16/03/2009

As every year, spring is the season for showcasing Polish films in the UK (March 12-April 8) and Germany (March 20-December 2009).

The opening of the London festival Kinoteka put the spotlight on Malgorzata Szumowska’s 33 Scenes from Life [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which has reaped numerous prizes, including Best Film of 2008 at the recent Polish Film Academy Eagles Awards (see news).

The UK event includes a programme dedicated to the films (in particular documentaries), life and personality of Krzysztof Kieslowski. There will also be a retrospective of the work of Jerzy Skolimowski, whose latest film Four Nights With Anna [+see also:
trailer
film profile] will have its UK premiere at the festival on Wednesday.

From April 3-5, the London event will focus on the Polish New Wave, which will be the subject of a presentation led by director (and Polish experimental film icon) Andrzej Zulawski. The line-up will include documentaries by young director Marcin Koszalka, whose work has caused a great deal of controversy in Poland.

Throughout the festival, audiences will be able to discover the best features by the young generation, including Kasia Adamik’s The Offsiders, Andrzej Jakimowski’s Tricks [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrzej Jakimowski
interview: Tomasz Gąssowski
film profile] and Magdalena Piekorz’s Drowsiness [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. The Kinoteka Festival will take place at the Barbican, BFI Southbank, the Cargo Cinema, the Prince Charles Cinema, Riverside Studios and the Tate Modern.

Skolimowski will also put in an appearance in Germany, where he’ll open the Filmland Polen Festival, to be held in Hanover, Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen. At this event – the most established Polish film festival in Germany – viewers will have the opportunity to see films and meet Polish stars such as Beata Tyszkiewicz, Grazyna Szapołowska, Zbigniew Zamachowski and Daniel Olbrychski.

(Translated from French)