Cineuropa met up with Bartek Pulcyn, the new artistic director of the Warsaw Film Festival, the 41st edition of which is unspooling from 10-19 October. The new head of the Polish film gathering discusses the changes he has introduced to the structure of the event. Pulcyn previously worked as a senior programmer for the Transatlantyk Film Festival and the Summer Film Academy in Zwierzyniec; he has also organised workshops for young film critics, called “Critics from the First Floor”.

Cineuropa: Let’s start with some facts and figures. Which edition of the festival is it for you?
Bartek Pulcyn: As an artistic director, the first one. However, I previously worked for the Warsaw Film Festival for 11 years – first as a volunteer, then as a volunteer coordinator, then head of accreditation, coordinator of the FIPRESCI Critics’ Project, and then curator of the short-film competition.

You must know the festival inside out then. What were the most important elements of the programme structure that you wanted to keep intact after assuming the role of artistic director?
The festival was always a place for discovering new names. We often say that Cristian Mungiu or Asghar Farhadi were at Warsaw IFF before they won a Palme d’Or, and that is true. I think some of the helmers we introduce in the 1-2 Competition for first- and second-time directors, or in the International Competition, will soon be at the biggest film festivals, winning the biggest prizes, because their offerings are very strong. So, we want to keep discovering new talents. And what we wanted to add or change was traditionally the second branch of the festival, which was a huge draw for me when I was a teenager: the buzziest titles, the biggest names. This is where the idea for the Encounters section came from. During these ten days, we will show the Warsaw audience 24 of the hottest films of this season, which premiered at Cannes, Venice, Toronto, San Sebastián and Locarno.

Encounters was a legendary event in communist Poland.
It was a centrally planned event: the public institution called Film Polski was opening a window to the world by buying foreign films and releasing them during this event, and then putting copies of them in the National Film Archive.

On one hand, Warsaw IFF has always been dedicated to the local audience, but at one point, it became an important place for screening films from Central-Eastern Europe. Are you keeping this editorial line, or is some other country or region more in focus now?
We maintain that editorial line, although we don’t have country quotas in our programme. We watch every film that is submitted, and this is how the programme is shaped. This year, we have several movies from neighbouring countries like Lithuania, and Lithuanian titles are not very present at the key festivals. We’re glad that we will screen these movies because I see the festival’s role as shedding light on what is valuable in our region.

Speaking of value, you have added a new section to the programme: “Animus. Cinema of Values”. It seems very important to you.
This initiative was born before I became the artistic director of Warsaw IFF. It stems from the need I observe in people in general to look for things that unite us and not divide us. These “things” can be as universal as love, friendship, family, truth or freedom, and people can come together around them. Film is also a good conversation starter. So, we offer movies that refer to these values, and we even offer scripts for this conversation. Sometimes we organise workshops after screenings.

Speaking of conversations, an important element of each event is meeting the filmmakers. How many guests are you expecting?
Around 200, including Polish filmmakers, of course, who, if they’re available, join the Q&As. In each section, we have a Polish film, and some of them will have their world premiere with us, so we expect many guests. The special guest will be Cristian Mungiu, who is coming for one day to give an open master class.

How do you try to reach out to young audiences?
We know that they are looking for experiences, and preferably collective ones. We have also done some research into it. So, that’s one of the reasons we created the Cinema in the Clouds section, which combines screenings with an experience – enjoying a panoramic view of Warsaw from 200 metres up in the air, from the Varso Tower, which is the tallest building in the EU. Also, we created a narrative around the festival – that it’s a place that offers experiences that can help create bonds and friendships. It’s not only watching films. I think the festival’s atmosphere makes us more open to one another: it’s easier to strike up a conversation about the films that have annoyed us, made us sad or delighted us.