11/10/2013 - 207 films and a competition including titles signed Damian, Breillat, Pawlikowski, Raag, Honkasalo, Kidawa-Blonski, Tyc and Jonynas

With nine titles out of 15 and more features from Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia, the production of Eastern European countries takes centre stage in the official competition of the 29^th Warsaw Film Festival, which begins today. However, this large proportion wasn’t a goal for Stefan Laudyn, the event’s director: “it happened by chance since the only criteria for selection, the key element, is the artistic quality of films.”

Until October 20, the Warsaw Festival, which will open on Friday with Still Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Uberto Pasolini
film profile] by Uberto Pasolini (photo - read the review), will present 207 films from 57 countries. A novelty of his edition will be a Classics from Poland section.

The 2013 competition includes two Polish productions Ida [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pawel Pawlikowski
interview: Pawel Pawlikowski
film profile] by Pawel Pawlikowski (which recently triumphed in Gdynia - news) and In Hiding by Jan Kidawa-Blonski. Also competing, three productions from the Baltic states: Love Is Blind [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Estonian director Ilmar Raag, The Gambler [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ignas Jonynas
film profile] by Ignas Jonynas (coproduction between Lithuania and Latvia) and Tangerines [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Zaza Urushadze (Estonia and Georgia).

The Czech-Slovakian production Like Never Before [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Zdeněk Tyc is also in the race as well as A Very Unsettled Summer [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Anca Damian, whichwas financed by Romania, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the United Kingdom (the cast features Shooting Star 2012 Ana Alaru – watch the video interview). Finally, the countries of the Eastern Old Continent are also represented with Ukrainian title The Green Jacket and Russian film Thirst, whilst the rest of Europe bets on Abuse of Weakness [+see also:
trailer
interview: Catherine Breillat
film profile] by Catherine Breillat (a coproduction between France, Belgium and Germany - news) and the Scandinavian feature Concrete Night [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Pirjo Honkasalo (Finland, Sweden, Denmark - read the article).

It is also worth mentioning in the first and second films competition the world premiere of Heavenly Shift by Hungarian director Mark Bodzsar (read the article), the award winning The Selfish Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Clio Barnard
interview: Clio Barnard
film profile] by British director Clio Barnard, Alienation [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milko Lazarov
film profile] by Bulgarian director Milko Lazarov (discovered at the Venice Days - read the review), Polish film Heavy Mental by Sebastian Buttny, Slovenian title Seduce Me [+see also:
trailer
interview: Marko Santic
film profile] by Marko Santic, German production Ummah - Among Friends [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Cuneyt Kaya, Spanish film Family Tour [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Liliana Torres, Happiness by French director Fabrice Grange and The Japanese Dog [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Romanian director Tudor Cristian Jurgiu (news).

(Translated from French)