63 short films, 29 music videos, master lectures, meetings with filmmakers, two
international educational projects – all this awaits you during the 22nd edition of
CINEMAFORUM. And it’s completely free!
CINEMAFORUM is a unique event on the festival map of Poland, focused exclusively on
short film forms – in all their diversity and multidimensionality. Each year the festival attracts thousands of fans of niche, unconventional cinema, setting new directions in the art of filmmaking. It is ideal for those who are looking for something fresh, different; something they will not find in the standard cinema repertoire.
The CINEMAFORUM Main Competition showcases the best short films from different parts
of the world. During the screening of films nominated for the Jan Machulski Awards, Warsaw audiences have a chance to get acquainted with an overview of the of short film discoveries from Polish festivals throughout the past season. Out-of-competition sections give an opportunity to take a look at the latest trends in American or British cinematography, as well as – to see where today’s masters and champions of cinema started.
We present the full programme of the 22nd CINEMAFORUM! Check out exactly what has been
prepared for fans of short cinema!
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International Short Film Competition
The International Short Film Competition is the highlight of the of the festival program. This year the artistic director, Błażej Hrapkowicz, has selected 15 productions from such far-flung corners of the globe as Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, China and Canada, while not forgetting European films, including Polish titles. Among the pictures that will compete for the Grand Prix and the Audience Award Audience Award, we will find the winner of the main prize for short films at Sundance – “The Flying Sailor” (dir. Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbis), the award-winning Cannes “Bolero” (dir. Nans Laborde-Jourdàa) and the Oscar-nominated and European Film Award “Ice Merchants” (dir. João Gonzalez).
All films from the Main Competition will be screened on November 24-25, 2023 at the
Atlantic Cinema. The winning title will be selected by well-known personalities from the world of film: Anna Jadowska, Kaja Krawczuk-Wnuk, Maria Sobocinska and – according to tradition Janusz Zaorski in the role of chairman of the jury. The festival audience will also award its prize.
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Jan Machulski Awards
However, CINEMAFORUM is not only about film voyages to distant corners of the globe.
The festival is also an opportunity to get acquainted with the best short films from Poland, which over the course of 12 months collected nominations for the Jan Machulski Awards – in 9 categories, at 7 partner festivals. This year there are as many as 32 titles. Among them are both the award-winning “My Old Ones” by Natasza Parzymies, “Beautiful Flower Meadow” by Emi Buchwald or “To Be Someone” by Michał Toczek, as well as the independent “Road” by Lukasz Pompa, the experimental “4 Dogs” by Maciej Białoruski or “Song of the Humpbacks”by Klaudia Folga, which is just beginning its festival path.
Winners in all categories (director, screenplay, cinematography, editing, actor, actress, documentary, animation, film) will be indicated by the Jury appointed annually, to which the invited this year were actress Lena Góra, director Maria Ornaf (winner of the 18th edition of the Awards), cinematographer Andrzej Ślązak (PSC representative), editor Magdalena Chowańska (PSM representative), actor Maciej Makowski (ZASP representative) and actor and educator Grzegorz Milczarczyk.
The screenings of films nominated for the Jan Machulski Awards will take place on
November 22-23, 2023 at the Atlantic Cinema.
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Special screenings
The 22nd edition of CINEMAFORUM will also feature regular non-competition sections, such as American Shorts, BAFTA Shorts, Masters/Mistresses, and the Independent Music Videos Screening.
Organized jointly with the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, the review of short films from the US will feature six films whose authors and writers lean into the pathologies of American health care, systemic racism or sexual violence, while expertly handling such conventions as dark comedy, social drama and thriller. Titles from the American Shorts section will once again prove that no one uses genre of cinema to capture the pulse of modern times as much as American filmmakers.
Supported by the British Council, the BAFTA Shorts section is a chance to see the best
British short films nominated for BAFTA and Academy Awards, as well as the American
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences statue-winning “An Irish Goodbye” (dir. Tom
Berkeley) and “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse” (dir. Charlie Mackesy, Peter
Baynton).
Masters/Mistresses is a section where short films made by acclaimed contemporary male
and female directors. Their ranks undoubtedly include Jan Holoubek, Malgorzata
Szumowska and this year’s winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, Justine Triet. The first one will meet with viewers after the screening of the master and mistresses’ etudes, which will take place on Saturday, November 25 at 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be hosted by Marcin Radomski.
The Sunday after the gala (November 26 at 10:00 pm) will, once again, feature the 12th Showing of Independent Music Videos, organized by Marta Karnkowska, which are difficult to describe or classify. They simply have to be seen!
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Accompanying events
Film education is also an extremely important part of CINEMAFORUM. The festival will once
again be accompanied by open meetings with renowned filmmakers such as Paweł Maślona
and Lena Góra, organized under the banner of Masterclass – Film School at the Andrzej
Wajda Film Culture Center. For teachers and educators, there will be an all-day meeting of the A35 Workshop, filled with training, workshops and discussions on film education.
Among the experts will be the author of the SpoilerMaster podcast Michal Oleszczyk, and
Marcin Kończewski – blogger and teacher known under the pseudonym Horse Movie.
In addition, accredited participants from Poland, France, Norway and Ukraine will take part in SPA Script Pitching Academy‘s specialized screenwriting workshops.
The festival will traditionally culminate with the final gala, which will be held on November 26 at 19:30 at the Atlantic Cinema. During the ceremony, the names of the winners of the Main Competition will be announced. We will also find out who will be the winners of the Jan Machulski Awards and the winners of the Script Wars screenwriting competition organized by the Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission. Admission to all festival events is FREE.
A detailed programme of the 22nd CINEMAFORUM can be found below:
The festival is organized by the FILMFORUM Association.
The project was co-financed by funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
from the Fund for Promotion of Culture and from funds of the City of Warsaw.
Warsaw. The festival is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
The main festival venue is the Atlantic Cinema in Warsaw.
The Andrzej Wajda Film Culture Center is the main partner of the event.
Program partners of the event are: Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission, Mazovian Institute of Culture, the American Film Festival and the British Council.
The industry partner of the event is Crew United Poland.
BEIKS Machulski is the technological partner of the project.
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The Jan Machulski Awards are organized by Stowarzyszenie FILMFORUM.
The project was co-financed by funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The project was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
The industry partners for the project are: Stowarzyszenie Filmowców Polskich, Stowarzyszenie Autorów ZAIKS, Związek Artystów Scen Polskich ZASP, Polskie Stowarzyszenie Montażystów PSM, PSC – Stowarzyszenie Autorek i Autorów Zdjęć Filmowych oraz Platige Image SA.
Partner festivals:
- the National Festival of Amateur and Independent Films OFFELIADA in Gniezno,
2 International Film Festival “ZOOM – ZBLIŻENIA” in Jelenia Góra, - the O!PLA National Festival of Polish Animation,
4th National Competition of Independent Films named after Professor Henryk Kluba – OKFA
in Konin,
5th National Film Meetings KAMERALNE LATO in Radom,
6th Solanin Film Festival in Nowa Sol, - WAMA Film Festival in Olsztyn,
- CINEMAFORUM – International Forum of Short Films
in Warsaw.