The screenings of Karolina Bielawska’s Call me Marianna, Aneta Kopacz’s Joanna, Tomasz Śliwiński’s Our Curse and Małgorzata Szumowska’s Body will inaugurate the Pólska Bíóárið Year of Polish cinema in Iceland.
The funding of the project, provided by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, makes it possible for Icelanders to get to know Polish films and to meet with Polish filmmakers throughout the whole year. More detailed information about Polish cinematography and current events related to Polish film (not only those organised as part of the project) can be found on the Pólska Bíóárið website. The project aims to provoke dialogue and to enable broader cooperation between the Polish and Icelandic film industries.
A Polish-Icelandic co-production promoting the Pólska Bíóárið 2016 project has been released recently and stars well-known Icelandic actors Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and Benedikt Erlingsson speaking Polish. Directed by Arnie Olafur Asgeirsson with the support of artistic collective Lunapark the three short films encourage Icelanders to attend special screenings and participate in the events.
Poles are the largest national minority in Iceland, (from 3% to 6% of the total population, depending on the location). Despite this, most Icelanders are not familiar with Polish culture. In 2015, Ewa Marcinek and Agata Szakiel organised a series of screenings of Polish films as part of the Reykjavik International Film Festival 2015 which enjoyed great popularity among the festival audience. Thus, the idea to create more opportunities of close encounters with Polish film was conceived.
Source: own materials, compiled by PW, translated by GS, 24 February 2016