Polish films at Wrocław’s New Horizons
It Looks Pretty From a Distance by Anna and Wilhelm Sasnal (the famous Polish contemporary painter) is one of the most eagerly-awaited titles at the New Horizons Film Festival, which has been in full swing in Wrocław since July 21 (see news) and will run until July 31. The film is screening in world avant-premiere.
Produced by Filmpolis, the Sasnal duo’s debut feature takes a documentary-style look at a small community – its hierarchy, the tense relations between people, the destructive forces in the family circle, and the patriarchal system. The film doesn’t offer a typical image of the Polish provinces, but instead shows a different side, with the emotional charge that this entails.
The competition for recent Polish films includes debut titles and productions that have already won acclaim at different festivals and from audiences. Among the young directors in the line-up is Agnieszka Łukasiak with Between Two Fires [+see also:
trailer
film profile], whose themes recall Maciej Dejczer’s 300 Miles to Heaven (1989). Like this Polish film emblematic of the fall of the communist system, Łukasik, who is known for her sociological observations, looks at the gulf between the mythical vision of the West (in this case Sweden, like in Dejczer’s work) that someone from a poor part of Europe (a young Byelorussian woman) may have, and the rigid and merciless reality in which they live.
Among the 12 titles in competition are many productions that have already been lauded elsewhere, notably Lech Majewski’s The Mill and the Cross [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Lech Majewski
film profile] and Jan Komasa’s Suicide Room [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jakub Gierszal - Shooting S…
interview: Jan Komasa
film profile].
The New Horizons Association will guarantee Polish theatrical distribution of the prize-winning titles picked by the festival jury (which comprises Thessaloniki fest artistic director Dimitris Eipides, Screen International correspondent Martin Blaney and Hungarian director György Pálfi).
(Translated from French)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
