This year’s programme is arranged exceptionally , with many award-winning festival hits, seven of which will be screened in Poland for the first time.
From light-hearted comedies to poignant family dramas and controversial social cinema – the audience will have an opportunity to see a whole range of exciting movies from, literally, around the world.
The programme includes, among many others, Dubravka Turic’s Belladonna, a Croatian winner of this year’s IFF in Venice. It’s a short, yet very moving story about an accidental encounter between 3 women.
Particularly emotional is also Everything Will Be Okay. Michael Haneke himself described this family drama as: “Intense and well told. Exceptionally well performed. A touching film that captivates from the first second to the last”. Family conflict is a focus point also in Father – winner of Locarno IFF. It is a story of an encounter between two young brothers, petty criminals, and their long absent father.
The highlight of this year’s programme is a selection of movies telling stories through eyes of children who often have to deal with adult problems. A six-year-old Selma in The Chicken (a winner of EFA) lives in war-torn Sarajevo. When she receives a chicken as her birthday gift, she will do anything in her power to save it from the unfortunate destiny. Maman(s), on the other hand, a winner of IFF in Toronto (short films category), invites to the world of young Aida. Her life turns upside down when her father comes back from Senegal to Paris. Not alone, but with a young lady on his side. A second wife.
You can’t miss the outstanding Lebanese animation Waves ’98, which received Palme D’Or at this year’s IFF in Cannes. It tells a story of a young Omar who discovers new faces in his tormented hometown, Beirut.
The International Main Competition will be also a chance to see the best selection of Polish shorts, including Paweł Hejbudzki’s Charon – a movie awarded at Gdynia Film Festival and Piotr Dumała’s animated Hippos.