This competition seeks to highlight the most important documentaries, animated films, and short films (not exceeding 60 minutes in duration) produced during the past season in Poland and throughout the world. In addition to competition screenings, the festival includes numerous satellite events, among them the only review of Internet films in Poland, workshops in animated film for children and public meetings with notables from the film world. Festival screenings are held at the Kijow and Mikro cinemas as well as in the Main Square of Krakow's Old Town. New components this year will involve the presentation of selected music videos produced during 2002, as well as screenings of 3-D documentaries at Krakow's Panasonic IMAX theatre.
Each year the jury awards a special prize known as the "Smok Smokow" / "Dragon of Dragons," which is bestowed upon outstanding filmmakers for their contribution to the development of the short and documentary film genres. This year the award will go to brothers Timothy and Stephen Quay, makers of animated films inspired by the works of
Bruno Schulz and Franz Kafka among other authors. The Quay retrospective scheduled for the festival will include THE STREET OF CROCODILES and their full-length feature titled THE INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, the first in which the Brothers Quay used live actors. THE INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA is replete with special effects, animated and otherwise, all of which were created at the editing stage.
This year festivalgoers will have an opportunity to see the short film LISTENING, directed by Kenneth Branagh. LISTENING has qualified for the international section of the competition, a section that will also include one Polish entry, Tomek Baginski's Oscar-nominated short titled KATEDRA / THE CATHEDRAL.
Among the documentaries to be shown is Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe's LOST IN LA MANCHA, a film that has been screened at festivals in Berlin, Toronto and Warsaw and received nominations for a European Film Award and a BAFTA.
The 43rd CRACOW FILM FESTIVAL will be accompanied by the second edition of ZANIM SLOWO STANIE SIE OBRAZEM / BEFORE THE WORD BECOMES IMAGE, an exhibition of film storyboards and sketches. The presentation will include storyboards for the films BELOVED (director: Jonathan Demme), BLACK HAWK DOWN (director: Ridley Scott), JANOSIK (directors:
Agnieszka Holland, Katarzyna Adamik), LA REINE MARGOT (director: Patrice Chereau), ANGEL EYES (director: Luis Mandoki), THE PIANIST (director:
Roman Polanski), as well as
Andrzej Wajda's original sketches for DANTON, PAN TADEUSZ and KRONIKA WYPADKOW MILOSNYCH / A CHRONICLE OF AMOROUS INCIDENTS.
Alongside the drawings, the exhibition will include selected film stills and production photographs. The main objective of the exhibit is to present the storyboard as an essential tool in the film development process to both filmmakers and the public. Also scheduled are a conference and a series of workshops about the importance of storyboards in film. Presentations of various storyboards and sketches will be accompanied by public meetings with filmmakers Katarzyna Adamik, Slawomir Idziak, Allan Starski and
Krzysztof Zanussi.
Last year's edition of the event was the first to include the Animated Film Workshops for Children. Workshop participants produced animated films subsequently screened during the closing celebration. During this year's second edition of the workshop, children aged 10-13 will use a variety of visual techniques (forming clay, paper, blocks) to produce their own animated films. The results of their efforts will be presented to the public on June 1st, which is celebrated in Poland and throughout Europe as "Children's Day."
Organizer: Apollo-Film
Director: Krzysztof Gierat
ul. Pychowicka 7, 30-364 Krakow
tel. (+48 12) 267 13 55, 267 44 40
fax (+48 12) 267 23 40, 267 10 60
www.cracowfilmfestival.pl