Cinema-lovers will have a real feast this autumn: the biggest mobile film festival promoting contemporary Polish film will visit Glasgow, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Oxford, Newcastle, Belfast and Sunderland. The festival’s viewers will have a chance to watch, among others: the best Polish feature films of the last years, best short films and animations as well as unique exhibitions of Polish film posters of the socialist era.
The programme of the event is rich and diverse. On top of the screenings of carefully selected latest Polish full length films, the viewers can also expect the showings of the most interesting shorts created in among others Andrzej Wajda’s Film School, acclaimed at the Polish and international documentary and animation film festivals. The Play Poland festival will also host meetings with Polish filmmakers. The exhibition of the Polish posters for the American films ‘Poster of imagination’ will show a collision of two cultures – the colourful and glamorous Hollywood with the grey, poor and very plain, yet original in its artistic expression, Polish culture before the 80s’. The monographic exhibitions will show the works of such renowned artists of Polish school of posters as Jerzy Flisak.
7th October - 5th December 2012
Feature Films, Special Screenings & Polish Film Poster Exhibitions
Polish Film Poster Exhibitions
7th October - 21st October, 10.00am - 11.30 pm
Polish film poster exhibition: American Cinema no.1
21st October - 4th November, 10.00am - 11.30 pm
Polish film poster exhibition: American Cinema no.2
4th November - 18th November, 10.00am - 11.30 pm
Polish film poster exhibition: American Cinema no.3
Filmhouse
88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ
Feature Films
11th October, 8.45 pm
Joanna, dir. Feliks Falk, 105 '
‘Joanna’
A touching story of a woman who in the Nazi occupied Warsaw is taking care of an abandoned, couple of years old Jewish girl. She confronts the viewer with the important questions. With time Joanna starts to see that the presence of the girl starts to be a source of fear and suffering and her initial touch of compassion turns into a curse. Does it mean that humanity loses with the fear? ‘Joanna’ is a deceitful tale about important decisions and granting love fate, for which we have to pay an immense price. Filmed and played to touch a raw nerve the film is made with depth and sensitivity, characteristic for the maker of such well-known films as Top Dog (‘Wodzirej)’ and There was jazz (‘‘Był jazz’’).
18th October, 8.45 pm
80 Million/ 80 milionów, dir. Waldemar Krzystek, 102 '
‘80 millions’
Lower Silesian story of the times preceding the introduction of martial law It depicts young Solidarity activists who organised a daring action of capturing 80 million of the Party’s money from one of the Wrocław’s banks. The Security Service chases them constantly. The interesting game get priests and… curb-dealers involved. Each side has aces up their sleeves. Rapid, engaging plot, great cast and the director awarded with the Golden Lions at the Gdynia Film Festival for ‘Little Moscow’.
25th October, 6.15 pm
Fear of falling/ Lęk wysokości, dir. Bartosz Konopka, 90 '
film screening & Q&A with Bartosz Konopka & Anna Wydra
’Fear of falling’
The director, focusing on intimate, family relations admits that the story came from the need of confronting the memory of his own father leaving the family. The protagonist makes a career in television, has successful personal life. A message of serious problems of his father sneaks into his clean-cut life. According to the director ‘Fear of Falling’ is a tale of love. It is about the search for love and need to give it to someone, even if that person denies it. It’s a male melodrama with difficult emotions appearing only between men. A feature debut of the Oscar-nominated and Berlin festival winner director of ‘Rabbit à la Berlin’
1st November, 8.45 pm
The Winner/ Wygrany, dir. Wiesław Saniewski, 110 '
‘The Winner’
Filmed with breadth the Polish-American-Swiss movie tells the story of a talented American pianist of Polish descent who has lost everything in his life: love, respect and career. Thanks to a random encounter with the former professor of mathematics he finds his own way and real love. It is just then when he receives a tempting offer to return to his former life… ‘The Winner’ is a film about dreams and everything that people do to make them true. Is every dream worth fighting for? Excellent acting (dream cast, among others, Janusz Gajos, Wojciech Pszoniak, Grażyna Barszczewska, Robert Gonera) is complimented with the score consisting of Chopin’s compositions and the hits of Elvis Presley.
8th November, 8.45 pm
Elles/ Sponsoring, dir. Małgorzata Szumowska, 99 ’
‘Sponsoring’
Another festival’s cherry is Małgorzata Szumowska’s ‘Sponsoring’ which has stirred controversies among European audiences. The film tells a story of girls who by selling their bodies can afford a higher standard of life. This fascinates Anne – a journalist of a well-known newspaper played by Juliette Binoche. The director avoids judging main characters leaving it open to the viewers as to whether sponsoring is a form of prostitution, act of feminism or maybe a way of making a living in tough times.
Filmhouse
88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ
Special Screenings
10th October, 6.00 pm
Lodz Film School/ Łódźka Szkoła Filmowa/ 120'
24th October, 6.00 pm
Bartosz Konopka film screenings:
Rabbit à la Berlin/ Królik po berlińsku, 51 ‘
Three for the Taking/ Trójka do wzięcia, 39 ‘
Q&A with B. Konopka & A. Wydra
5th December, 6.00 pm
T-Mobile New Horizons /T-Mobile Nowe Horyzonty /107'
Studio 2 at the Screen Academy
Edinburgh Napier University
2A Merchiston Ave
Edinburgh, EH10 4NU
Special Screenings
29th October, 6.30 pm
University of Silesia/ Katowice Film School /104’
30th October, 6.30 pm
Platige Image, animations/ 59’
McDonald Road Library
2-4 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4LU
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