"Twist and Blood", dir. Kuba Czekaj
A showcase of Polish animated films from its most renowned creators provided a highlight at Kiev's Molodist Festival, along with screenings of three brand-new documentaries produced by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Kuba Czekaj's latest short competed in the main competition this year
The
Guide to the Poles series on Polish culture and history explores the national spirit through toys, fashion and the sport of mountain climbing. What has a greater impact on a child's development – a room full of expensive toys or perhaps no toys at all? Child's play is a fundamental need of every civilization, particularly one that's wriggling out of the grasp of an authoritarian regime in an effort to maintain a sense of personal freedom and identity. How did Polish youngsters of the socialist era discover independence and liberal thinking with a few twigs and some wire?
"Toys" shows how Poland's creativity flourished during a time of dire shortages.
"Political Dress" shows how bright colors and home-made tailoring can serve as a personal weapon against an oppressive political regime. Can one's appearance be a manifestation of liberty? From the hard-headed Stalinist era, when colorful socks could get you reprimanded by the militia, through a fascination with Parisian fashion in the '60s, the flower children of the '70s up through the martial law period and the punk-rock '80s.
How is it possible that in the People's Republic Poland of the '70s and '80s, at the very apex of socialism, Polish mountain climbers were the best in the world? How could the citizens of a nation in which the average pay was 20 dollars a month afford to organize climbing expeditions in the Himalayas? What distinguished climbers from Poland from those from the other side of the "iron curtain"? "Art of Freedom" answers the most poignant questions on the phenomenon of Polish Himalaism.
In addition to screenings of the three films in the five-part Guide to the Poles series, the festival also presented a project called The Polish School of Animation, its Observers and Continuators. The series of 45 films aspires to bring international recognition to the sixty-year history of Polish animation. Four film programmes present films ranging from the early 1950s, to the present day from such renowned directors of the past as Zbigniew Rybczyński, Józef Piwkowski, Józef Robakowski, Stefan Schabenbeck, Witold Giersz, Ryszard Antoniszczak and Jan Lenicato modern-day talents like Hieronim Neumann, Tomasz Baginski, Izabela Plucińska, Piotr Dumała and Marek Skrobecki.
The International Molodist Film Festival is among the 12 best film festivals in the world, as rated by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF). Every autumn fans of world cinema, prominent directors and actors visit Kiev during the festival to see the 300 films that are shown annually. The festival continues to introduce the world to new names and achievements in the field of cinematography.
The festival also holds competitions in three main categories. Polish director Kuba Czekajwas nominated for an award in the student film category for "Twist and Blood". It is a story about an eleven-year-old chubby boy nicknamed Brzucho (Belly), who is the butt of many a joke. The boy's parents want to change the boy and put him on a diet. Brzucho has his own way to relieve his negative emotions; however this is his secret. With time, he reveals his secret to his female friend, with whom he is slowly falling in love.
The Polish-German coproduction "In Every Respect", directed by Oliver Kruger, was also up for the prize in the student film category. In the full-length feature film category, the Polish-French-German-Ukrainain picture "Land of Oblivion", directed by Michale Boganim.
The Grand Prix of the Molodist festival is awarded annually by the International Jury to the best film of the competition programme. The winner of the Grand Prix gets a monetary reward of 10,000 USD and the 'Scythian Deer' statuette.
The Polish School of Animation came into being in the second half of the 1950s as one of the most interesting artistic phenomenas of Polish post-war culture. It was strongly connected with the "polską szkołą plakatu" / "Polish Poster School" and its emergence coincided with the "national schools" animation movement, which was particularly intense in the late 1950s- early 1960s. The movement was initiated by Jan Lenica and Walerian Borowczyk. Their jointly made films "Był sobie raz" / "Once Upon a Time" (1957), "Nagrodzone uczucia" / "Love Requited" (1957), "Dom" / "The House" (1958), and "Sztandar Młodych" / "The Colours of Youth" (1958) contributed to the breakthrough in Polish animated film which thereafter became imbued with allusions to complex contemporary issues.
Despite the fact that both founding artists moved to the West, a diverse, multi-generational group, known abroad as the Polish School, has developed in the country thanks to the work of Witold Giersz, Mirosław Kijowicz, Daniel Szczechura, Kazimierz Urbański, and younger arists, such as Stefan Schabenbeck, Ryszard Czekała, Julian Antonisz, Jerzy Kucia, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Jerzy Kalina, and Piotr Dumała. Their artistic output, appreciated world-wide, has influenced a subsequent generation of filmmakers, currently studying and making their film debuts in Poland. Outside of Poland, the school has been named one of the most interesting in world animation of the last fifty years.
