Ekran Festival Highlights: October 21-23
20 films, director Q&As, awards and discussions at Polish film fest
by Staff
The Ekran Toronto Polish Film Festival returns once again to The Revue Cinema, Friday, October 21, through Sunday, October 23.
Festival audiences will have the opportunity to see 20 Polish films with English subtitles. Six will be competing for the Ekran viewer’s choice award.
“It’s important for us to promote Polish films in Canada because we believe in their quality and their ability to depict today’s worldly landscape,” said Marta Ogonek, Ekran’s director. “Although access to Polish and international films is made easy thanks to the Internet and DVDs, there is nothing like experiencing a fantastic story being told through film in a theatre setting.”
A screening of Cudowne Lato also known as Wonderful Summer launches the festival. Film director Ryszard Brylski will attend and take part in a Q&A following the film. Brylski is well known in Poland for his work on such films as Żurek, Deborah and the popular television series Plebania and Pogoda na piątek.
On Saturday, October 22, Ekran offers a free noon presentation at the Roncy Gallery, just south of The Revue. Visual arts journalist Magda Olczyk presents three reports and screenings of inventive Polish artists and filmmakers, including artist Christian Tomaszewski, an American resident, who is fascinated by lamps in David Lynch’s films, Lech Majewski and Anna Konik.
For our 1 p.m. Saturday screening of The Officer’s Wife, director Piotr Uzarowicz will be flying in from Los Angeles to attend the screening and take part in a Q&A. His film is a personal tribute to those who lost their lives in the Katyn massacre, some of whom were members of his family. This will be a most gripping afternoon.
For the second time, we will be awarding the Michal Maryniarczyk prize for best short film from contest submissions we received from all over the world. The contest guidelines require that the subject matter be Polish or the contestant be of Polish descent. In his memory, the award ceremony will showcase Maryniarczyk’s film Tor 13.
Our animation segment will be of particular interest. You'll be able to see the latest in Polish animation, which is having a wide impact because of innovative techniques.
The weekend’s headliners also include the WWII suspense drama, Joanna by Feliks Falk; Jutro będzie lepie (Tomorrow will be better) by Dorota Kędzierzawska, Latające świnie (Flying Pigs) by Anna Kazejak, Erratum by Marek Lechki, and Uwikłanie (“Entanglement”) by Jacek Bromski.
Advance tickets for these screenings purchased online at the Ekran website or at Polimex Travel locations at a cost of $12. Tickets will also be on sale before screenings at the Revue Cinema for $15.
The Toronto Polish Festival is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, the Polish Filmmakers Association and is supported by the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Toronto. We would like to thank our sponsors and film patrons for their continued support.