‘The Clowns’, ‘Wariaci’ and travelling across Europe in a RV - we introduce you to the films of the FROM POLAND section!
It is high time we have presented one of the most important sections of the Tofifest IFF. Kujawy Pomorze Region, i.e. the From Poland section, which focuses on the most interesting film work made by Polish filmmakers. Every year, the films included in this section are selected by its curator Łukasz Maciejewski, an experienced film critic. The winning film director to receive the Golden Angel Award for the best film will be chosen by the audience. Adding splendour to the films screened during the festival will be meetings with our guests, for example Artur Żmijewski, Olga Chajdas, Gabriela Muskała, Helena Norowicz, and Mateusz Więcławek.
The ‘From Poland’ section is a review of the best Polish films shown over the year, but also an attempt at offering a diagnosis: what the condition of our Polish cinema is at the moment, what it is missing, and what are its highest qualities, says Łukasz Maciejewski, curator of the section. The films we choose are not random ones, as we take our time to think deeply and struggle with inner dilemmas: how does one select the titles so that they make a coherent whole, being both a vibrant picture of the young cinema, where we have many debuting filmmakers, and at the same time showing well-established icons or artists with considerable achievements. And that is why we are going to show you the film ‘Camper’, being an out-of-the-ordinary film both in its form and content, but also ‘Ultima Thule’ by Klaudiusz Chrostowski, an excruciatingly poignant and sensible essay film, and ‘Kaytek the Wizard’ by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, a beautiful adaptation of Janusz Korczak’s life. The ‘From Poland’ section will bring you cinema packed with surprises, he adds.
This year, you are going to see 12 films altogether. Many of them, such as ‘The Peasants’, have already been widely applauded and showered with awards. The films we have selected also feature unique and exceptional acting performances, such as of Magdalena Cielecka and Marta Nieradkiewicz in ‘Anxiety’, or Artur Paczesny in ‘Next to Nothing’, or Kamila Urzędowska in ‘The Peasants’. Our selection also includes a pre-release screening of ‘Camper’, a story about an adventurous trip around Europe.
The film ‘Woman of...’ offers an inspirational story about courage, the hardships of motherhood, and the complex relations with the loved ones and the society alike that non-binary people must face.
‘Our Folks: The Beginning’ directed by Artur Żmijewski is a prequel to a film trilogy that Polish people adore.
‘The Peasants’ is an adaptation of the novel under the same title penned by Władysław Reymont, showing the reality of life in the Polish countryside in the 19th Century, but also a tragic love story.
In ‘Wariaci’ (Polish for ‘madmen’), title ‘madmen’ are Eryk and Karolka, who set off on an epic journey through Poland, right after they are released from prison.
The protagonists in ‘The Clowns’ are students of a department of acting, who find out that the diploma film in which they are cast will be made by a well-known film director. As they do everything they can to make sure they appear in it, the boundary between artistic creation and the reality starts to get blurred.
‘Ultima Thule’ is a story about facing wild nature, about work and building new relations with people, when one ventures into the unknown.
In ‘Anxiety’, you will observe a very special relationship between two sisters, who would do anything for one another, although they have nothing in common as two human beings. And that also includes a situation, when one of them decides to take her own life.
‘Imago’ is a unique film project made by Olga Chajdas and Lena Góra, in which we see how difficult it can be to find a place for oneself in a new reality, regardless of how twisted and unwelcome the former reality was.
‘Next to Nothing’ by Grzegorz Dębowski, is a social drama set in the reality of the Polish rural area, featuring an excellent performance of Artur Paczesny.
In ‘Fin del Mundo?’, you will witness a surreal story about an extraordinary family with supernatural powers, who need to pull a few strings in the underworld to get out of trouble.
The protagonists in ‘Camper’ intend to break the everyday routine, while the journey they start together will make them re-evaluate the priorities they have been true to all their lives.
Finally, ‘Kaytek the Wizard’ is a lesson in loving children and respecting their boundaries, both in a world filled with magic and in everyday life.
All the awards in the From Poland section are funded by Studio Podłóg Ablux.
Included in the section:
- Kobieta z… / Woman of..., dir. by Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert, Poland, Sweded, 2023, 132’
- Sami swoi. Początek / Our Folks: The Beginning, dir. by Artur Żmijewski, Poland, 2024, 119’
- Chłopi / The Peasants, dir. by DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman, Poland, 2023, 110’
- Wariaci, dir. by Jan Jakub Kolski, Poland, 2023, 119’
- Błazny / The Clowns, dir. by Gabriela Muskała, Poland, 2023, 83’
- Ultima Thule, dir. by Klaudiusz Chrostowski, Poland, 2023, 79’
- Lęk / Anxiety, dir. by Sławomir Fabicki, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, 2023, 96’
- Imago, dir. by Olga Chajdas, Poland, The Netherlands, Czech Republic 2023, 113’
- Tyle co nic / Next to Nothing, dir. by Grzegorz Dębowski, Poland, 2023, 93’
- Fin del Mundo?, dir. by Piotr Dumała, Poland, 2023, 83’
- Camper, dir. by Łukasz Suchocki, Poland 2023, 77’
- Kajtek czarodziej / Kaytek the Wizard, dir. by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia 2023, 98’
