Ahead of its 39th edition, Poland’s Warsaw Film Festival is betting on timely topics.
“The role of filmmakers, and artists in general, is to react,” says festival director Stefan Laudyn.
“For years, we have been showing films that criticize the situation in various countries, not just in Poland. We try to avoid puff pieces.”
While there is space for “lighter topics” as well, supporting Ukraine – and Ukrainian filmmakers – remains one of the priorities.
“We initiated the first solidarity action with Ukraine back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, we also supported Oleg Sentsov. Last year, we featured the entire Ukrainian competition from Odesa International Film Festival, which couldn’t take place due to the war.”
This year, eight Ukrainian productions and co-productions will be shown at the fest. Including “Diagnosis: Dissent” by Denys Tarasov, about punitive psychiatry used by the Kgb, and Taras Dron’s “The Glass House,” where...
“The role of filmmakers, and artists in general, is to react,” says festival director Stefan Laudyn.
“For years, we have been showing films that criticize the situation in various countries, not just in Poland. We try to avoid puff pieces.”
While there is space for “lighter topics” as well, supporting Ukraine – and Ukrainian filmmakers – remains one of the priorities.
“We initiated the first solidarity action with Ukraine back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, we also supported Oleg Sentsov. Last year, we featured the entire Ukrainian competition from Odesa International Film Festival, which couldn’t take place due to the war.”
This year, eight Ukrainian productions and co-productions will be shown at the fest. Including “Diagnosis: Dissent” by Denys Tarasov, about punitive psychiatry used by the Kgb, and Taras Dron’s “The Glass House,” where...
- 10/5/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
We can tell something is amiss the moment Nina (Maren Eggert) smiles and reminds her son Lars (Jona Levin Nicolai) that they only have “ten days left.” The way she says it carries a shared understanding. That he knew she’d be swamped with rehearsals gearing up for the concert she’s conducting. That he agreed to give her that space and time. So why does he look so pained? Why does her inability to not answer her phone make him so angry? What has changed? What hasn’t she realized yet?
Writer-director Hanna Antonina Wojcik Slak wastes little time providing the answer once Not a Word moves from their home to school. Hidden behind the group of boys Lars approaches after being ignored yet again by his mother is a photo memorial for a student. We don’t need details to know it was a tragic death. Whether suicide,...
Writer-director Hanna Antonina Wojcik Slak wastes little time providing the answer once Not a Word moves from their home to school. Hidden behind the group of boys Lars approaches after being ignored yet again by his mother is a photo memorial for a student. We don’t need details to know it was a tragic death. Whether suicide,...
- 9/11/2023
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
by Cláudio Alves
It's always curious how shared themes and repeated motifs can spread through a film festival's program. At TIFF '23, motherhood is among the hottest topics, especially concerning the bonds and barriers between single mothers and their adolescent sons. Another more unexpected trend is how many titles enjoying their North American or World Premieres recall Todd Field's TÁR, as if that work had echoed a shape-shift sound through the art film scene. None of this means cineastes are copying each other or that festival programmers are indulging in redundancy. It's merely a thought-provoking coincidence that can lead the viewer down the road to comparison and offer new avenues of analysis. Amid the similarities, you may grow to treasure each project's specificity, their points of divergence.
Consider Hanna Antonina Wojcik-Slak's Not a Word, where a busy orchestra conductor raising her son alone is confronted with the boy's inherent unknowability…...
It's always curious how shared themes and repeated motifs can spread through a film festival's program. At TIFF '23, motherhood is among the hottest topics, especially concerning the bonds and barriers between single mothers and their adolescent sons. Another more unexpected trend is how many titles enjoying their North American or World Premieres recall Todd Field's TÁR, as if that work had echoed a shape-shift sound through the art film scene. None of this means cineastes are copying each other or that festival programmers are indulging in redundancy. It's merely a thought-provoking coincidence that can lead the viewer down the road to comparison and offer new avenues of analysis. Amid the similarities, you may grow to treasure each project's specificity, their points of divergence.
Consider Hanna Antonina Wojcik-Slak's Not a Word, where a busy orchestra conductor raising her son alone is confronted with the boy's inherent unknowability…...
- 9/11/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
“Not a Word,” which is being sold by international sales agency Beta Cinema, will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in the competitive Platform section. Variety speaks to the film’s writer-director, Hanna Slak, and debuts its trailer.
“Not a Word” tells the story of a relationship crisis between a parent and her teenage son. Maren Eggert, who won the best acting award at the Berlin Film Festival for “I’m Your Man,” plays an ambitious orchestra conductor, Nina. Jona Levin Nicolai plays her moody son, Lars. Following the death of a girl at Lars’ school, the boy has a mysterious accident, but refuses to talk about it. Nina decides to take a break from city life and together they head to their vacation home on an island on the rugged Atlantic coast. As a storm gathers, their brittle relationship, wreathed in silence, is pushed to breaking point.
“Not a Word” tells the story of a relationship crisis between a parent and her teenage son. Maren Eggert, who won the best acting award at the Berlin Film Festival for “I’m Your Man,” plays an ambitious orchestra conductor, Nina. Jona Levin Nicolai plays her moody son, Lars. Following the death of a girl at Lars’ school, the boy has a mysterious accident, but refuses to talk about it. Nina decides to take a break from city life and together they head to their vacation home on an island on the rugged Atlantic coast. As a storm gathers, their brittle relationship, wreathed in silence, is pushed to breaking point.
- 8/29/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Toronto Film Festival on Wednesday revealed the 10 titles in its Platform program, a sidebar that will tee off with A24’s Kristoffer Borgli comedy Dream Scenario starring Nicolas Cage. This year’s Platform includes movies from 12 countries across three continents, all of which are making their world premiere at TIFF, which this year runs from September 7-17.
In addition, the fest today unveiled this year’s Platform jury, which includes Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins as chair; Cannes Jury Prize–winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki; and 2022 Platform Prize–winning filmmaker Anthony Shim.
The Platform program, going into its eighth year, is curated for its bold directorial visions. The movies in the 2023 program are eligible for the Platform Prize, an award of CA$20,000 selected by the in-person international jury.
Barry Jenkins
“I am delighted to announce that we have an international dream jury with acclaimed filmmakers Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki,...
In addition, the fest today unveiled this year’s Platform jury, which includes Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins as chair; Cannes Jury Prize–winning director, writer, and actor Nadine Labaki; and 2022 Platform Prize–winning filmmaker Anthony Shim.
The Platform program, going into its eighth year, is curated for its bold directorial visions. The movies in the 2023 program are eligible for the Platform Prize, an award of CA$20,000 selected by the in-person international jury.
Barry Jenkins
“I am delighted to announce that we have an international dream jury with acclaimed filmmakers Barry Jenkins, Nadine Labaki,...
- 8/2/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
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