A scene from "David", dir. Joel Fendelman, USA, 2011. Photo courtesy of wjff.pl
One of Europe's most eminent film festivals dedicated to Jewish cinema, honours Agnieszka Holland this year, an Academy-Award nominated Polish film and TV director and screenwriter
Agnieszka Holland is to receive the Honourary 2011 David Camera at the ninth edition of the WJFF for "Outstanding and uncompromising film work dealing with the most difficult subjects".
This year's feature film completion includes "David" (2011) directed by Joel Fendelman, an official selection at the ROME Film Festival, "Footnote" (2011) directed by Joseph Cedar, best screenplay award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, "Sarah's key" (2010) directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner, actress Kristin Scott Thomas received the best female lead role Prix Lumiere award and "Holy rollers" (2010) directed by Kevin Tyler Asche, nominated for the Grand Jury Dramatic Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
Films from the US, Israel, France and as far away as Cambodia also compete for the documentary, short fiction and short documentary awards. Films include "After the silence" (2010) directed by Stephani Burger, "Nicky's family" directed by Matej Minac and "Landlord" (2010) directed by Hanan Harchol.
The ninth edition of the Warsaw Jewish Film Festival also includes a number of films by Agnieszka Holland. "Europe, Europe" (1990) was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe. "Angry harvest" (1985) was also nominated for an Oscar. Both films deal with the subject of Jews in Poland and Germany.
Palestinian Fakhri Hamad is heading this year's festival jury.
Since 2003 the programme of each of the Warsaw Jewish Film Festival has included several dozen films nominated for an Oscar, a dozen or so laureates of the Israeli and Swedish Film Academies, as well as productions awarded in Cannes and Karlove Vary. "West Bank Story" by Ari Sandel, which was awarded the first prize at the 2006 WJFF, received an Oscar in the same category three months later. Two other films presented at the festival, Polish "Katy" by Andrzej Wajda and Israeli "Beaufort" by Joseph Cedar were later nominated for an Oscar.
The Warsaw Jewish Film Festival is a co-founder of the Cinema Jenin Association which reconstructed a cinema building, the Centre for Culture and Peace, in the Palestinian city of Jenin, which was officially opened on the 5th of August 2010.
Warsaw's Jewish Film Festival is held at Kinoteka and Świt cinemas in Warsaw between the 8-13th of November 2011.
For more information about the festival, see: http://www.wjff.pl/en/
Source: press materials