fine symmetry with the first part dealing with the space-time origins. Norman Leto An artist, self-educated in the field of video, film and new media. Norman Leto’s debut solo exhibition took place in the Centre of Contemporary Art in Warsaw in 2007. He worked with the director Krystian Lupa on Factory Two, where his job was to prepare video sequences shown during the performance. From 2009-2010, Norman Leto devoted himself to residency in New York in order to complete his autobiographical novel “Sailor”. Simultaneously, he completed a fulllength film with the same title. Fully financed by the author, the film was well received at the 10th Era Nowe Horyzonty Film Festival. Lightcraft – commercial, broadcast and feature film production and post-production company founded in 1997. We have worked successfully on more than 1500 commercials, 300 music videos and over 15 feature films for international clients and some of the world’s biggest film studios, including 20th Century Fox and Lions Gate. Our core strengths are complemented by a solid 3D department and unique in-house high-end graphic tools. 8 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Jan P. Matuszyński PRODUCERS: Leszek Bodzak, Aneta Hickinbotham PRODUCTION COMPANY: Aurum Film PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 1 400 000 EUR WORLD SALES: New Europe Film Sales WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno IFF 2016 (Main Competition) The Last Family Ostatnia Rodzina PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Jan Naszewski, Leszek Bodzak, Jan P. Matuszyński CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Jan Naszewski, [email protected], +48 600 173 205 Leszek Bodzak, [email protected], +48 504 275 800 Beksiński is a gentle man with arachnophobia, despite his hardcore sexual fantasies and his fondness for painting disturbing dystopian works. Beksiński is a family man who wants only the best for his loving wife Zofia, neurotic son Tomasz and the couple’s aging mothers. His daily painting to classical music eventually pays off and he makes a name for himself in contemporary art. Good Catholic woman Zofia tries to hold the family together, but troubled son Tomasz proves to be a handful with his violent outbursts and suicidal threats. Their relief is brief when he starts dating women and becomes a radio presenter and movie translator, and the concerned parents must be on constant watch to prevent their son from hurting himself. But Beksiński never believed that family life would always be sunshine and rainbows. As he tapes everything with his beloved camcorder, the 28-year Beksiński saga unfolds through paintings, near-death experiences, dance music trends and funerals... Director’s statement: Far from being a classic biopic, The Last Family is a darkly humorous story about strong family ties. About peculiar love, marked by death, which lurks everywhere – it is present through Zdzisław’s paintings; through music, beloved by his son Tomasz; the disease, which afflicts his wife Zofia. It is also a story about people who experience their lives as an explosive mix of ideas taken from cinema, art, music and everyday reality. It shows how disappointment with life can become the worst nightmare. Finally, it is a movie about artistic nonfulfillment – about a family formed and destroyed by art. Having full access to Beksiński family archives allowed us to create a movie that will paint an extremely realistic picture of the family. I wanted to shoot a complete film, meaningful and significant, unforgettable thanks to the utterly realistic performances by best Polish film actors with international experience. Jan P. Matuszyński Born in 1984. Jan graduated in Film Directing from the Radio and TV Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice and completed the Documentary Course at the Wajda School. His films such as 15 Years of Silence, Afterparty, and Heaven have been screened and won prizes at numerous festivals in Poland and abroad. Jan P. Matuszyński is most recognized for his documentary Deep Love (Best Documentary Award at the 36th IFF in Moscow, the Silver Horn award for Best Feature Documentary Film at the 54th Kraków FF and more). The Last Family will be his feature film debut. Aurum Film – a company specializing in film and television production. Currently, we mainly produce feature films, but also documentary films, commercials, promotional and educational films. Aurum Film cooperates with nationwide TV stations – public and private. We are developing projects in Poland as well as abroad and working with specialists at all stages of film production. The company has its own film equipment such as the Arri Alexa RAW XT XR Drive with accessories, Sony PMW-F5 Recorder RAW with accessories, O’Connor ripods, a set of 9 ZEISS Ultra Prime LDS lenses, Arri Alura 18-80 lens and also Avid 7 Media Composer Nitris DX. 9 polish days GENRE: Documentary DIRECTOR: Anna Zamecka PRODUCERS: Anna Wydra, Anna Zamecka, Zuzanna Król, Hanka Kastelicova, Izabela Łopuch PRODUCTION COMPANY: Otter Films, Wajda Studio, HBO Europe PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 WORLD SALES: Chat&Doce WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno IFF 2016 (Semaine de la Critique) Communion Komunia PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Anna Zamecka, Anna Wydra CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Anna Wydra, [email protected], tel. +48 609 841 445, Anna Zamecka, [email protected] When adults are ineffectual, children have to grow up quickly. Ola is 14 and she takes care of her dysfunctional father, autistic brother and a mother who lives apart from them and is mainly heard the phone. Most of all she wants to reunite a family that simply doesn’t work - like a defective TV set. She lives in the hope of bringing her mother back home. Her 13 year old brother Nikodem’s Holy Communion is a pretext for the family to meet up. Ola is entirely responsible for preparing the perfect family celebration. Communion reveals the beauty of the rejected, the strength of the weak and the need for change when change seems impossible. This crash course in growing up teaches us that failure is not final. Especially when love is in question. Anna Zamecka Lives and works in Warsaw, Poland. She studied Journalism, Anthropology and Photography in Warsaw and Copenhagen. She completed the Dok Pro Documentary Programme at the Wajda School. Communion is her full-length debut. Director’s statement: Having met Ola, Nikodem and their father I knew I wanted to make a film: about the strength of unconditional family love and the bonds forever securing it. In a cramped flat – where everything gets lost, deteriorates or falls to pieces - I saw three people so connected that a mere gesture from one of them led to an avalanche of reactions: anger, fear and concealed emotions. To capture this throng of objects and feelings the camera had to become the fourth family member. Otter Films – Warsaw-based company producing both fiction and documentary films. Most of projects are international co-productions shot all over the world. Beginning 2016 premiered Zud, fiction debut by Marta Minorowicz on Berlinale. HBO is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. In Europe HBO offers programming to subscribers in nineteen countries. HBO Europe is an award-winning producer of documentaries and series. Wajda Studio was founded in 2011 by two directors Andrzej Wajda and Wojciech Marczewski. Thanks to the close co-operation with the Polish Film Institute Wajda Studio produced over 80 documentaries and short features. 