The most high profile project was Paweł Pawlikowski's Cold War, which screened in the main competition to critical acclaim. Also screening in the main competition is Akya by Russian director Sergei Dvortsevoy, which was coproduced by Poland’s Otter Films.
Polish films and coproductions in official selection at Cannes Film Festival 2018
Main Competition
Cold War (Poland, UK, France)
Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski
Produced by Apocalypso Pictures, Opus Film, MK Productions
Supported by Polish Film Institute
Sales: MK2 Films, Protagonist Pictures
Ayka (Russia, Poland, Germany)
Directed by Russian Sergey Dvortsevoy
Coproduced by Otter Films in Poland
Supported in the Polish Film Institute
Short Films Competition
III (Poland)
Directed by Marta Pajek
Produced by Animoon Studio (Poland)
Certain Regard
The Harvesters / Die Stropers (South Africa, France, Greece, Poland)
Directed by Etienne Kallos
Produced by Cinema Defacto/Spier Films (South Africa) and coproduced by Lava Films (Poland) and Heretic (Greece), Bord Cadre (France)
Supported by the Polish Film Institute and Eurimages
Sales: Pyramide International
Cinefondation
The Other (Poland)
Directed by Marta Magnuska
Produced by Film School Łódź
Special Screening
Another Day of Life
Directed by Damian Nenow and Raúl de la Fuente
Coproduction Platige Films (Poland)
Based on a book by the legendary Polish war correspondent Ryszard Kapuściński.
Critics Week
The Fugue / Fuga (Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden)
Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska
Produced by MD4 Sp. z o.o
Coproduced by Axman Production, Commonground Pictures
Supported by the Council of Europe's Eurimages Fund, Polish Film Institute, Czech Film Fund, Lower Silesia Film Fund, Mazovia Film Fund
Sales: Alpha Violet
Cinéma de la Plage Special Screenings
The Departure (1967)
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Promotion of Polish documentary film as part of Doc Alliance
Scars (Poland, Germany)
Directed by Agnieszka Zwiefka
Other Polish Activities in Cannes
Five producers from Poland took part in the Producers Network meetings. This event, of which the Polish Film Institute is a partner, is attended annually by about 500 representatives of the film industry from around the world.
List of Polish producers in the Producers Network:
Agata Szymańska (Balapolis)
Natalia Grzegorzek (Koskino)
Sebastian Petryk (PS Film)
Jan Pawlicki (Jutrzenka Studio)
Zuzanna Król (Next Film)
Producer Radosława Bardes will also participate in the programme
Presentation of Polish films during New Horizons’ Polish Days Goes to Cannes
At the initiative of the Polish Film Institute, the New Horizons International Film Festival is one of the nine international film festivals to present selected films in the prestigious The Goes to Cannes at the biggest film market, Marché du Film.
The programme of the New Horizons’ Polish Days Goes to Cannes consists of six films:
Fisheye – a fiction debut by Michał Szcześniak
Huray, we’re still alive! – a fiction debut by Agnieszka Polska
Of Animals and Men – a documentary film directed by Łukasz Czajka
The Language of the Birds – a fiction film directed by Xawery Żuławski (co-directed by Jan Komasa, Jacek Borcuch, Piotr, Kielar)
Werewolf – a fiction film directed by Adrian Panek
Pardon - the latest film from Jan Jakub Kolski
Short Film Corner
Seven Polish productions, including I'm Writing to You, My Love by Magdalena Szymków and Laundry Card by Greg Zgliński.
Marché du Film
Over 10 Polish films and coproductions were shown at the market this year at Cannes
Among others Nina by Olga Chajdas (Rotterdam VPRO Big Screen Award), Silent Night by Piotr Domalewski (The Grand Prix of the 42nd Polish Film Festival in Gdynia “Golden Lions”) and coproduction Dovlatov by Aleksey German jr. (Silver Bear for production design at Berlinale).
Two Polish women have made the final of the international competition Nespresso Talents
Anna Zoll, with her film Heart Therapy and Julia Ruszczyńska, with her film 7a+, have been shortlisted among the 10 best films for the international competition Nespresso Talents.
12th Edition of ScripTeast
As every year, the final stationary session of ScripTeast, the international script programme, took place during the Cannes Film Festival.
Of the 11 projects taking part in this year's 12th edition, 4 are Polish:
The Winter of the Crow - by Sandra Buchta & Kasia Adamik
Priceless - by Piotr Domalewski
Gregorius, The Chosen One - by Tomasz Mielnik
In Person - by Arkadiusz Biedrzycki & Bartłomiej Konarski
During Cannes the Krzysztof Kieślowski ScripTeast Award for the Best Script from Eastern Europe went to the script Afrika by Maya Vitkova-Kosev from Bulgaria. which is what the authors of all 11 scenarios which qualified for the 12th edition of the programme have been competing for.
The award was presented during a ceremony in Cannes on 15 May. In the 12-year history of the programme, Poles have thrice stood on the podium in Cannes and received the prestigious Krzysztof Kieślowski Award: last year Kuba Czekaj won for his project Sorry Poland, in 2010 Jacek Bławut won for his screenplay The Day of Chocolate (currently in post-production) and in 2013 Bartek Konopka and Przemek Nowakowski won for their screenplay of The Mute (in production). Polish artists have been honoured with distinctions three times: Darek Błaszczyk in 2007 for the screenplay of The House Of Merry Retirement, Mitko Panov and Władysław Pasikowski in 2008 for the script of The Witness and Bodo Kox in 2015 for Man With a Magic Box. From all the projects participating in the programme to date, 33 films have been produced and a further 11 are in production. This is undoubtedly a huge success for the programme methodology, the screenwriters involved and the creative consultants invited onto the programme.
The originator of ScripTeast is Dariusz Jabłoński, director and producer, who developed it in conjunction with his close associates, producers Violetta Kamińska and Izabela Wójcik. The workshops are organised by the Independent Film Foundation, with the support of the European Union's Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, the Polish Film Institute and Apple Film Production in cooperation with, among others, the European Film Academy and renowned associations of international producers: Producers Network, European Producers Club, Transatlantic Partners and ACE as well as Film New Europe.
More about ScripTeast www.scripteast.pl.
The Polish Cinema Stand
The Polish Cinema Stand was an active hub for the Polish participants of Cannes for the entire duration of the Marché du Film. The partners of the Polish Film Institute's stand are: Polish Animation Producers Association - co-organiser of the stand, Film Commission Poland, TVP, DI Factory, Film Media (Jacek Samojłowicz) and the Netia Off Camera Festival implementing the Film in Małopolska project.
There is a guide entitled "Poles in Cannes 2018" on the website of Film Commission Poland, which contains information about the representatives of the Polish film industry and film institutions present at the IFF in Cannes: www.filmcommissionpoland.pl/about-fcp/poles-in-cannes-2018/
The new issue of Polish Film Magazine was presented at the Cannes festival, which is also available online on the Film Commission Poland website: http://www.filmcommissionpoland.pl/about-fcp/polish-film-magazine/
