17/09/2018 - Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War and Małgorzata Szumowska’s Mug are among the films competing for the Golden Lions, the gathering’s top prize

2018 is a very good year for Polish cinema, and the selection of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia definitely reflects that. For example, the main competition includes films crowned with the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for Best Director (Małgorzata Szumowska’s Mug [+see also:
film review
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interview: Małgorzata Szumowska
film profile]) and Cannes’ Best Director Award (Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War [+see also:
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Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
film profile]). The Polish Film Festival, which officially starts today, 17 September, with a gala screening of the Golden Lions contender The Butler [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Filip Bajon, will also showcase eight premieres in the main competition and will include works by helmers of all generations, ranging from debutants, such as Aleksander Pietrzak, to masters like Krzysztof Zanussi.

Among the most highly anticipated titles are Clergy [+see also:
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interview: Wojciech Smarzowski
film profile] by Wojciech Smarzowski, Playing Hard [+see also:
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film profile] by Kinga Dębska, The Mute [+see also:
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film profile] by Bartosz Konopka, Ether [+see also:
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film profile] by Krzysztof Zanussi, Autsajder [+see also:
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film profile] by Adam Sikora, A Hole in the Head [+see also:
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film profile] by Piotr Subbotko, Pardon [+see also:
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film profile] by Jan Jakub Kolski, Werewolf [+see also:
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interview: Adrian Panek
film profile] by Adrian Panek and 7 Emotions [+see also:
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film profile] by one of Poland’s most unique artistic voices, Marek Koterski.

Other films vying for the Golden Lions were previously screened in Polish cinemas or at national festivals: Julius [+see also:
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film profile] by Aleksander Pietrzak, A Cat with a Dog [+see also:
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film profile] by Janusz Kondratiuk, Once Upon a Time in November [+see also:
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interview: Andrzej Jakimowski
film profile] by Andrzej Jakimowski, Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s Fugue [+see also:
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interview: Agnieszka Smoczyńska
film profile], and the aforementioned Cold War and Mug.

The other competitive section, Vision Apart, established in 2004 to present more experimental works, sees eight contenders vying for the main award, including movies that were previously shown at Cannes (Another Day of Life [+see also:
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interview: Raul de la Fuente
film profile] by Damian Nenow and Raúl de la Fuente), Rotterdam (Nina [+see also:
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film profile] by Olga Chajdas, My Friend the Polish Girl [+see also:
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film profile] by Ewa Banaszkiewicz and Mateusz Dymek) and Karlovy Vary (53 Wars [+see also:
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interview: Ewa Bukowska
film profile] by Ewa Bukowska). This section is rounded off by Monument [+see also:
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film profile] by Jagoda Szelc (whose first film, Tower. A Bright Day [+see also:
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interview: Jagoda Szelc
film profile], was part of the 2018 Berlinale Forum), The Day of Chocolate [+see also:
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interview: Dawid Ogrodnik
film profile] by Jacek Bławut, Leave Me Not [+see also:
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film profile] by Grzegorz Lewandowski and Windows, Windows by Wojciech Solarz. Gdynia’s programme also boasts a Polish short-film competition and a handful of sidebars, presenting digitally restored films, minority co-productions with Poland and other titles.

The winners will be announced on 22 September.