27/05/2016 - More than 100 titles are on the programme of the 56th edition of the gathering, which unspools from 29 May-5 June

The most important Polish rendezvous for documentaries, animated works and short films, the Krakow Film Festival, will get under way this Sunday, with more than 100 films on the line-up of its 56th edition, which will draw to a close on 5 June and will boast eight competitive sections.

Nineteen films will be duking it out in the international documentary competition. Standing out among them are four Polish titles: 21 X New York [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Piotr Stasik, Alisa in Warland by duo Alisa Kovalenko and Liubov Durakova, Icon by Wojciech Kasperski, and Borderline Miracles by Tomasz Jurkiewicz. Also of note on the programme are three productions from the Baltic states, with the Lithuanian film Dead Ears by Linas Mikuta and two works helmed by Estonia: My Friend Boris Nemtsov by Zosya Rodkievich (co-produced by Russia) and Tashi Delek! by Peeter Rebane. Five titles hailing from Western Europe are also taking part: the Netherlands is present with Wim van der Aarn’s All You Need Is Me, Germany with Stefan Kessissoglou’s The Burden of Proof, Italy with Massimo Coppola’s Romeo e Giulietta [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Switzerland with Raphael Dubach’s Sempervirens, and Belgium with Anne Schiltz and Charlotte Grégoire’s Employment Office. The line-up is rounded off by two Scandinavian films (the Swedish title Reflections by Sara Broos and the Swedish-Danish co-production Homo Sacer the Sacred Man or the Accursed Man by Lode Kuylenstierna), and by movies from Syria, Iraq, Israel, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

This edition of the Krakow Film Festival has chosen a special guest in the guise of Swedish cinema, which the organisers consider "one of the most compelling in Europe" and which will benefit from its own dedicated section, including documentaries, short films, productions aimed at youngsters and a selection of student films.

In addition, the Krakow Film Market will take place alongside the festival. Besides offering industry professionals a vast digital video library, it has selected 250 titles out of the 1,500-plus that were submitted. The selection process was carried out in conjunction with several partners: DOK Leipzig, East Silver, the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Swiss Films, the Visions du Réel Film Festival and the Swedish Film Institute. Lastly, we should point out that the selection of Polish films will be available all year round via the Krakow Film Market’s online catalogue.

(Translated from French)