POLISH SHORT FICTION FILMS AT THE 55TH KRAKOW FILM FESTIVAL
In Polish competition at this year's, 55th edition of Krakow Film Festival, there are nine short fiction films. In non-competitive screenings, seven other films will be screened.
Productions by the Faculty of Radio and Television at the University of Silesia are particularly numerously represented in the competition - the festival audience will have a chance to watch five films produced by this faculty. In the competition section, three of them will compete for the Golden Hobby-horse: "America" by Aleksandra Terpińska, "Asshole" by Krzysztof Komander and "What I want" by Damian Kocur. The common denominator of all three films are young protagonists. In the case of "America," these are two teenage girls who, wanting to break the mould of everyday life in the country, set out on a spontaneous hitch-hiking journey, without any expectations how it shall end. The eponymous "Asshole" is a young boy who wants to break up with his girlfriend, but an unexpected accident upsets his plans. "What I want," set in Silesia, shows how two young people, coming from totally different environment, can come together because of the dreams about other, better life. "Thumbs up," the diploma film by Stefan Łazarski from Lodz Film School, tells about young people setting out on a hitch-hiking journey throughout Europe. Just like in the case of "America," the protagonists do not expect all at how their adventure will end.
Munk Studio, operating by the Polish Filmmakers Association, can also boast three films in the competition. In "Daughter" by Tomasz Wolski we look at the uneasy relationship between mother and daughter, who after years of silence, have to set out together in search of the younger woman's daughter. In the disquieting "Moloch" by Szymon Kapeniak, set in the industrial landscape of an Ukrainian factory, we watch how a conflict between three friends is born. "Circus Maximus" by Bartek Kulas transports the viewer into the world of a circus in decline, whose hope for survival is teenage Marianna.
"Story of nothing," the latest short film by Grzegorz Jaroszuk, the director of award-winning "Frozen Stories," deals with the subject of loneliness in apparently close relationships. The main protagonist of this Polish-French co-production tries various ways to bring her husband's and son's attention to herself. The history of Polish political transformation is depicted in "From Bed Thou Arose" by Bartek Konopka, produced by Otter Films and NBP, which stands out thanks to its original cinematography - everything is filmed exclusively from top shots.
In the panorama of Polish film, "The Moment" by Piotr Domalewski from the Faculty of Radio and Television at the University of Silesia, "My Father's Eyes" by Bartosz Blaschke and "The Test" by Teresa Czepiec will be shown. The film by Domalewski shows that sometimes one short moment is enough to totally misinterpret the observed situation. The protagonist of "The Test," produced by MD4, is a beginner actress, who visits the institute examining predispositions to become a star and undergoes various trials there. In "My Father's Eyes," the co-production by the Munk Studio and Wajda Studio, we take a look at the complex relationships in the closest family - between the mother, the absent father and their two daughters.
Absent father appears also in "Arkansas" by Sebastian Drożak, shown in the programme of student film etudes night. An unexpected visit from his sister makes the main protagonist aware that maybe it is high time to say goodbye to his cherished image of the father. Within the frames of student film etudes night, two films from Lodz Film School - "Lena and Me" by Kalina Alabrudzińska and "Mother Earth" by Piotr Złotorowicz will be shown, as well as "August" by Tomasz Ślesicki, produced in Warsaw Film School. The protagonists of the film "Lena and Me" try to deal with their problems and break away from the greyness of ordinary life in a rather unusual way. In his "Mother Earth," Piotr Złotorowicz deals with the issue of parents' expectations of their children and how these expectations can influence the lives of young people. In "August," we watch how a shy teenage love can make young people behave in a totally irrational way.