22-02-2020

FNE at Berlinale 2020: Polish Film in Berlin

By Polish Film Institute

    Polish Cinema Stand during the Berlin's EFM Gropius Bau (stand #163) - The Polish Film Institute invites producers and filmmakers to use this stand during the European Film Market.

    Polish Cinema Stand, as every year, will serve as a meeting place for Polish filmmakers with foreign partners. We invite manufacturers to use the stand space.
    For the convenience of meetings at the stand, we will provide you with 2 tables (2-3 person tables).

    Please inform us about your meeting requirements and booking appointments by sending an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with information what will be discussed at the meeting.
    Please be reminded that the table reservation is determined by the order of submission.

    The Polish stand organized by the Polish Film Institute will be located on the first floor of Gropius Bau (stand #163) and will be open from 20th till 26th February for all those interested in co-operating with Polish filmmakers & companies.


    The World Premiere of "Kill It and Leave This Town" in Encounters competition at Berlinale

    Kill It And Leave This Town by Mariusz WilczyńskiThe world premiere of Mariusz Wilczyński's feature animation film "Kill It and Leave This Town" co-financed by the Polish Film Institute will take place in the new competitve section Encounters during the 70th International Film Festival in Berlin.

    "Kill It and Leave This Town"

    Fleeing from despair after losing those dearest to him, the hero hides in a safe land of memories, where time stands still and all those dear to him are alive. Over the years, a city grows in his imagination. One day, literary heroes and cartoon childhood idols, who in the consciousness of the successive generations are forever young and wearing short pants, come to live there, uninvited. When our hero discovers they have all grown old and that eternal youth does not exist, he decides to return to real life. And the amazing characters living in his imagination lead him back to the real world.

    The film is a debut feature film by Mariusz Wilczyński with the voices of Krystyna Janda, Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska, Małgorzata Kożuchowska. The producers of the film are Agnieszka Ścibior from Bombonierka and Ewa Puszczyńska (Ida, Cold War) from Extreme Emotions. The film is coproduced by National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, EC1 Łódź – City of Culture, LETKO, NOLABEL, DI Factory, Gigant Films.

    Mariusz Wilczyński

    A self-taught artist who has been creating animated auteur cinema for over twenty years. Retrospectives of his films were held, among others, at MoMA in New York, National Museum of Brasília, Tokyo International Forum and The National Museum in Warsaw. His animations were shown at the National Gallery in London and at Berlinale. He also realises improvised live animation performances which he co-creates with symphony orchestras from Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo, Geneva, Lviv and Warsaw. In 2007, the New York Times called him "one of the most important contemporary creators of artistic animation.” For the last 11 years, he has been working on “Kill It and Leave This Town.” He is a professor of animation at the Film School in Łódź.

    Encounters

    The goal of the Encounters competition is to support new voices in cinema and to give more room to diverse narrative and documentary forms in the official programme. A three-member jury will choose the winners for Best Film, Best Director and a Special Jury Award.

    Berlinale website.


    The world premiere of Agnieszka Holland's "Charlatan" at the Berlinale

    Charlatan by Agnieszka HollandThe world premiere of Agnieszka Holland's latest film "Charlatan" co-financed by the Polish Film Institute will take place in the Berlinale Special program during the 70th International Film Festival in Berlin.

    "Charlatan"  is a biographical drama about an exceptional man, gifted  with healing abilities, set  against the background of the events of the 20th century. The story is inspired by the life of the healer Jan Mikolášek, who amazed the generation with his amazing ability to diagnose and treat diseases with herbs, exposing himself to obstruction by the communist establishment. Mikolášek's story is not only one of human lives full of twists and turns, but also a general reflection on the price paid for the privilege of genius.

    "Charlatan" is a Czech-Irish-Polish-Slovak co-production. Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska and Bogna Szewczyk from Madants are responsible for production on the Polish side. The film was made in cooperation with the Metrage Studio and Moderator Investments. The music for the film was composed by Antoni Komasa-Łazarkiewicz with the participation of Mary Komasa-Łazarkiewicz. Kasia Adamik, Rafał Paradowski and Tomasz Naumiuk were involved in the project.

    International sales: Films Boutique.

    Based on the press release


    Oleg Sentsov's "Numbers" at Berlinale

    Numbers by Oleg SentsovThe world premiere of Oleg Sentsov's "Numbers" will take place on the program of the 70th International Film Festival in Berlin. The film is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

    The world premiere of the Ukrainian-Polish-Czech-French co-production "Numbers" directed by Oleg Sentso will take place on February 18, 2020 at the Maxim Gorki Theater during a special event dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Berlinale. The film will also be shown in the Berlinale Special section. The Polish premiere with the participation of Oleg Sentsov and Polish artists was scheduled for March 1 at the European Solidarity Center in Gdańsk.

    "Numbers"

    "Numbers", based on Sentsov's play, are dystopia and parabola. The film tells the story of a strictly ordered world of ten numbers, in which there was a sudden error that created a new world. Will it be better than the old one?

    A large share of Polish artists

    Polish filmmakers had a large share in the creation of the film. The photos were made by Adam Sikora, the film was edited by Jarosław Kamiński, and the sound was made by Bartłomiej Woźniak and Wojciech Mielimąka. The Polish producer of the film is Apple Film Production, a company managed by Dariusz Jabłoński, director and producer, president of the Polish Film Academy.

    The film was produced by 435 Films (Ukraine) and Apple Film Production (Poland) in co-production with Czech TV, CANAL +, Halley Production with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. The film is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Hubert Bals Fund and European Producers Club. The worldwide film sales agent is Latido Films.

    "Numbers" is the fifth film by the producers of Apple Film Production, Dariusz Jabłoński, Violetta Kamińska and Izabela Wójcik, which in recent years was included in the Berlinale program. The earlier ones were: "Dovlatov", dir. Alexey German jr (Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievements 2018), "When the Trees Fall", dir. Marysia Nikitiuk (Berlinale Panorama 2018), "The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov", dir. Askold Kurov (Berlinale Special 2017), "Under Electric Clouds", dir. Alexey German jr (Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievements, Berlinale 2015).

    Based on a press release