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13 April 2010 14:53

Three Ukrainian Cities to See Best Polish Films of 2009

April 13, 2010, the Cinemateque Hall of the Kyiv Movie Theater hosted a press conference on the Polish Cinema in Ukraine Festival. The festival was organized by the Ukrainian Cinema Foundation together with the Polish Filmmaking Institute, Pomeranian Cinema Foundation, and with the support of the Ukraine 3000 Foundation.

Among the participants of the event were representatives of the Ukrainian Cinema Foundation: Andrey Khalpakhchi, Director, and Oleksandra Mykolyshyn, Executive Director.

In 2008 the Ukrainian Film Foundation and Polish Filmmaking Institute launched their exchange festivals of the Ukrainian and Polish cinema project. The first Festival of Polish Cinema in Ukraine was held in spring 2008, featuring Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn. Since then, every spring the partners demonstrate the latest Polish films to Ukrainian audience, and every fall Polish film lovers have a chance to familiarize themselves with Ukrainian films.

The press conference opened with a minute of silence to commemorate the members of the Polish government delegation killed in the accident of April 10 near Smolensk, Russia. “We dedicate this year’s Festival to the memory of the Polish crème de la crème, which, ironically, died on the same spot where 70 years before the then Polish crème de la crème was killed,” Mr. Khalpakhchi said.

Mr. Khalpakhchi said that the Polish cinema was traditionally very popular in Ukraine. “We all remember and like classic Polish films like Déjà vu, Vabank [All In], Znachor [Witch Doctor], etc. But we barely know any new Polish movies.”

In Mr. Khalpakhchi words, the films included in this year’s Festival’s program, had been presented earlier at a Polish cinema festival in Gdynia. “These are in fact the best samples of the contemporary Polish cinema,” he said.

The festival will open April 15 (7:00 p.m. at the Kyiv Movie Theater) with The Lesser Evil by renowned Polish director Janusz Morgenstern, who will present it in person together with producer Wlodzimierz Niederhaus. Another special guest will be the scriptwriter of General Nil film Krzysztof Lukaszewicz.

“Our major goal is inspire a renewed interest to the Polish cinema in Ukrainian audience. We want to show the distributors and TV people contemporary Polish films which, in our opinion, can and should be present on our TV and movie screens,” Mr. Khalpakhchi said.

The Polish Cinema in Ukraine Festival’s program includes six films. The Lesser Evil by Janusz Morgenstern deals with the complicated process of formation of a creative personality in the Communist Poland. General Nil by Ryszard Bugajski belongs to the popular bio pic genre, presenting the captivating life story of Armia Krajowa general August Emil “Nil” Weldorf. EnEn by Feliks Falk tells the story of a young and ambitious psychiatrist, trying to solve the mysterious case of a patient, whose file is “lost in the archives” (NN is how psychiatrists call people whose names are unidentified). Shoping Girls, a social drama by Katarzyna Roslaniec, presents a series of controversial episodes from the lives of teenage girls spending their leisure and studying life at malls. Ukrainian audience will also be able to enjoy Juliusz Machulski’s latest comedy, How Much Does the Trojan Horse Weigh? On the eve of New Year 2000 Zosja wakes up to… May 1987. Wull she be able to change her life? The romantic drama Never Say Never by Wojciech Pacyna is focused on a successful 30 year old woman who allows herself to act unprofessionally, which makes her whole life go off the rails.

The Polish Cinema Festival will take place in three Ukrainian cities: Kyiv (15 through 21 April, Kyiv Cinema Theater at 19 Chervonoarmiyska St.), Vinnytsia (17 through 23 April, Rodyna Movie Theater, 47 Kozytsky St.), and Donetsk (22 through 27 April, KinoKult Cinema and Cultural Center, 35 Vatutyna St.).

The participants of the press conference thanked the partners of the Polish Cinema in Ukraine Festival: Baccarat art hotel and Ilta Company, official Peugeot dealer in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Cinema Foundation is a non-governmental organization, whose major mission is familiarizing foreign filmmaking experts and audiences with Ukrainian classics and latest films, as well as promoting the Ukrainian cinema worldwide.

The Polish Filmmaking Institute is a state institution founded in 2005 for comprehensive development of the Polish cinema. The Institue works by the European system of film financing (the state share can be 20-90% of the film’s costs) and distribution. It also supports cinema weeks and forums of Polish cinema abroad.

The Pomeranian Cinema Foundation was founded in 2005. The organization, being the founder of the Polish Cinema Festival in Gdynia, promotes all areas of Polish filmmaking, supports Poland’s movie makers, holds trainings on film production, and promotes the Polish cinema globally.

Photo by Maksym Korodenko