Scene from "Papusza", 2013, director: Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze, cinematography: Wojciech Staroń.
In April 2013, Turkey Meets Poland, a special panel aimed at getting the Turkish and international film industries interested in Polish cinema was organized with the participation of filmmakers and representatives from film institutions of both countries, in order to develop future opportunities for cultural collaboration.
As a follow up to the 2013 panel, a key goal of the 2014 Meetings on the Bridge (MoB) is to present Poland as a potential partner for co-production. MoB will bring together Polish and Turkish young producers with international experience at the so called round-table, to discuss possibilities of mutual collaboration. Furthermore, there will be additional meetings with German producers, who have already been part of MoB in the past years and have developed fruitful connections with the Turkish film industry. Their previous experience in co-development projects are hoped to provide beneficial use for the future Polish-Turkish film cooperations.
On the Polish side, the 2014 MoB will be attended by Łukasz Dzięcioł and Ewa Puszczyńska of Opus Film, Agnieszka Wasiak of Lava Films, Maria Blicharska of Donten & Lacroix, and Małgorzata Jurczak from Scorpion Arte.
Cinematographers Meet at a Fireside Chat: Emre Erkmen Hosts Wojciech Staroń
On Tuesday, April 15, between 10:30-12:00 at Akbank Sanat, Turkish cinematographer Emre Erkmen will host prominent Polish cinematographer Wojciech Staroń, winner of the International Manaki Brothers Film Festival Cinematography Award, and who - together with Krzysztof Ptak - worked on the cinematography for the 2013 feature release, Papusza. Papusza (2013) will be screened on the same day at 16.00 as part of the Istanbul Film Festival International Competition.
Directors Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze's film gained international praise for its depiction of Bronisława Wajs, or Papusza – the Gypsy poet who wrote in the language of the Roma. She came from the Polska Roma ethnic group, the Polish lowland Roma. Born in Lublin on the 17th of August 1908 or the 30th of May 1910, she died on the 8th of February 1987 in Inowrocław.
During the fireside chat, Staroń hopes to discuss topics including: "cinematographer as the first viewer of the film"; "how do we move emotions to the screen?", "looking for a proper image for a story" - on the basis of films such as Papusza, El Premio and Argentinian Lesson. Staroń is also the recipient of the Silver Bear (2011) at the Berlinale for his cinematography in El Premio.
Staroń, Argentinian Lesson (2011), Movie Trailer
In line with this year's 9th Meetings on the Bridge program, the 33rd Istanbul International Film Festival between 5-20 April will also feature screenings of a variety of key feature releases by Polish directors such as Wajda, and Krauze, as well as screenings of Experimental Polish Animation.
The MoB meetings in 2014, organized by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in cooperation with the Polish Film Institute, will be followed by the Turkish side's attendance at the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival in July 2014 and a meeting of members of the Turkish and Polish film industry in Wrocław.
More on Polish Film in Turkey throughout 2014:
Polish Film School at the Pera Museum
Kieślowski Retrospective at Istanbul Modern
Edited by Elcin M. 10/03/2014