10 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Kuba Czekaj PRODUCER: Ewa Jastrzębska PRODUCTION COMPANY: Munk Studio-Polish Filmmakers Association PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 WORLD SALES: Open The Erlprince Królewicz Olch PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Kuba Czekaj CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Kuba Czekaj, [email protected] The Erlprince is the story about an exceptionally gifted fourteen-year-old Boy who has just started studying physics at university. He is working on the theory of parallel worlds, which he initially believes to be linked by light. He has an extraordinary mind and a wounded soul, which his authoritarian Mother, who steers his life, is incapable of healing. Then a Man appears in their lives and, as the Boy passes from the hands of the Mother into his care, a new order is established. Their torturous road forms a bond between the three central characters, but their shared happiness is not to last long. Approaching a solution to the problem of the passage between the worlds, the Boy initiates a journey, setting his life on the scales… Director’s statement: Like my earlier works, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark Room and Twist and Blood, the story is told from a child’s perspective, identifying both formally and dramaturgically with the sensitivities of the young protagonist. The road he takes from light to death will be echoed in the film. Two parts. Bright, with a luminosity encircling the actors the key. With vivid, succulent, hyperreal nature and interiors permeated by rays of sunshine rebounding from windows and mirrors. With light as the essence of the first part of the story, another actor, endowing rhythm; from time to time, will veil what is happening as rays of brightness are released straight into the camera’s eye… All of which will gradually pass over to the dark side, to death, to the gloom of the forest, the life of the wild animals. In the second half, it is the colors of the earth and of decay which will predominate, a twilight dimness, the light delicately and subtly handled. The boy’s visions, corresponding to Caravaggio’s paintings, will anticipate this. The progression through the two parts delineates an interesting and, I hope, original direction for the evolving of the image. It offers me the possibility of unfolding an ambiguous tale balanced between the probable and the unreal. Kuba Czekaj Born in Wrocław in 1984. Screenwriter and Director. Graduated in directing from the Krzysztof Kieslowski Radio and Television Faculty at the University of Silesia in Katowice in 2010 and from the Development Lab Feature Programme at the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing in Warsaw in 2011. He received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Director, screenwriter of two short features Don’t be Afraid of the Dark Room and Twist and Blood, both of which have received numerous awards. Munk Studio – operates within the structure of the Polish Filmmakers Association, produces short and full-length debut films. Young artists who are seeking to make their first film can depend on Munk Studio for support and guidance during the entire process, from the development of their project, throughout its production under fully professional conditions, to the widest possible promotion of the finished product. 11 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Grzegorz Zariczny PRODUCER: Ewa Jastrzębska PRODUCTION COMPANY: Munk Studio – Polish Filmmakers Association PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 WORLD PREMIERE: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Main Competition) Waves Fale PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Grzegorz Zariczny CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Grzegorz Zariczny, [email protected] For Ania and Kasia adulthood is just around the corner. They’re in training with a hairstylist and their future seems bright. Kasia is perhaps more skillful than Ania, who can’t get the hang of doing perms; but the latter also suffers from a lack of understanding at home, although neither has very harmonious relations with her parents. The small hair salon in the Kraków suburb of Nowa Huta and the deserted prefab housing complex where it’s located bear witness to seemingly mundane yet fundamental moments that occur between a carefree childhood and the complication and compromise of being an adult. Director’s statement: I come from documentary cinema and while creating a fictional story I wanted to use my documentarian experience. I assigned the two main roles in Waves to two authentic girls who were entering maturity. Ania and Kasia stemmed their fictional characters from their own personal traits. Privately, the girls are close friends. Their strong bond was essential for me in creating a story which showed a world in which not everything works perfectly. A few years ago I lead a film workshop for teenagers at one of Krakow’s culture centers. There I met the sixteen-year old Kasia, an exceptionally energetic girl. Kasia invited me into her world. I got to know her everyday life, situation at home, the hair salon which she interned and where she met her close friend Anna. With Kasia, we decided to make a short about her entitled Love Love. In it I portrayed a very harsh and unfavorable world for two young adults who are thrown into faults that are not their won. Later, I decided to “switch” this world into a fictional scenario and to think what two close friends could do to change their fate for the better. The girls come from a world which is mundane, a place which no one is interested in. To me, this was not alright. This is why I decided to give them my undivided attention and unite forces to create Waves. Grzegorz Zariczny Born in 1983, Kokotów, Poland. Attended Jerzy Ridan’s film workshops while in high school in the Nowa Huta suburb of Kraków. In 2005–12 he studied film direction at the Faculty of Radio and Television of the University of Silesia in Katowice, graduating with the short Our Bad Winter (Special Jury Prize at the Gdynia Festival). 2008 saw him participate in a documentary course held at the Wajda School in Warsaw. The film he made there, The Dog Hill (2010), took awards at home and abroad. In 2012 he shot the short documentary Whistle, produced by Munk Studio – Polish Filmmakers Association. Zariczny walked away with the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2013. Waves is his feature film debut. Munk Studio – operates within the structure of the Polish Filmmakers Association, produces short and full-length debut films. Young artists who are seeking to make their first film can depend on Munk Studio for support and guidance during the entire process, from the development of their project, throughout its production under fully professional conditions, to the widest possible promotion of the finished product. 12 polish days pitchings Inwardness The Man with the Magic Box Droga do domu Człowiek z magicznym pudełkiem Bodo Kox 14 Grzegorz Jaroszuk Fortnight 17 Kristoffer Rus 18 Bartosz Warwas 13 polish days Adrian Panek 19 Volterra Droga przez las 20 16 Wilkołak Through the Woods Życie uratował mi towarzysz Stalin Piotr Złotorowicz Werewolf Masakra Profana Comrade Stalin Saved My Life Kamila Kubiak, Olivier Patte 15 Runaway Messiah Poza sezonem Agnieszka Woszczyńska Eloe 21 Jacek Borcuch 22 The Man with the Magic Box Człowiek z magicznym pudełkiem GENRE: Sci-fi Romance DIRECTOR: Bodo Kox PRODUCERS: Iza Igel, Roman Jarosz PRODUCTION COMPANY: Alter Ego Pictures PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 1 200 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Iza Igel, Roman Jarosz, Bodo Kox CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Iza Igel, [email protected], +48 501 338 454 In a not so distant dystopian future Adam (35) escapes from a poor part of Warsaw to New City. With the help of a secret society, Adam gets a studio apartment in an old building and finds a job as a cleaner. At work, Adam meets Goria (30), a beautiful employee in the HR department. He feels an inexplicable bond forming between them, but she doesn’t treat him seriously. They start seeing each other and go to bed together, but Goria doesn’t want to commit. Meanwhile, Adam finds a radio from the 1950’s in a secret place in his apartment. He plugs it in and discovers that the radio broadcasts the past. By listening to the radio Adam finds himself time traveling back to the ‘50s. One day he gets stuck in 1952. When he doesn’t show up for work Goria, realizing that she has lost true love, decides to find him at all costs. Director’s statement: In my professional life I always follow intuition. The idea for this film fell into my lap straight from the universe, while I was cleaning an old radio that once belonged to my grandparents. I thought what would happen if I plugged it in now and it started to broadcast music from its prime years. And in just a few moments I had a full story. Radio was always an important medium for me – I grew up playing with Lego blocks and listening to the Polish Radio. The broadcasts had an enormous influence on the development of my imagination, which allows me now to work in my beloved profession uninhibited. Bodo Kox Born in 1977. One of the most original independent artists in Poland. Director, scriptwriter, performer. He graduated with a degree in journalism. Has completed courses at the Wajda School. He studied Directing at The Film School in Łódź. He is numbered among the most important and expressive authors of Polish independent cinema, where he has gained the nickname of “off icon” and gained numerous awards. His debut film The Girl from the Wardrobe, a transition from indie to mainstream, received many festival awards. The movie was selected for the East of The West Competition in Karlovy Vary IFF. Alter Ego Pictures – Polish production and distribution company. Their scope of interest covers art house cinema. In 2013, AEP produced its first feature Floating Skyscrapers by Tomasz Wasilewski. