The feature film Heat by Agata Trzebuchowska and Mateusz Pacewicz, the animation Pussy by Renata Gąsiorowska, and the documentary Close Ties by Zofia Kowalewska will all be shown to the audience of the most important festival of independent film in the world.
Heat
Heat is an eight minute-long film by Agata Trzebuchowska and Mateusz Pacewicz. The cinematography is by Zuzanna Kernbach and it stars Anna Milewska, Antoni Mitraszewski and Bruno Jasieński. It premiered during the 14th International Film Festival Tofifest in Toruń.
The film is about a young boy who does an unusual favour for his colleague - pretending to be his friend, he visits his grandmother, who suffers from dementia. The woman takes him for a walk to a place which evokes old memories and hides the greatest secret of her life.
At Sundance, the film will be presented in the International Narrative Short Films section.
Close Ties
Close Ties is a story about a marriage with a 45-year-long history and a turbulent past. A few years before filming, Zdzisław left his wife Barbara and moved out to start a new life with his lover. After falling ill, he returns to their once shared apartment. Barbara and Zdzisław try again to answer the question of who they are to each other. The approaching anniversary of their marriage is an opportunity to understand their new relationship.
The film is by Zofia Kowalewska, a 21-year-old student at the Directing Department of the National Film School in Łódź. She is in fact the granddaughter of the main protagonists. She tells their story in a humorous way, turning Close Ties into a sunny story about loss and forgiveness. The film was awarded at festivals in Amsterdam, Kraków and Leipzig, and made it onto the shortlist of films competing for the Academy Award for Best Short Film. During Sundance, Close Ties will be presented in the section Documentary Short Films.
Pussy
Pussy is an animated film directed by Renata Gąsiorowska, a student at the National Film School in Łódź, created under Mariusz Wilczyński and Joanna Jasińska.
The film is the story of a young woman who spends an evening in her apartment. ‘The protagonist decides to organise a session of solitary pleasure, but not everything goes according to plan,’ says Filmpolski.pl.
Pussy by Renata Gąsiorowska was awarded at the American Film Institute Awards (AFI FEST) for Best Animated Film and at the Koszalin Debut Film Festival The Youth and Film, where she was awarded for a ‘surreal metaphor about man’s liberty’. At the Sundance Festival, the film will be presented in the Midnight Short Films section.
The Sundance Film Festival is the largest annual independent film festival in the USA. It is held in Park City, Utah. The festival was founded by Robert Redford and the festival not only presents the most interesting films from around the world, but also supports independent film. The Sundance Film Institute gives scholarships for the promising directors, screenwriters and producers.
More info about the festival can be found on its official website.