29.
03.
2025.
Others
Others
"We now reached adulthood," said the Director of ŁpW at the opening, so we are fully aware of showing the best: fiction, documentary and animated student films as well as DANCING IN THE CORNER.
* WE’VE REACHED THE PORT FOR THE 18TH TIME! *
A weekend with student films from the Lodz Film School is ahead of us; the films which were produced by our school in 2024 and seen by international audiences on five continents. And now, with great pride, we are showing them in Warsaw in the “Capital Hall” of the Iluzjon Cinema.
This year's edition was opened by:
Milenia Fiedler, Rector of the Lodz Film School,
Krzysztof Brzezowski, Director of the Łodzią po Wiśle Review and Head of the Promotion Department of the Lodz Film School,
as well as
Tomasz Kolankiewicz, Director of the National Film Archive-Audiovisual Institute, of which the Iluzjon Cinema, the annual host of the Review, is a part.
"Without the kindness of FINa and the kindness of Director Kolankiewicz, this event would not have taken place! Without the energy, work and preparations of Krzysztof Brzezowski and a whole team of students who supported him, our meeting would not have been possible. And now the most important part - it certainly could not have taken place without talented young people! We will see here a fraction of what is created at the Lodz Film School," said Rector Milenia Fiedler.
Andrzej Mellin, the originator of Łodzią po Wiśle and lecturer, as well as employees of the Lodz Film School contributed to the preparations for the Review.
THANK YOU, we are riding the festival wave!
* FILM '90s. *
Nostalgic, funny, tender. This is how the audience assessed the opening film – DANCING IN THE CORNER directed by Jan Bujnowski, a graduate of directing and a PhD student at the Doctoral School of the Polish National Film School, produced by the Indeks Film Studio.
The meeting with the filmmakers, hosted by Bolesław Racięski, was attended by: Jan Bujnowski, Jan Grobliński – cinematographer, Iga Malińska – production manager, Kosma Kowalczyk – editor and Marcin Malatyński – producer and head of the INDEKS Film Studio.
"I have been lucky to work with a director who not only likes and understands the negative, but also has his own 16mm camera. When we started talking about this project, the negative was naturally the first choice. (...) Janek had "stashed" expired 16mm tapes which he had bought at various auctions. That is why we later "juggled" these negatives, choosing which were less out-of-date and would fit the individual shots, in order to extract the grain. To build this nostalgia as best as possible" - said cameraman Jan Grobliński about the cooperation.
* "KTO PECI, TEN LECI" *
"You have raised my childhood trauma, i.e. a kicked ball which disappears into the bushes, to the rank of a metaphor," commented Bolesław Racięski.
But the provocative question only served to emphasize the universality of the on-screen story, which, although it undoubtedly has the qualities of an original style, allows viewers to verify their own memories of their youth.
Football – present in social life on the television screen or in the local courtyard, brought people together, generations, regardless of gender.
So did this project, the screenplay for DANCING IN THE CORNER, brought together friends who, with a modest doctoral grant, decided to make a low-budget “big” film.
"It was a group of people who got together and made a film together. (...) However, there was a moment when a legal and financial problem appeared in this daring attempt to make a film. We met with Janek, who told us about his problems and the INDEKS Film Studio wanted to help - that's what they are there for (...) to legally constitute this film." - said Marcin Malatyński, producer from the Indeks Film Studio, operating at the Lodz Film School.
The audience began to wonder where the fascination with the 1990s came from, as it was not actually a successful or happy era for Polish society.
However, the filmmakers unanimously spoke of a certain universal sensitivity directed at the years of childhood, which for them are naturally connected with this period in Poland. Although not everything is clearly recorded in conscious memory, the artists have the ability to recreate elements, feelings and emotions related to the time of "post-communism".
"Many things are easier for me to imagine and those years stimulate my imagination more than modern times," said the director.
"The '90s are very interesting cinematically in terms of contrasts: shades of grey, street architecture, colours, clothing, car bodies, poverty and wealth, emerging at that time, and, importantly, the lack of mobile phones. Cinema loves contrasts," concluded the cinematographer.
* "A FANTASTIC FILM MADE BY A FANTASTIC GUY" *
"Your surname appears twice in the film, but with different names. Who is Marcin Bujnowski?" – Bolek Racięski asked about the role of the father, played by Jan Bujnowski's father.
"I thought that my father's character could be best played by my father. (...) It was his debut," said the director, and the decision to entrust the film role to a relative, an amateur, adds a special, para-autobiographical character to the film.