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the East of the West award at the KVIFF. Films include The Man with the Magic Box, 2017 by Bodo Kox, Wild Roses, 2016 by A. Jadowska (in postproduction), Total Harmony by R. Jarosz, 2016 (in postproduction), The Pool, 2015 by K. Pawłowski, and Floating Skyscrapers, 2013 by T. Wasilewski. 14 polish days GENRE: Science Fiction DIRECTOR: Grzegorz Jaroszuk PRODUCER: Kamila Kuś PRODUCTION COMPANY: MD4 PRODUCTION YEAR: 2018 BUDGET: 1 800 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Inwardness Droga do domu PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Grzegorz Jaroszuk, Kamila Kuś CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Kamila Kuś, [email protected], +48 791 112 310 fot. Gregory Crewdson The film is set in the near future, in Eastern Europe where the elderly are dominant in society. The film’s main character is Michał (18). He is very ugly, thin, has protruding ears, buck teeth and his arms are much too long. He is the last young person in the place where the movie takes place. Michał is forced to support his family which consists of the eight people over 65 years of age. His whole family thinks Michał is dumb and useless. One day, Michał is involved in a conspiracy which aims to establish a new country. Michał believes that he will become the most important person in the new country, and that this will be a good way to support the family. The establishment of the new country fails, but Michał from transforms from a naïve boy into a mature man. The film is an absurd story which questions spirituality in the modern world. Director’s statement: For some time I’ve been searching for the starting point of a film which would allow me to raise the level of absurdity. The idea of placing the story in the near future and using references to the science-fiction genre came in very handy. I decided to work within the science-fiction genre in order to join all the elements that I’ve considered interesting. I think that this genre will give me a wide range possibilities in showing modern society’s most severe problems. The increase of these problems might lead to a real catastrophe. Grzegorz Jaroszuk Born in 1982, graduated from the Łódź Film School. Talented director and scriptwriter of all his movies. At the moment Grzegorz is developing two projects: Inwardness and The Story of the Certain Sign. His feature debut Kebab & Horoscope premiered at Karlovy Vary. His short feature Frozen Stories, premiered at Locarno and was also an international success. He received a nomination for the European Film Award and received a Pinifica Prize Award. Both films were presented at many festival around the world and received numerous awards. MD4 (Mental Disorder 4) – founded in 2011. In previous years, its founders collaborated with Zentropa Int. Poland (Antichrist dir. L. von Trier, Elles dir. M. Szumowska etc.) Agnieszka Kurzydło is the CEO. MD4 produced feature films such as Baby Blues by K. Rosłaniec (Crystal Bear, Berlinale), In the Name of by M. Szumowska (Teddy Award, Berlinale), Kebab & Horoscope by G. Jaroszuk (The Best Debut, Raindance), The Red Spider by M. Koszałka (The Best Film & FIPRESCI Award, goEAST). Our films have been very well received at many international festivals. 15 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Piotr Złotorowicz PRODUCER: Mariusz Włodarski PRODUCTION COMPANY: Lava Films PRODUCTION YEAR: 2018 BUDGET: 1 200 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Eloe PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Mariusz Włodarski, Piotr Złotorowicz CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Mariusz Włodarski, [email protected], +48 506 061 974 It’s hard to find friends in a small community living on an ex-State Agricultural Farm near an abandoned exSoviet military airfield. In this social landscape Marcin’s (20) relationship with his father Emil (60) means the world to him. He wants to help Emil free their family horse farm from debts owed to the local mafia. To do this, he must take part in a prestigious Czech cross-country horse race. Unfortunately, Emil and Marcin lose their best horse. His father decides to buy an uncontrollable mare, Eloe and tame her before the race. When he brings his older, long gone son Kuba (28) back to the farm, Marcin’s co-dependent relationship with his father topples over. From the very moment Kuba mounts Eloe, he is much better at taming her than Marcin, who has been training her for months. Unsure of his brother’s intentions, Marcin feels that he has to fight for his father’s love. Director’s statement: Eloe is a story about a world where cruelty is the best strategy for survival. Marcin is scared that the luxury of compassion will cost him his father’s support. When he is infected with empathy, he is unable to suppress it. He unwillingly travels from his father’s world of discipline to Kuba’s and Eloe’s world of instinct. After crossing this frontier he begins to question the rules he followed thus far. Piotr Złotorowicz Born in 1982 in Dębno, Poland. He graduated from the Electrical Engineering Faculty at Szczecin University of Technology and the Directing Department at the Polish National Film School in Łódź. He directed several short films, including Charcoal Burners (2010) and Normal People (2011), both of which received critical acclaim and won numerous awards. His diploma film Mother Earth (2014) was premiered and awarded at the 67th Locarno Film Festival and has traveled to 60 film festivals around the globe. Eloe will be his feature debut. Lava Films – collaborates with filmmakers from Poland and abroad producing films bearing hallmarks of creative individuality, yet reflecting valid issues of our times. Believing that co-productions are the best answer to the needs of multicultural audience, Lava Films engages in international projects as the main or minor producer as well as conducts service productions. Their latest film, The Here After (dir. Magnus von Horn) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2015. Lava’s latest production, Piotr Stasik’s 21 x New York is out at festivals in 2016. 16 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Aga Woszczyńska PRODUCER: Agnieszka Wasiak PRODUCTION COMPANY: Lava Films PRODUCTION YEAR: 2018 BUDGET: 1 300 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Fortnight Poza sezonem PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Agnieszka Wasiak, Agnieszka Woszczyńska CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Agnieszka Wasiak, [email protected], +48 602 132 222 Anna and Adam, young married couple from Poland, spend a fortnight in Southern Italy. At the beginning of their stay, an accident happens. A man dies in front of their eyes. They observe the tragic event but they don’t offer help, they remain passive. Anna and Adam continue their stay in total denial. Yet, for how long can they go without remorse? Slowly, they start to lose control over their lives. The feeling of guilt, at first rejected, subconsciously begins to reign over their seemingly stable relationship. They begin a painful blame game. Uncomfortable emotions come into play – they are new, difficult and ruin their foundations of safety and convenience. Anna and Adam are trying to find their way in the new situation. They act instinctively, irrationally and aggressively, heading towards collapse. To Anna and Adam’s terrifying realization, the threat does not come from the outside. It is rooted inside them. Growing anxiety destroys their sense of security and paralyzing fear of true feelings makes them go back to pre-established patterns of emotional ignorance. Director’s statement: I take my audience on a visually stylized, quiet journey into the collapse of a relationship, to speak about the condition of thirty-something year-old Europeans, their emotional isolation, moral confusion and irrational fear that leads to fanatic isolation. Fortnight is a tale about alienation not only from each other but also from the world, about conformity and passivity of middle class where the need for safety and convenience is fundamental. Aga Woszczyńska Born in 1984 in Poland, Aga is a director, scriptwriter and anthropologist. She graduated from the Directing Department at the Łódź Film School in 2014 with her film Fragments. She wrote and directed 10 shorts that have travelled festivals and were sold internationally. Her aesthetics and directing skills brought her to Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes FF 2014 with Fragments. The film has been screened at over 50 festivals and has won numerous awards. Aga is a Ministry of Culture scholar and recipient of Discovering Eye Award for the most interesting emerging artist in US. Fortnight is her feature debut. Lava Films – collaborates with filmmakers from Poland and abroad producing films bearing hallmarks of creative individuality, yet reflecting valid issues of our times. Believing that co-productions are the best answer to the needs of multicultural audience, Lava Films engages in international projects as the main or minor producer as well as conducts service productions. Their latest film, The Here After (dir. Magnus von Horn) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2015. Lava’s latest production, Piotr Stasik’s 21 x New York is out at festivals in 2016. 