01/09/2017

Women – contemporary and otherwise, cosmic particles, and silent cinema

On 18-23 September, the 42^nd Polish Film Festival in Gdynia will take place. The Visions Apart competition has changed its formula this year. It is now not limited to experimental films, but also – much like Cannes’ Un Certain Regard – includes titles that are simply noteworthy. Here are the eight films that have qualified for the competition:

Wild Roses

Directed by: Anna Jadowska | Poland 2017

Ewa (Marta Nieradkiewicz) shortly after giving birth decides to give her child up for adoption. She does so in secret from her husband Andrzej (Michał Żurawski), who works in Norway. They have two other children. When Andrzej comes home for his eldest daughter Marysia’s (Natalia Bartnik) First Communion, he finds his wife severely depressed, and struggles to understand what transpired during his absence. He doesn’t know that she’s had an affair with their underage neighbor. Anna Jadowska is the director of films such as “Touch Me” (2003), “It’s Me, Now” (2004) and “Z miłości” (2011).

read our interview with Anna Jadowska

Niewidzialne

Directed by: Paweł Sala | Poland 2017

Three seamstresses (Halina Rasiakówna, Sandra Korzeniak, and Natalia Rybicka) work at a shabby sewing workshop in the basement of an old tenement house. Each of them hides a secret. The catalysts for the great reveal are: a stain on the moldy wall of their workroom, the sounds coming from under the floor, and the garbage shed in the courtyard. Paweł Sala is the director of the acclaimed “Mother Teresa of Cats” (2010).

Photon

Directed by: Norman Leto | Poland 2017

Animated diagrams of particles, waves, and phenomena that are either too little or too big to be perceived with the naked eye are used to present the most fascinating areas of science – from the Big Bang to the quantum revolution. The film offers the story of the creation of matter and the stars, but also features treaties on the nature of violence, alcoholism, or free will. “Photon” also attempts to tackle the ethical aspects of genetic engineering, and the end of the universe in light of the latest findings in physics. The images are accompanied by the voiceover of the Protagonist (Andrzej Chyra), who is an amalgamation of Nobel prize winner Richard Feynman and the great Polish psychiatrist Antoni Kępiński. Norman Leto, a visual artist and a writer, the director of the film “Sailor”, adapted from his autobiographical novel.

Szatan kazał tańczyć

Directed by: Katarzyna Rosłaniec | Poland 2016

A young writer (Magdalena Berus) who found success with her debut novel – a contemporary take on “Lolita” – lives much like her protagonist: fast and hard. Ever chasing the high, she lets her life slip through her fingers. Ticking off parties, drugs, lovers, she keeps taking giant bites out of life, but paradoxically can’t find anything to fill the void within. Katarzyna Rosłaniec is the author of “Mall Girls” (2009) and the Berlin Film Festival’s Crystal Bear recipient “Baby Blues” (2012).

Tarapaty

Directed by: Marta Karwowska | Poland 2017

Julka (Hanna Hryniewicka) is 12 years old and goes to a boarding school. When the summer holidays come, due to an oversight on her parents’ part, instead of joining them in Canada, she ends up at her aunt’s (Joanna Szczepkowska) in Warsaw. Among her neighbors are Olek (Jakub Janota-Bzowski) and his friend, Pulpet the dog. One day, Julka and Olek find a treasure map. They decide to find the loot, but in order to reach it, they will have to face a gang of thieves (Maria Maj and Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak), the nanny of Olek’s younger siblings (Roma Gąsiorowska), and the mysterious candy lover (Piotr Głowacki). Marta Karwowska is the author of film etudes “Owl” (2012) and “Dzień jak co dzień” (2006).

Theatrum Magicum

Directed by: Marcin Giżycki | Poland 2016

A silent film that draws on Potocki’s “Manuscript Found in Saragossa” and the movies from the dawn of cinematography. The end of the 18^th century. A miniature puppet play is being staged, in which we can recognize three combined characters: Cassandra from street fair revelries, Georges Méliès from his own films, and Baron Munchhausen. The show seems to have no beginning or end, and is being observed by a revolving cast of people in baroque garb. Marcin Giżycki is the author of documentaries and animations, including “A Sicilian Flea” (2009), which was awarded at the New Horizons Film Festival.

TodMachine

Directed by: Bogusław Kornaś | Poland 2017

A silent film that references German expressionism. A team of engineers runs the last tests on the Machine which will finally bring their side victory in a long war. The stakes are so high that they are completely consumed by their work, at the expense of their personal lives. Blinded by the vision of victory, they can’t see the danger their creation poses. The plot thickens when a mysterious monk warns them about the Machine’s potential rebellion, and the City is struck by a series of murders. The directorial debut of Bogusław Kornaś.

—Magdalena Żakowska (translated by Wojciech Góralczyk)

Gdynia Film Festival Official website