The Polish Animation showcase is split up into 4 individual screening blocks:
Kineformy/ Cineforms, real. Andrzej Pawłowski (1957, 6’45’’)
Zmiana warty/ The Changing of the Guard, real. Włodzimierz Haupe, Halina Bielińska (1958, 7’30’’)
Dom/House, real. Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica (1958, 11’)
Szkoła/The School, real. Walerian Borowczyk (1958, 6’30’’)
Labirynt/Labyrinth, real. Jan Lenica (1961, 14’15’’)
Igraszki/ Playthings, real. Kazimierz Urbański (1962, 7’)
Czerwone i czarne/Red and Black, real. Witold Giersz (1963, 6’30’’)
Słodkie rytmy/Sweet Rhythms, real. Kazimierz Urbański (1965, 6’30’’)
Wszystko jest liczbą/ Everything Is a Number, real. Stefan Schabenbeck (1966, 7’30’’)
Koń/The Horse, real. Witold Giersz (1967, 6’)
Worek/ The Sack, real. Tadeusz Wilkosz (1967, 8’)
Hobby, real. Daniel Szczechura (1968, 7’)
Podróż/ A Trip, real. Daniel Szczechura (1970, 6’30’’)
Syn/The Son, real. Ryszard Czekała (1970, 9’45’’)
Apel/The Roll-Call, real. Ryszard Czekała (1970,7’15”)
Test I, real. Józef Robakowski (1971, 5’15’’)
Bankiet/ The Banquet, real. Zofia Oraczewska (1976, 8’15’’)
Portret/Portrait, real. Stanisław Lenartowicz (1977, 7’45’’)
Droga/Road, real. Mirosław Kijowicz (1971, 4’30’’)
Pierwszy film/The First Film, real. Józef Piwkowski (1981, 9’30’’)
Refleksy/Reflection, real. Jerzy Kucia (1979, 6’)
Tango, real. Zbigniew Rybczyński (1980, 8’)
Solo na ugorze/ Solo in a fallow Field, real. Jerzy Kalina (1981, 7’)
Łagodna/ Gentle Spirit, real. Piotr Dumała (1985, 11’)
Franz Kafka, real. Piotr Dumała (1991, 16’)
Drgająca struna – Chordofon z IV suity s-dur., real. Rafał Bartkowicz (1995, 5’30’’)
Maski/The Mask, real. Piotr Karwas (1998, 5’)
Romans dżentelmena/ Gentleman's Romance, real. Tomasz Kozak (2000, 10’)
Strojenie instrumentów/ Tuning the Instruments, real. Jerzy Kucia (2000, 15’15’’)
Śmierć na 5/A- Grade Death, Real. Mariusz Wilczyński (2002, 3’40’’)
Katedra/ The Cathedral, real. Tomasz Bagiński (2002, 6’30’’)
Po jabłkach/After Apples, real. Marta Pajek (2004, 5’30’’)
Niestety/Unfortunately, real. Mariusz Wilczyński, (2004, 13’)
Sztuka spadania/Fallen Art, real. Tomasz Bagiński (2004, 6’)
Zoopraxiscope, real. Hieronim Neumann (2005, 11’45’’)
Ichthys, real. Marek Skrobecki (2005, 15’)
Śniadanie/The Breakfast, real. Izabela Plucińska (2006, 2’20’’)
Wiek kamienia/The Age of Stone, real. Marta Skrocka (2007, 8’)
Dokumanimo, real. Małgorzata Bosek (2007, 10’)
Sekwens/Sequence, real. Robert Sowa (2007, 8’)
Refreny/ Refrains, real. Wiola Sowa (2007, 13’15’’)
Wywijas/Inside Out, real. Andrzej Jobczyk (2008, 5’30)
Laska/Stick, real. Michał Socha (2008, 5’)
Ukryte/Hidden, real. Piotr Szczepanowicz (2009, 7’)
Kto by pomyślał?/Who Would Have Though?, real. Ewa Borysewicz, (2009, 10’41’’)
Esterhazy, real. Izabela Plucińska (2009, 25’)
Rytuał/Ritual, real. Zbigniew Czapla (2010, 5’30’’)
For more information, see:
www.etiudaandanima.com
www.rotunda.pl
www.molodist.com
Date: 23-30th of October, 2011
Venue: Kyiv Cinema, Ukraine (tbc)
Organised by: Stowarzyszenie Rotunda
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute