Wojtek Smarzowski with the Golden Angel of Tofifest for artistic insolence
You will not find many other candidates more worthy of an award for their rebellious nature, than Wojtek Smarzowski. On Saturday, 15th October, the director was awarded the Golden Angel for a rebellious artist, at the Tofifest International Film Festival. During the 9 festival days, you will have an opportunity to see more than 150 films from more than 50 countries, screened at 5 different venues. So, it’s #tofilove!
“I accept this award with joy,” said the director of “Rose” and “Hatred”. Without any doubt, Smarzowski is currently one of the most significant film-makers of Polish cinema. “I decided to give this award to Wojtek, because I really like people, who are not afraid to push forward, despite difficulties,” said Kafka Jaworska, director of Tofifest, when presenting the award.
Smarzowski is surely not afraid to tackle difficult subjects, and each of his films stirs up a lot of discussion, shocks audiences, and at the same offers high quality artistic experience. That was exactly the case with “The Wedding”, “The Dark House”, or “Rose”, which won awards, both in Poland and abroad. This year, he has released his latest film, “Hatred”. The film depicts the atrocious ethnic cleansing carried out on Polish people by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, in the years 1943-44. The film has already been called the best Polish historic film after 1989.
The other award presented during the Opening Ceremony of Tofifest 2016 was the Flisak Award, which is awarded to outstanding film-makers and artists connected with the region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie. It was awarded to Katarzyna Zak, a film, TV, and theatre actress, who is also a singer. She has appeared in films made by such prominent film-makers as Feliks, Falk, Wieslaw Saniewski, or Jerzy Lukaszewicz. She has gained massive popularity by appearing in such TV series, as “Miodowe Lata” (the Polish version of the American sitcom entitled The Honeymooners) and “Ranch”.
Competitions and Film Orchestra
The Opening Ceremony included the presentation of films that will be screened in the competition sections, during Tofifest 2016. They have been selected out of nearly 2,800 film submissions sent from more than 60 countries. The Golden Angels of Tofifest will be awarded in the following four (4) film competitions: ON AIR – Intended for international débuts and sophomore films; SHORTCUT – Intended for international short films; FROM POLAND – Intended for full-length films from Poland; and LOKALIZACJE – Intended for films connected with the region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie.
The Opening Ceremony ended with a concert dedicated to film music, performed by Steve Nash & Film Orchestra, with guest appearances of Natalia Nykiel and Tomasz Organek. The concert featured original interpretations of music pieces composed by Krzysztof Komeda, Hans Zimmer, Nino Rota, and even the main theme from “Mission Impossible”. More than that, Natalia Nykiel performed the opening song from “Skyfall”. Steve Nash is a three-time DJ World Champion of the International DJ Association (IDA), and at the same time an artist with classical music background. He became popular with his Steve Nash Orchestra project that combines a symphonic orchestra and a DJ “orchestra”.
The first Sunday and already the second day with Tofifest
Sunday, 16th October, marks the beginning of film screenings at Tofifest. You will have a chance to see more than 20 films in 5 different movie theatres. There will also be meet the author sessions with Wojciech Smarzowski, Agnieszka Smoczynska – author of “The Lure”, and Dominik Matwiejczyk – a classic of Polish independent cinema, who will present his “Krew z nosa” (2003), a fundamental film for the genre.
The meeting with Marcin Kopec that will follow a special screening of the documentary entitled “Nauka chodzenia” is particularly worthy of your attention. The audience will have an opportunity to talk to the director, the producer, but also to Piotr Mudyn, the main protagonist in the film and a former mafia soldier.
Now, if you a fan of theatre, you will have a chance to see a play entitled “Egzaminy”. The play has been directed by Julian Potrzebny and it was inspired by the life of Krzysztof Kieslowski. The second day at the festival will end with a late night concert of DJs at the ENERDE festival club.
- The full programme for Sunday, 16th October 2016, can be found here: http://www.tofifest.pl/en/program-2016/day/2
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