Polish Days are the most important industry event of the 15.T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, where industry representatives including programmers, sales agents, producers, film funds and distributors from all over the world meet to watch the latest Polish films at closed screenings. This year's edition of Polish Days took place on 29-31 July.
Six completed Polish films and ten works-in-progress were shown at closed screenings during the event. Another ten projects in development were also be pitched to the international audience and followed by one-on-one sessions.
The event has been gaining international interest and strengthening its position in recent years and in 2015, around 250 key Polish and international guests were present in Wrocław, including producers, film funds and festival programmers (including Berlin, Semaine de la Critique, Rotterdam, Venice, Tribeca and New Directors/New Films), as well as a number of international and domestic buyers.
Among the works shown in full at closed screenings were Karlovy Vary competition titles The Red Spider by Marcin Koszałka and Chemo by Bartek Prokopowicz, followed by the debut feature by Wojciech Kasperski The High Frontier and new films by Przemysław Wojcieszek (Berlin Diaries), Kinga Dębska (These Daugthers of Mine) and Krzysztof Łukaszewicz (Karbala).
The popular work-in-progress section presented 10 films, including Baby Bump by Kuba Czekaj, Waves by Grzegorz Zariczny, All These Sleepless Nights by Michał Marczak and two projects pitched in Wrocław in 2014 - Wild Roses by Anna Jadowska and Volhynia by Wojtek Smarzowski.
Pitchings presented Polish films at an earlier stage of development and production. Among them, new works by Marcin Wrona (Lili), Dorota Kędzierzawska (Speedway), as well as debut features The Last Family by Jan P. Matuszyński and Tower. A Bright Day by Jagoda Szelc. Furthermore, three projects by foreign directors but developed in Poland were also pitched - AA by Jack Faber, Marie Curie by Marie Noelle and People I'm Not by Francesco Rizzi.
Post-production awards from Toya Studios (sound) and Chimney Poland (image) went to People I'm Not by Francesco Rizzi (sound), Tower. A Bright Day by Jagoda Szelc and Speedway by Dorota Kędzierzawska (image).
This year's edition put an emphasis on the participation of German producers and film funds. There was a meeting of Polish and German film producers organized in co-operation with the East German film funds MitteldeutscheMedienförderung (MDM) and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Cottbus IFF, the Polish Film Institute and Film Commission Poland, as well as a presentation of the Polish film market and a locations trip in Wrocław organized by the Wroclaw Film Commision.
Polish Days were co-organized with the Polish Film Institute. Event's partners included Film Commission Poland, Mazovia-Warsaw Film Commission and Wrocław Film Commission, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, National Audiovisual Institute and post-production studios Toya Studios and Chimney.
Polish Days 2015 projects:
Finished Films:
Chemo / Chemia, dir. Bartosz Prokopowicz
Karbala, dir. Krzysztof Łukaszewicz
Daughters of Mine / Moje córki krowy, dir. Kinga Dębska
The High Frontier / Na granicy, dir. Wojciech Kasperski
The Red Spider / Czerwony Pająk, dir. Marcin Koszałka
Berlin Diaries, dir. Przemysław Wojcieszek
Pitchings:
Marie Curie, dir. Marie Noëlle
Presence / Obecność, dir. Marcin Dudziak
Tower. A Bright Day / Wieża, jasny dzień, dir. Jagoda Szelc
The Last Family / Ostatnia Rodzina, dir. Jan P. Matuszyński
Lili, dir. Marcin Wrona
AA, dir. Jack Faber
People I'm not, dir. Francesco Rizzi
Hurrah, we're still alive! / Hurrah, wciąż żyjemy!, dir. Agnieszka Polska
Las, dir. Joanna Zastróżna
Speedway / Żużel, dir. Dorota Kędzierzawska
Works in Progress:
All These Sleepless Nights / Wszystkie Nieprzespane Noce, dir. Michał Marczak
The New World / Nowy Świat, dir. Elżbieta Benkowska, Łukasz Ostalski, Michał Wawrzecki
Wild Roses / Dzikie róże, dir. Anna Jadowska
Journals, dir. Wiktoria Szymańska
Into the Spiral / W spirali, dir. Konrad Aksinowicz
Baby Bump, dir. Kuba Czekaj
21 x New York / 21 x Nowy Jork, dir. Piotr Stasik
Waves / Fale, dir. Grzegorz Zariczny
Volhynia / Wołyń, dir. Wojtek Smarzowski
When You Return / Kiedy wrócisz, dir. Anna Zamęcka