17 polish days GENRE: Black Comedy DIRECTOR: Kristoffer Rus PRODUCERS: Renata Czarnkowska-Listoś, Maria Gołoś PRODUCTION COMPANY: Re Studio PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 1 200 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Runaway Messiah Masakra Profana PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Kristoffer Rus, Renata Czarnkowska-Listoś, Maria Gołoś CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Maria Gołoś, [email protected], +48 519 822 465 The life of a saint is not an easy job… You can’t get wasted at an after work party, nor go dancing at a hip night club. You can’t even flirt with a girl without upsetting the Catholic community. So what’s left to do? Pray and heal people all day long? Choosing Jesus as your savior can be a smart decision, but what if it is Jesus who chose you? Christopher, a successful young marketing manager, finds himself face to face with… the Virgin Mary. The apparition comes to him as a shock. Especially when considering that he’s not exactly a follower. As a matter of fact he’s more of a hedonist, shamelessly reveling in sex, drugs and other earthly pleasures. So, when the Virgin Mary informs him that he has to give up all of these things in order to serve God - the downward spiral is inevitable. Christopher loses his celebrity girlfriend, his job and eventually he ends up on the street with a big dilemma to solve: shall he surrender to God’s will or try to revolt against it and stay faithful to his profane lifestyle. Director’s statement: Many filmmakers are trying to capture the Zeitgeist or, as Andrzej Wajda would put it, to portray the hero of our time. Poland (not only) is now a country of fierce conflict between the traditional value system based on religion and the value system of the so-called Postmodern way of life. The dividing line runs not only between different social groups, but divides almost every one of us. Some would say that traditional religious values are the only alternative to a secularized world unconstrained by contemporary consumerism. The goal with Runway Messiah is to happily shake this paradigm. Kristoffer Rus Born and raised in a Polish-Swedish family. Kristoffer graduated from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in Sweden and the Wajda School in Poland. He has directed festival-winning films like The Apple Tree (Audience Award at Gothenborg FF; Winner at Palm Springs FF; Official selection at Cannes Critics’ Week) and The Big Leap (Palm Springs FF, Montreal World FF, Raindance FF). In addition, Rus has created and directed several series for Polish and Swedish television. He really feels at home when the humor gets black and the theme existential. Re Studio – film production company founded in 2011 with the goal of creating and developing films that might otherwise be deemed risky by traditional studios. The company assists artists, producers and broadcasters with every single step of the project execution – from the very first idea to the end of the production/distribution process. 18 polish days GENRE: Thriller DIRECTOR: Adrian Panek PRODUCERS: Magdalena Kamińska, Agata Szymańska PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Balapolis PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 1 000 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Werewolf Wilkołak PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Agata Szymańska, Magdalena Kamińska CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Magdalena Kamińska, [email protected], +48 601 980 737, Agata Szymańska, [email protected], +48 514 593 757 The summer of 1945. A provisional orphanage is created for 10 children that have just been liberated from a concentration camp. The resolute protagonists regain strength and joy after the terrible time in the camp. But the terror returns. A group of hungry dogs trained to kill surrounds the orphanage… Director’s statement: The film uses the form of a thriller: the beauty and cruelty of the world surrounding the children, the contrast between the enchanting summer, sun, forest and the dramatic events, sympathy, fear and the compassion that we feel for the young wild protagonists when we least expect it are the elements of the narration and style of this story. This is a true story though it resembles a dark tale. The story of a protagonist bitten by a beast that becomes a beast himself is an ancient and universal motif of culture and a popular theme of horror cinema. Adrian Panek Born in 1975. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Wrocław University, the Krzysztof Kieślowski Faculty of Radio and Television at the University of Silesia and the directors program at the Wajda School. He is an author of fiction and documentary films, music videos and screenplays. Daas was his feature fiction debut. Balapolis – production company based in Warsaw, Poland run by Magdalena Kamińska and Agata Szymańska, a unique producer duo, two different personalities that complement each other perfectly. Balapolis specializes in feature films. We take an active part in the Polish and international industry to develop our company and film projects. Our recent feature film Baby Bump premiered at the 72. Venice International Film Festival 2016. 19 polish days GENRE: Animation DIRECTOR: Kamila Kubiak, Olivier Patte PRODUCER: Maria Blicharska PRODUCTION COMPANY: Donten & Lacroix Films ESTIMATED PRODUCTION YEAR: 2019 BUDGET: 1 800 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Comrade Stalin Saved My Life Życie uratował mi towarzysz Stalin PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Maria Blicharska, Kamila Kubiak CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Maria Blicharska, [email protected], +33 699 308 517 Henio is a Polish child of Jewish origin who is deported to Siberia at the beginning of the WWII. What seems like a certain death sentence turns out to be his salvation. His fate illustrates the stories of salvation of thousands of Polish Jews. This is a story of people whose lives were saved by the irony of history. Director’s statement: I was born in Poland – a country where the memory of World War II is present everywhere. In schools, in literature, in music – simply everywhere. The Jewish aspect of that period was always close to me. It was obvious to me that the Jews who lived on the Polish land after the war had been saved by the Poles, hidden in people’s wardrobes, between walls, under the floorboards. I’ve never asked my grandfather how he survived. Maybe because he avoided the subject. Until I was 35. He looked at me and laughed – You know, comrade Stalin saved my life. That answer came as a surprise. Stalin? How come? An animation film by Kamila Kubiak Kamila Kubiak Kamila Kubiak is a member of La Maison des Artistes of Paris and a member of the authors society ZAIKS in Warsaw. She made her first scenaristic experience in the advertisement industry. She won few &internationals Olivier prizes Patté for her professionals artistics projects. Olivier Patté Olivier Patté begin his career as a video art director in a design agency. He starts his freelance career and found a union called Moustache. For six years he developed as a director, art director and producer, many graphic projects ordered by famous companies. Now he starts his own animated and video concepts. Donten & Lacroix Films – company established by Maria Blicharska and Monika Sajko-Gradowska in 2006 that is dedicated to producing high quality artistic films and aimed at an international audience. Provides film services worldwide. Comrade Stalin Saved My Life is a coproduction project with France (BLICK Productions / Maria Blicharska) and Germany (Belle Epoque Films / Nicole Ringhut). 20 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Bartosz Warwas PRODUCER: Maciej Szwarc PRODUCTION COMPANY: Film-Art Film Institution PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 850.000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Through the Woods Droga przez las PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Bartosz Warwas, Maciej Szwarc CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Bartosz Warwas, +48 571 349 463, Maciej Szwarc, [email protected], +48 606 876 662 Through the Woods is a modern story inspired by “Antigone”. Just like the play, our film focuses on the clash of two viewpoints that cannot coexist and result in a tragedy. A young football hooligan grows aware of his fascination with his sister’s new boyfriend. The fascination turns into desire – something that goes against his core beliefs. Unable to cope with his new discoveries, he falls into a sort of madness. Director’s statement: It is a story of young people without prospects: today they look for some ideas which they can focus on. We are witnessing a renaissance of interest in right-wing, mainly nationalist myths. The cult of physical force and violence as a means to solve problems, hatred against foreigners and police, drugs and the concept of honor. All this mixed in senseless, random. The film’s poetics reflect this state of soul: dynamic camera, rapid editing. Unrealistic scenes are the counterpoint: beautifully illuminated, filmed with a calm, almost static camera. Bartosz Warwas Born in Kraków in 1978. In 2006 he moved to Łódź to study in the directing department at the famous Polish National Film School. Before the school expelled him (in 2014), he managed to make his master degree diploma film: a full-length feature titled Jaskółka (The Caged Swallow). His films have been screened at numerous international festivals and awarded in Germany, Spain, Italy, Taiwan, USA, Canada, Mexico and of course in Poland. In 2016 he became an alumnus of Berlinale Talents and also received a grant from the Nipkow Program in Berlin, whose aim is to develop Through the Woods. Film-Art Film Institution – producer of Through the Woods, local self-government unit of culture, which focuses on promotion and dissemination of film art and culture. Since 2011 Film-Art has produced two feature films: Hiszpanka (Influenza) 2014, dir. Łukasz Barczyk and Żyć Nie Umierać (Life Must Go On) 2015, dir. Maciej Migas. 21 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Jacek Borcuch PRODUCERS: Marta Habior, Marta Lewandowska PRODUCTION COMPANY: No Sugar Films, Motion Group PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 1 500 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Volterra PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Marta Habior, Marta Lewandowska, Jacek Borcuch CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Marta Habior, [email protected], +48 603 486 287, Marta Lewandowska, [email protected], +48 600 457 010 At the foot of the town Volterra stands the house of Maria Linde – a Polish poet and Nobel prize laureate. Maria is celebrating her 65th birthday with her family and friends. Silvio (her husband), Anna (her daughter), Guido Lodovici (the chief of police), Nazeer (her lover), the Artist ( the author of an installation on the market square in Volterra), and a New York Times journalist. Maria’s life follows the rhythm of this Italian province. Her good relations with her husband and daughter are disturbed by her unambiguous relationship with Nazeer, an Arab, who is 30 years younger than she is. Under the influence of dramatic events connected with Nazeer, her personal fears and the political situation in Europe, Maria decides to make a public announcement the consequences of which she will have to deal with until the end of this story. Chief Lodovici, motivated by personal prejudice the sources of which he seeks in Maria’s performance, starts his own private game, which is supposed to make the poet call off everything she has said. Under the pretext of being a law officer, unable to make the poet change her mind, he humiliates the woman by symbolically locking her up in a cage. The ending of the movie refers to the American poet Ezra Pound, who was locked up in a cage after the war for his sympathy towards Mussolini and antisemitism. Director’s statement: The fall of the Roman Empire is invoked as a corresponding commentary for the escalating European crisis. It is only the background of the story which takes place in a Tuscan province, in a house near the old Etruscan town - Volterra. The subject of this film is Maria Linde, a Polish poet, Nobel prize winner, a moral authority. We watch Europe and the world through her eyes. Her close but not always clear relations with her loved ones slip away from the simple understanding of life. Her unyielding attitude evokes extreme emotions. We can either identify with her or reject her. Volterra is a story about family, love, longing, and fear of the unknown. It is a story, full of suspense, about life which cannot be reached. Jacek Borcuch Filmography: Lasting – 2013, Poland, Spain Sundance Film Festival 2013, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2013, All That I Love – 2009, Polish Oscar candidate 2011, Sundance Film Festival 2010 – World Cinema Dramatic Competition, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2010, Pusan International Film Festival 2009. Sold to over 20 territories including: France, USA, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Benelux. Tulips – 2004, Haifa International Film Festival 2005, Brussels European Film Festival 2004, International Film Festival of India Goa 2004, FPFF Gdynia 2004, Polish Filmmakers Academy Award (Best Actress). No Sugar Films – focuses on projects which bring talented filmmakers together, whose goals are to make films in a collaborative way, becoming the new faces of European cinema. We believe that joining different cultures, outlooks and experiences adds value to any given project, which is why No Sugar’s main focus are international co-productions for international audiences. Our recent film Baba Vanga by Aleksandra Niemczyk, a co-production with Bela Tarr’s Film Factory is presented in the Main Competition at this year’s edition of New Horizons. We are also finishing the post-production of a Mexican-Polish co-production La Habitacion and a Lithuanian-Polish coproduction Crisis. 22 polish days Works In Progress Amok Another Day of Life Kasia Adamik Damian Nenow, Raúl de la Fuente: Jeszcze dzień życia 24 The Forest 25 Maciej Pieprzyca 26 Office For Monument Construction Biuro budowy pomnika 27 Dorota Kobiela Tiere 28 Birds are Singing in Kigali Zwierzęta Greg Zglinski Jestem mordercą Loving Vincent Las Joanna Zastróżna I’m a Killer Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze 23 polish days 29 Game Count Pokot Ptaki śpiewają w Kigali 30 Karolina Breguła 31 Agnieszka Holland 32 GENRE: Thriller DIRECTOR: Katarzyna Adamik PRODUCER: Beata Pisula PRODUCTION COMPANY: K&K Selekt Film PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 1 500 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Amok PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Katarzyna Adamik, Beata Pisula CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Beata Pisula, [email protected] A dead body drifts down a river for days, unnoticed. Fishermen discover it bound by a rope, mutilated and tortured. The sensational story is broadcast on the local news. Kacper Bala (5) watches in rapt interest. His mother Zosia Bala (25) pulls him away from the TV. Upstairs, Krystian Bala (25), a young aspiring novelist and philosophy student, tries to kill a girl in his bedroom using a rope and a knife. It is a murder scene from a novel he’s writing called “Amok”. During a philosophy lecture at his university, Krystian highlights articles about the murder victim . He calls the local police to ask if there are any new leads. At home, Stasia discovers that Krystian’s writing room is covered from floor to ceiling with photos of the victim, articles about the case, and grisly crime scene photos. Four years later the Wrocław Police Department receives an anonymous tip that the victim’s killer is the author of the self-published a book called “Amok”. In it are all the clues to solving the murder. Inspector Sokolski (47), newly hired by the Wrocław PD, takes the cold case as his first assignment. Jack reads “Amok” and starts making important connections between the fiction of “Amok” and reality. Director’s statement: Amok is based on the true story of Krystian Bala, an ambitious novelist who becomes the main suspect of a police cold case after it is discovered that his book “Amok” includes eerie details of a brutal murder. With his suspect in sight, Inspector Jack Eagle Eye Sokolski takes on the cold case and soon discovers that with no motive, and very little evidence except for the book, separating what is real from what is fictional becomes his biggest challenge when he enters the twisted and clever mind of Krystian Bala. Katarzyna Adamik Raised in Paris. Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris and the prestigious Institute St-Luc in Brussels. Her first professional experience was that of Agnieszka Holland’s (her mother), personal assistant on the set of The Secret Garden (1993). She went on to work as a visual artist, a storyboard designer, for films made by her mother, such as Total Eclipse (1995), Washington Square (1997), The Third Miracle (1999) and Shot in the Heart (2001). Bark, her first film as a director screened in the main competition at the 2002 Sundance Festival and was shown at festivals in Moscow, Karlovy Vary and Munich. Adamik’s name appeared on Variety’s ten most promising young talents of the season and she also received a favourable review from The Hollywood Reporter. Together with her mother, she started the production of Janosik (2009). She also started the television series Prime Minister (2007), Pitbull (2008) and Marked (2009). In 2008 she directed, the Offsiders, awarded at numerous festival. K&K SELEKT FILM – created by Beata Pisula. Its first production was The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler directed by John Kent Harrison (starring Anna Paquin, Marcia Gay Garden, Goran Visnjic). In 2010 the company produced the biggest historical TV series (13 episodes x 45‘) titled 1920 for the Polish public broadcaster TVP. War and Love (the story of three Great War veterans, three uniformed officers – three of Poland’s invaders, that are bound by fate on the battlefield in the last days of World War I). In 2011 it was one of the producers of Komisarz Alex (Polish format of Kommissar Rex). Currently K& K Film Selekt is in development of Decalogue – a 10 hours miniseries based on Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz’s Decalogue and it will be made with eONE as an international coproduction. 24 polish days GENRE: Animation/Documentary Hybrid DIRECTORS: Raúl de la Fuente, Damian Nenow PRODUCERS: Jarek Sawko, Ole Wendorff-Ostergaard, Amaia Remírez, Raúl de la Fuente PRODUCTION COMPANY: Platige Films, Kanaki Films PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 6 100 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Indie Sales Another Day of Life Jeszcze dzień życia PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Jarosław Sawko, Damian Nenow, Magdalena Bargieł, Olga Cyganiak CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Magdalena Bargieł, [email protected], +48 698 604 180 Another Day of Life is a story of a reporter seeking the truth about war, who during a mortally dangerous journey through Angola encounters situations and events forcing him to change his attitude towards work and life. The film’s action takes place during the three months Kapuściński spent in this war-torn country in 1975. During the expedition, the reporter realizes that he is a witness to events, the meaning of which requires him to go beyond the role of an observer. To recount the story of Angola, he will have to undergo a deep transformation himself. Another Day of Life (Jeszcze dzień życia), the book in which Kapuściński writes about his experience in Angola, bears witness to his rebirth both as a writer and as a human being Directors’ statement: Another Day of Life is a movie based on the book by war correspondent Ryszard Kapuściński. It tells the story of a journalist, left to himself during the civil war in Angola on the advent of its regaining independence in 1975. Kapuściński is an idealist, a friend to lost causes and revolutions. In Angola Kapuściński experienced a dangerous journey into the heart of darkness which changed him forever. He left for Angola as a reporter to come back as a writer. He discovered that the honest and idealistic world he was seeking does not exist in Africa… and so he created it by means of a typewriter and became a writer of a world renown. Damian Nenow Directed 3 short animations including Oscar shortlisted Paths of Hate (2010) which was screened at more than 90 international festivals, winning 25 awards. In 2013 he directed a spot Hunger is a Tyrant created in the frames of the United Nation’s campaign Zero Hunger Challenge. Raúl de la Fuente Originator of the idea for Another Day of Life. His first full-length film The Last Nomads won the most awards for the best Spanish documentary in 2007. In 2015, his film Minerita was shortlisted for the 88th Academy Awards as Best Short Documentary. Platige Films – division of Platige Image, established to run film productions. Platige Image is an award-winning Polish post-production studio. It specializes in creating computer graphics, 3D animation, realization of digital special effects, and the compositing of images for production of commercials and feature films. Platige-produced a short animation The Cathedral (dir. Tomek Baginski) which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003. 25 polish days GENRE: Psychological Thriller DIRECTOR: Maciej Pieprzyca PRODUCERS: Renata Czarnkowska-Listoś, Maria Gołoś PRODUCTION COMPANY: Re Studio PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 1 600 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open I’m a Killer Jestem mordercą PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Renata Czarnkowska-Listoś, Maria Gołoś CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Maria Gołoś, [email protected], +48 519 822 465 Psychological thriller inspired by true events that occurred in Poland in the early 1970’s. The story focuses on a young police detective who becomes the head of police unit focused on catching a rampant serial killer of women. Director’s statement: I’m a Killer is a story about an average person entangled in a situation that is beyond his capabilities. It is not another movie about a serial killer, it focuses on a regular man that is placed in a difficult situation; one that might be too great for him to handle. This problem and the reality which he lives in puts his weaknesses and ambitions to the test and pushes him towards a place where a hero could easily become an anti-hero. Maciej Pieprzyca Director and scriptwriter, born in 1964 in Katowice (Poland), graduated from the Political Sciences and Journalism Department of the Silesian University, Scriptwriting Department of the Łódź Film School and the Directing Department of the State Film School in Katowice. Received numerous awards for his documentary films, e.g. The Different, By Knock-Out (Turin, Tel Aviv, Cracow) as well as for his TV films Inferno and Feast of St Barbara. He debuted in 2008 with the film Splinters. In 2013 he directed Life Feels Good – one of the most successful Polish films in recent years, awarded at many international film festivals (Montreal World Film Festival – Grand Prix, Chicago IFF – Silver Hugo). Re Studio – film production company founded in 2011 with the goal of creating and developing films that might otherwise be deemed risky by traditional studios. The company assists artists, producers and broadcasters with every single step of the project execution -from the very first idea to the end of the production/distribution process. 26 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Joanna Zastróżna PRODUCER: Patrycja Ryłko PRODUCTION COMPANY: Pink Galapagos PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 500. 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open The Forest Las PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Joanna Zastróżna, Patrycja Ryłko CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Joanna Zastróżna, +48 501 951 604, Patrycja Ryłko +48 791 709 872 The Gruff (Mruk), who is staying in the Village as a result of a mysterious accident, decides to finally abandon it and look for the City. On his journey, he is accompanied by the Girl (who sometimes acts as his daughter, sometimes as his wife, but no one knows who she really is). The Girl is an outlander, she operates outside the village structure and always follows her own paths… None of the permanent residents ever leave the Village – it is covered in moss and mold, villains prowl the swamps, the lakes are flooded. It is simply not allowed. It is all metaphysically congested and gives the impression of an outdoor psychiatric hospital. The Gruff and the Girl follow the Sun, they wander from East to West, across the swamp, through the wood towards the Ocean, to the Desert. A horse joins them on the way. Much of this journey is a quest to find some answers as it finds an unexpected twist and reveals Gruff´s true story. Director’s statement: I’m interested in cinema, which moves on and around “the border” of artistic genres. The Forest is inspired by three different texts: Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”, “Snail on the Slope” by the Strugatsky Brothers and “The Engraving” by Jacek Szymkiewicz. Each part corresponds with a different location, a kind of camerawork. But above all it is a record of human existence. It is a dynamic model of man, an entity – the wizard, the creator himself, the characters confronted with their own selves through illusions, images and records of consciousness. After my film Molehill I know that you can work with a small group of people, which favors intimacy. In intimacy you can find the truth and create the Forest. Joanna Zastróżna Born in 1974. Lives and works in Sopot. Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. She started working with photography in the 90s (series: Buba, Messenger), always going beyond the formal and semantic boundaries of its format. She exhibited widely in Poland and abroad. Her works are in the collections of (among others) CCA Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, the Museum of Art in Łódź. Her latest projects consistently turned into moving images and films. Her film short debut Molehill has been screened at Era New Horizons, Gdynia, and Busan film festivals. Pink Galapagos – a new, independent, collaborative film production company mainly focused on art-house fiction and fantasy. It explores the boundaries between visual art and film by supporting an artist’s ambitious visions and transforming them into film. Our studio is based in Poland but our projects are (ideally) international co-productions and shot all over the world. 27 polish days GENRE: Animation/ Drama DIRECTOR: Dorota Kobiela PRODUCERS: Hugh Welchman, Ivan Mactaggart, Sean Bobbitt PRODUCTION COMPANY: Breakthru Films/ Trademark Films PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 5 100 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Cinema Management Group Loving Vincent PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Sean Bobbitt, Dorota Kobiela CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Sean Bobbitt, [email protected], +48 601 297 600 Armand Roulin is given a letter by his father to hand-deliver to Vincent van Gogh’s brother Theo, shortly following Vincent’s death. His search for Theo leads him to the paint supplier, Pere Tanguy, who tells him that the brother died shortly after Vincent, and recounts Vincent’s final days. Armand believes he may have misjudged his father’s friend, and really wants to know why Vincent chose the moment of impending success to take his life. Armand journeys to Auvers to meet Vincent’s Dr. Gachet to find the answer, but the Doctor is away. Armand resolves to wait, during which time the villagers tell him different theories of why Vincent took his life and who is to blame. After investigating various rumours – including one that Vincent was shot - Armand confronts Dr. Gachet, who puts all the theories of Vincent’s death into perspective for Armand. This new understanding of Vincent’s story inspires Armand on his own life journey. Director’s statement: Loving Vincent is a combination of my love for painting, film and animation. It is also an expression of my personal passion. While my own personal artistic development has been influenced by many artists, Van Gogh’s work has always been very dear to me. It is the pure unfiltered reflection of the artist’s sensitivity and state of his soul. I wanted to delve deeper to understand who was this man who so fervently followed his artistic vision without compromise – despite the fact that following the trends of the day would have afforded him the appreciation of his peers which he so desired. Dorota Kobiela A graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the Warsaw Film School, Direction Faculty. She has directed one live action short film, The Hart in Hand (2006) and five animated shorts – The Letter (2004), Love me (2004), Mr. Bear (2005), Chopin’s Drawings (2011) and Little Postman (2011). Little Postman won Stereoscopic Best Short Film at the LA 3D Film Festival, 3D Stereo Media (Liege), 3D Film & Music Fest (Barcelona). For her sixth animated short, Loving Vincent, Dorota aimed to combine her passion for painting and film. BreakThru Films – film company based in Poland and the UK. Their major productions have been the Oscar winning film Peter and the Wolf and The Magic Piano. Additionally they have produced 12 animation shorts in different styles for the Chopin Shorts Collections, 5 live action shorts, and worked as VFX producers on the Edith Piaf biopic, La Vie en Rose. As well as the Oscar, their films have 35 international top prizes for Best Film, and also in categories of Cinematography, Stereoscopy and Technical Achievement. 28 polish days GENRE: Fiction DIRECTOR: Karolina Breguła PRODUCER: Aleksandra Wojtaszek PRODUCTION COMPANY: touchFILMS PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 56. 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Office for Monument Construction Biuro budowy pomnika PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Aleksandra Wojtaszek, Karolina Breguła CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Aleksandra Wojtaszek, [email protected], +48 601 792 376 A story about people who come from a town which no longer exists. Having no better place to stay they inhabit a deserted concrete complex situated in the middle of a vibrant city. However, this surrogate home is bound for demolition so the characters will soon have to move again. Constantly searching for something which might represent their identity, they create an assortment of unusual objects. Gradually a museum-like collection, built around a factious narrative, begins to emerge. Director’s statement: This film depicts obsessive collecting habits of an elderly woman, employing absurd methods to obtain artefacts. In her misguided belief that she preserves these items for posterity, I would like to raise oblique questions around collecting policies of museums, reflecting concerns of different interest groups. Karolina Breguła Born in 1979. Polish multimedia artist. Creates installations, happenings, video, and photography. She has graduated from the National Film Television and Theatre School in Łódź where she is currently working on her Phd. She has performed and exhibited in places such as the Venice Art Biennale (Italy), Jewish Museum in New York (USA), National Museum in Warsaw (Poland) and Zachęta National Gallery in Warsaw (Poland). She has received numerous awards including Views 2013, Samsung Art Master 2007, Polish Ministry of Culture Scholarship, Młoda Polska and Visegrad Scholarship. touchFILMS – dynamic production company set up in 2011 with the idea of producing high quality content for cinema and TV. Based in Poland, it has produced films in Norway, Italy, France, Turkey, Israel and Scotland. A recent Belgian-Polish-French coproduction – the documentary Singing in Exile – has premiered at Visions du Reel (2015). The company’s first fiction feature Office for Monument Construction has been supported by Polish Film Institute. The current line-up includes a coproduction with Les Poissons Volants Utopia of Images and Polish Express. 29 polish days GENRE: Mind-Game DIRECTOR: Greg Zglinski PRODUCERS: Katrin Renz, Stefan Jaeger, Bruno Wagner, Antonin Svoboda, Łukasz Dzięcioł PRODUCTION COMPANY: tellfilm GmbH (CH), Coop 99 Filmproduktion (AT), Opus Film (PL) PRODUCTION YEAR: 2016 BUDGET: 3 000 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Open Animals Tiere PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Greg Zglinski, Stefan Jaeger CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Stefan Jaeger, [email protected], +41 76 535 7415 A young woman called Andrea jumps to her death from the third floor of an apartment block in Vienna. A little earlier: the same apartment block is home to Nick, a chef, and Anna, who writes children‘s books. Anna thinks Nick has been having an affair with Andrea, but despite these suspicions she hopes that she and Nick can rejuvenate their relationship.They travel to Switzerland, where they hope to perform this “reset”. Mischa, an art student, is looking after their apartment in Vienna while they are away. Anna thinks Mischa looks like Andrea, and Anna also has a déjà vu experience in Lausanne. Soon the different levels begin to overlap and blur. Anna starts to wonder if she is going out of her mind. She senses that she has become trapped in a different reality. Is it all a result of the car accident she and Nick had when they arrived here? Is she just imagining everything? The talking cat – which was supposed to feature in her latest children‘s book? Director’s statement: I feel drawn to this story in a magical way. The first time I read the screenplay I had the feeling that I had touched on the secret of life and death. I had the feeling that the world is much bigger than we see and experience it in everyday life. I would like to pass on this feeling to the audience of the film. It’s a game with perspectives. Who is imagining whose existence? Or is he imagining somebody who is in turn imagining something else? Who is true? Who is really there? In whose head is this film happening? It’s the logic of a dream which evades our usual experience of perception. Greg Zglinski Born in 1968 in Warsaw, Poland. Finished the Pantomime and Acting School in Zurich, Switzerland, where he has been living for 15 years. Language studies in Australia and France. Composer, guitar and bass player in rock music formations. Film studies at the directing department at the National Academy for Film, Television and Theatre (PWSFTViT) in Łódź, Poland. Former student of Krzysztof Kieslowski. 