Polonica
Filmmakers from Poland are crossing boundaries ― not only the metaphorical ones, but also the literal ones. By working in other countries, they bring their own style, talent, and personality, to international cinematography. The Polonica section is a fresh debutant at the TOFIFEST IFF in Toruń, featuring a selection of the most interesting films from the passing film season, which have Polish actors among the cast.
What we should expect is a lot of emotions and controversy, lively discussions, and sheer admiration for authors. One of its highlights will be a pre-release screening of one of the most extensively debated films from the last edition of Venice IFF, The Painted Bird, directed by Václav Marhoul, being an adaptation of the famous novel by Jerzy Kosiński. One of the characters in the film is played by Lech Dyblik. The American-Polish co-production My Name Is Sara, directed by Steven Oritt, features a lot of Polish names, including Marian Prokop, author of cinematography, Łukasz Targosz, who composed music for the film, and Eryk Lubos, Michalina Olszańska, or Wiesław Komasa, in the leading roles. The multi-award winning High Life by Claire Denis features an excellent performance by Agata Buzek. In The River by Emir Baigazin, the last part of the trilogy filmed by this renowned film director from Kazakhstan, one of the most prominent element is the music composed by Justyna Banaszczyk. In the Ukrainian ballad When the Trees Fall, directed by Marysia Nikitiuk, we can admire the cinematography of Michał Englert and Mateusz Wichłacz. Michał Englert is also author of the visual setting in The Harvesters by Etienne Kallos, a film currently gaining its momentum and already screened at the most important film festivals in Greece. The Polonica section at this year’s edition of TOFIFEST provides a handful of surprises, fulfilments, but also question marks, without dotting the i's. You definitely need to take up the challenge!
Łukasz Maciejewski
2019 Programme
- Films from A to Z
- Downloadable programme
- Open meetings
- Opening and Closing Concerts
- On Air
- Shortcut
- From Poland
- Must Be Must See
- Phenomena: Metropolis, Mass, Machine
- Focus on Quebec Cinema
- Masters: Franco Zeffirelli
- The Rebels
- Polonica
- Special screenings
- Baltic Silent Cinema
- Hot and Cold
- Cinema Classics — Movies from the Heart of Poland
- Forum 2018/2019
- Forward
- 70 years of WFDiF — Newsreels
- Night Owls
- HBO Specials
- Film breakfasts
- Movieplay!