FPFF in Gdynia 2024. Polish Oscar candidate to open the 49th Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia

Let us recall that Damian Kocur's film “Under the Volcano” was released a few days ago was chosen by the selection committee as the Polish candidate for next year's Oscars. At the same time, Magnus von Horn's film “Girl with a Needle”, a Danish-Swedish-Polish co-production, was very well received in the Main Competition at the Cannes Film Festival and became the Danish candidate for Oscar.

We have never had such a situation at the festival in Gdynia – regardless of the winner of the event (a completely different picture can also win), both of these films will compete with each other for the golden statuette in the category: international film.

Of the 16 films – the number that have traditionally competed in the Main Competition for several years – there were four debuts and four second films. Four of them were also directed or co-directed by women. This may not be an impressive number, but considering Polish conditions – it is worth noting.

There is no denying that the festival is opening tonight with the second film by Damian Kocur “Under the volcano” is the most anticipated film of this year's edition of the Gdynia event. The film, which was very warmly received a few days ago at the prestigious international festival in Toronto, was described by reviewers as “reflective and full of tension”. Kocur mentioned the name of the great Michael Haneke as a “source of influence”.

The film tells the story of a moment when a group of tourists from Ukrainewho is on holiday in Tenerife, suddenly learns about an armed attack Russia on their country. It's February 24, 2022, and the heroes suddenly change from tourists to refugees. We watch the film's events from the perspective of 16-year-old Sofia, a previously carefree girl. This situation changes her perception of reality and significantly affects her relationships with others. In Tenerife, there are no shots or bombs, but you can feel the growing conflict on every side.

The American industry magazine “Variety” quoted the director as saying: “The world has never been so close to a 'volcanic eruption' as it is now, although we have all lulled ourselves into believing that the eruption will not happen in our lifetime. […] My film is about how apparent our safety is and how quickly, overnight, we can change from tourists to refugees, regardless of the color of our skin or country of origin.”

The above-mentioned one also arouses great interest “Girl with a Needle” Magnus von Horn, very well received in Cannes. The director has already received prestigious awards twice for his two previous films: “The Here After” and “Sweat”. Born in Sweden a graduate of the Łódź Film School, who has lived in Poland for years, calls his film “a fairy tale about a terrible truth” that has a strong impact on the viewer's senses. In an interview with PISF, he said: – I always wanted to make a horror film, but the longer I worked on it, the more the dramatic elements came to the surface.

The plot of the film, set in the early 20th century, focuses on a young woman, Karoline (Victoria Carmen Sonne), looking for love and a sense of stability. The girl is a factory worker in Copenhagen and finds herself in a difficult life situation – she becomes unwantedly pregnant and loses her job. Desperate, she turns to a woman she meets by chance for help (Trine Dyrholm). As the creators inform: “The charismatic owner of an illegal adoption agency, she helps mothers find new homes for their unwanted children. Having no alternative, Karoline takes a job as a wet nurse for Dagmar. The women establish a bond, but Karoline's world falls apart when she discovers the shocking truth about her principal.”

And finally a completely different cinema – “Minghun” Jan P. Matuszyński. As can be seen from the descriptions striking with an atmosphere of spirituality, this is a film more in the spirit of Kieślowski than Matuszyński's two previous famous titles. Winner of the Golden Lviv for his debut “The Last Family”, this time he gave us “a story about hope, love and searching”.

In the press materials, the creators write: “Jurek, together with his father-in-law Ben (Daxing Zhang), confronts the loss of a loved one and decides to perform the Chinese minghun ritual, the so-called marriage after death. The characters set off on an emotional journey, the goal of which is to find the perfect partner for eternity. The clash of different cultures is to help realize both the film's characters and the audience that regardless of origin, we all belong to one human family.”

The film could be seen at the New Horizons festival, and reviewers devoted most of their attention to the moving performance by Marcin Dorociński as Jurek.

Certainly, the competition for awards will also include the well-known titles by renowned creators, which are still in cinemas: “Green Border” Agnieszka Holland“Kobieta z…” by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert and “Biała odwaga” by Marcin Koszałka. Also promising is the genre film in the edition of Xawery Żuławski, namely “Kulej. Dwie stron medalu”, telling about the years 1964-68, when Jerzy Kulej won two Olympic medals.

This year's 49th edition of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia is taking place in the shadow of major personnel changes that have taken place in Polish cinematography in recent months.

Since July this year, we have a new director of the Polish Film Institute – Karolina Rozwód – an experienced culture manager. The National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute has also had a new head – Tomasz Kolankiewicz, former artistic director of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, has become this person. And finally, the new artistic director of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia is Joanna Łapińska, valued in the community.

The changes are visible to the naked eye. At least in the titles of the Main Competition, where after eight years of forcing bizarrely bad “God-fatherly” productions. Even the sure-fire biography of Captain Pilecki turned out to be a disastrously bad and trashy film. Similar “flowers” appeared during this period, unfortunately every year. So we can only be glad that we finally have titles in the Main Competition for which the only criterion was artistic value.

– I am convinced that this year's competition sixteen will be the starting point for an important conversation about the condition of Polish cinema and its future – Łapińska said recently, announcing the upcoming 49th Polish Film Festival. We are all counting on it.

It is also worth adding that this year's winner of the Platinum Lions for lifetime achievement will be the outstanding director, screenwriter and teacher, co-founder and lecturer at the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing – Wojciech Marczewski.

The festival will last until September 28. On that day, we will get to know the winners of the Golden Lions.