2005-09 member of the Zurcher Filmstiftung film commission in Switzerland. Works as a film director: Le temps d’Anna (feature film for Swiss TV RTS), Zbrodnia (TV Series for AXN Europe, 3 episodes, formatting director), Paradoks (TV Series, episodes 1-6 of 13, formatting director), Wymyk (cinema feature film) and others. tellfilm – founded in 1997 by Markus Kaeppeli and Stefan Jäger under the name of handsUP! Film Production. In 2007, the company moved their headquarters to Zurich. Shareholders are Stefan Jäger and Katrin Renz. Next to successfully producing several feature films and documentaries (Big & Little, Mathias Gnädinger – Die Liebe seines Lebens, Horizon Beautiful, Tatort: Wunschdenken, Hello Goodbye, Boxing Jesus) as well as documentary series for Swiss Television (Cyrill trifft, SF bi de Lüt – Schloss Biberstein, SF bi de Lüt – Das kleine Paradies), tellfilm has been developing several screenplays for the last few years. Meanwhile, Animals is in postproduction, Blue my Mind in preproduction. 30 polish days GENRE: Drama DIRECTOR: Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze PRODUCER: Joanna Kos-Krauze PRODUCTION COMPANY: KOSFILM Budget: 1 200 000 EUR PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 WORLD SALES: Open Birds are Singing in Kigali Ptaki śpiewają w Kigali PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Aleksandra Bielska CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Aleksandra Bielska, [email protected], +48 501257019 Film tells the story of a Polish ornithologist researching the decline in the population of vultures in Rwanda. When the genocide begins, she saves the life of her Tutsi co-workers’s daughter. After arriving in Poland, the two women are incapable of leading a routine life. They try to get past their horrific experience. A story about friendship, forgiveness, and the power of nature. Director’s statement: We hope that Birds are Singing in Kigali makes an attempt at healing. This healing takes place through articulation, through the narrative, through language the meaning of which we have to learn anew, even though we lost confidence long ago. The Polish-African story becomes a mournful meditation and metaphor for the inexpressible. Human language, tained forever by hatred, yields, at a symbolic level, to the voices of birds to tell humans about human evil. Joanna Kos-Krauze Director and screenwriter. Chairman of the Polish Directors Guild, member of the European Film Academy and the Polish Film Academy. Expert of the Polish Film Institute, Silesia Film Fund, Gdynia Film Fund and Eurimage in Strasburg. Krzysztof Krauze (1953-2014) Director and screenwriter. Graduated in cinematography from the Łódź Film School. Author of multiple awardwinning short and feature films, documentaries, and TV movies. Films directed by Joanna and Krzysztof Krauze have collectively received over 250 awards. KOSFILM – Polish film production company founded in 2013 by the author of multiple award winning feature films – Joanna Kos-Krauze. KOSFILM focuses on the independent production of art-house cinema and documentaries. 31 polish days GENRE: Mystery/Thriller/Dark Comedy DIRECTOR: Agnieszka Holland PRODUCERS: Krzysztof Zanussi, Janusz Wąchała PRODUCTION COMPANY: Studio Filmowe TOR PRODUCTION YEAR: 2017 BUDGET: 3 500 000 EUR WORLD SALES: Beta Cinema Game Count Pokot PRESENT AT POLISH DAYS: Agnieszka Holland, Krzysztof Zanussi, Irena Strzałkowska CONTACT DURING POLISH DAYS: Irena Strzałkowska, [email protected], +48 605 097 688 Duszejko, an eccentric retired construction engineer, an astrologist and vegetarian lives in a small mountain village at the Czech-Polish border. One day her beloved dogs disappear. They cannot be found anywhere. A few months later on a snowy night Duszejko’s introvert neighbor stumbles upon the dead body of a poacher living nearby. He has died under mysterious circumstances. The only traces are those of roe deer hooves around the house… As time goes on, more grisly killings are discovered. The victims belonged to the local elite and were passionate hunters. Duszejko tries to convince the local police force that they were murdered by wild animals. When another body is found after the costume ball, Duszejko becomes the main suspect. She was the last to see the victim. When the local parish house burns down and the priest and chaplain of the local hunting association dies in flames, the police are almost certain they know who did it… Director’s statement: Our film can be called: No Country for Old Women. The main character is honest, passionate, generous, intelligent but also mad. Mad with anger, obsessions, love for animals and with compassion for marginalized people. She is full of rebellion and outrage. Amusing and irritating but also fascinating in her obsession. The genres are intermixed: psychological drama, an ecological pamphlet, a pastiche-like yet tense crime story, a feminist vivisection. And something that will often be a type of black comedy. The film is to be provocative. There is no moralizing or simple moral at the end of the story. We can always think it was all just in the mind of the protagonist who is affected by an allergy to light.. Agnieszka Holland Director and scriptwriter, a FAMU (Prague film school) graduate, started her filmcareer assisting Wajda and Zanussi. Directed over 30 features and TV films for the past 40 years. Her works were produced in Poland, Germany, France, Great Britain and the USA. Many of them received prestigious awards and nominations, among them: Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Golden Lion Award, BAFTA and others. Three of Agnieszka Holland’s films In Darkness, Europa Europa and Angry Harvest were nominated for an Academy Award (Best Foreign Language Film category). Her mini-series Burning Bush received among others 11 awards from the Czech Film Academy. She is a Chairwoman of the European Film Academy (EFA). TOR – founded in 1967. Since 1980 Krzysztof Zanussi has been its director. It has produced over 90 feature films, about 120 hours of TV series, miniseries and documentaries, as well as it rendered services for many foreign productions. TOR Film Production is one of the most well-known production companies in Poland and has co-produced many international film projects. The company co-operated with many famous film directors, a lot of films were awarded in Poland and abroad. 32 polish days 3–13 | 8 | 2016 69 Festival del film Locarno 3–13 | 8 | 2016 Institutional partners: Republic and Canton of Ticino with Federal Office of Culture Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation sd City and Region of Locarno Destination sponsor: Institutional partners: Republic and Canton of Ticino with Federal Office of Culture Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation sdc City and Region of Locarno The Leopards of Locarno by Jannuzzi Smith Main sponsors: Main sponsors: Destination sponsor: 26 Main sponsors: Julia, Switzerland 69 Festival del film Locarno 3–13 | 8 | 2016 Destination sponsor: Institutional partners: Republic and Canton of Ticino with Federal Office of Culture Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation sdc City and Region of Locarno off on 7 October 26-28, Wrocław, Poland www.usinprogress.com part of the one and only 7. american film festival 25–30.10.2016 wrocław, poland where Europe meets US indies US in Progress Wrocław is: 3 days of intense networking and experience sharing with emerging American talent / by-invitation only exclusive screenings of 6 selected US works-in-progress / direct exposure to US producers / panels and talks with established producers working in Europe and North America / transatlantic co-production forum / early feedback and involvement opportunities for buyers, festival programmers and post-production companies US In Progress offers perfect conditions to discover rising talents from the US indie scene and exchange with them our views on the best strategies to value and distribute their work. Quentin Worthington, buyer, Versatile, France Thanks to our generous sponsors and partners United States of America Embassy Warsaw Notes Notes