23/04/2015 - The Czech-Polish film event Cinema on the Border shines the spotlight on movies from the Visegrad region

The Czech Republic and Poland will join forces for the 17^th time for the film showcase Cinema on the Border (Kino na Granicy). The Czech town of Český Těšín and its Polish partner town of Cieszyn, which are divided by the River Olza, will host the six-day festival (28 April–3 May) focusing on Czech, Polish and Slovakian cinema. The programmers have prepared a diverse selection of last year’s productions, creating a comprehensive overview of the cinematic situation in all three countries.

The film of the year, The Way Out [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petr Václav
film profile], and the provocative documentary Daniel’s World [+see also:
trailer
interview: Veronika Lišková
film profile] are on the line-up alongside more mainstream fare, such as the box-office hit Three Brothers [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and The Storyteller, representing Czech cinema, while the war drama Warsaw 44 [+see also:
trailer
interview: Zofia Wichlacz
film profile], the comedy Kebab & Horoscope [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Gods [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – the winner of six Polish Film Awards, including Best Film – will be flying the Polish flag. Slovakian cinema is mostly represented by documentaries along with the Oscars submission A Step into the Dark [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and two omnibus films, Children and Slovakia 2.0. The complete line-up of Polish, Czech and Slovakian films boasts the bulk of last year’s 47 titles and also includes short films and documentaries as well as 51 movies screening as part of retrospectives. 

After last year’s spotlight on female filmmakers in Polish cinema, the focus moves southwards for the upcoming edition. Věra Chytilová, Ester Krumbachová, Marie Poledňáková and Helena Třeštíková are the subjects of the thematic cycle entitled “Daisies – Female Cinema in Czechoslovakia”. Furthermore, a special spot is dedicated to Czech director Drahomíra Vihanová, Slovakian actress Emília Vášáryová and Polish actress Katarzyna Figura in the form of individual retrospectives. However, the male contribution to local cinema will not be neglected either. The works of Czech writer and scriptwriter Ludvík Aškenazy, Polish director Marcin Krzyształowicz, Slovakian director Stanislav Párnický and the bold Czech acting talent Boleslav Polívka will be celebrated in their respective programming sections.

The full line-up can be accessed via the Cinema on the Border website.