But even without this commentary, the film simply "works" on the big screen, and the magical realism "charms" the viewer thanks to the apt director, cinematographer and editor’s choices talked about by the filmmakers.
Conclusion?
DANCING IN THE CORNER is the first film league, and this is proven by the awards it has won so far: Rail d’Or Semaine de la Critique in Cannes and the Best Short Film award at the Les Arcs Festival in France; as well as festival screenings: Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Poitiers Film Festival in France, Curtas Vila do Conde IFF in Portugal, Tirana IFF in Albania.
ed.: Małgorzata Lisiecka-Muniak
photos: Jędrzej Kocjan
18th Łodzią po Wiśle
28-29, March, 2025
Iluzjon Cinema, Warszawa
ORGANIZER
Lodz Film School (PWSFTviT)
MAIN PARTNER
National Archive – Audiovisual Institute FINA
PARTNERS
ILUZJON Cinema, Documentary and Feature Film Studio in Warsaw WFDiF, Polish Filmmakers Society SFP, National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers KIPA, ATM Group, Black Photon, Editorium Postproduction, INDEKS Film Studio, Filmpolski.pl, CAMERA ACTION Festival
A weekend with student films from the Lodz Film School is ahead of us; the films which were produced by our school in 2024 and seen by international audiences on five continents. And now, with great pride, we are showing them in Warsaw in the “Capital Hall” of the Iluzjon Cinema.
This year's edition was opened by:
Milenia Fiedler, Rector of the Lodz Film School,
Krzysztof Brzezowski, Director of the Łodzią po Wiśle Review and Head of the Promotion Department of the Lodz Film School,
as well as
Tomasz Kolankiewicz, Director of the National Film Archive-Audiovisual Institute, of which the Iluzjon Cinema, the annual host of the Review, is a part.
"Without the kindness of FINa and the kindness of Director Kolankiewicz, this event would not have taken place! Without the energy, work and preparations of Krzysztof Brzezowski and a whole team of students who supported him, our meeting would not have been possible. And now the most important part - it certainly could not have taken place without talented young people! We will see here a fraction of what is created at the Lodz Film School," said Rector Milenia Fiedler.
Andrzej Mellin, the originator of Łodzią po Wiśle and lecturer, as well as employees of the Lodz Film School contributed to the preparations for the Review.
THANK YOU, we are riding the festival wave!
* FILM '90s. *
Nostalgic, funny, tender. This is how the audience assessed the opening film – DANCING IN THE CORNER directed by Jan Bujnowski, a graduate of directing and a PhD student at the Doctoral School of the Polish National Film School, produced by the Indeks Film Studio.
The meeting with the filmmakers, hosted by Bolesław Racięski, was attended by: Jan Bujnowski, Jan Grobliński – cinematographer, Iga Malińska – production manager, Kosma Kowalczyk – editor and Marcin Malatyński – producer and head of the INDEKS Film Studio.
"I have been lucky to work with a director who not only likes and understands the negative, but also has his own 16mm camera. When we started talking about this project, the negative was naturally the first choice. (...) Janek had "stashed" expired 16mm tapes which he had bought at various auctions. That is why we later "juggled" these negatives, choosing which were less out-of-date and would fit the individual shots, in order to extract the grain. To build this nostalgia as best as possible" - said cameraman Jan Grobliński about the cooperation.
* "KTO PECI, TEN LECI" *
"You have raised my childhood trauma, i.e. a kicked ball which disappears into the bushes, to the rank of a metaphor," commented Bolesław Racięski.
But the provocative question only served to emphasize the universality of the on-screen story, which, although it undoubtedly has the qualities of an original style, allows viewers to verify their own memories of their youth.
Football – present in social life on the television screen or in the local courtyard, brought people together, generations, regardless of gender.
So did this project, the screenplay for DANCING IN THE CORNER, brought together friends who, with a modest doctoral grant, decided to make a low-budget “big” film.
"It was a group of people who got together and made a film together. (...) However, there was a moment when a legal and financial problem appeared in this daring attempt to make a film. We met with Janek, who told us about his problems and the INDEKS Film Studio wanted to help - that's what they are there for (...) to legally constitute this film." - said Marcin Malatyński, producer from the Indeks Film Studio, operating at the Lodz Film School.
The audience began to wonder where the fascination with the 1990s came from, as it was not actually a successful or happy era for Polish society.
However, the filmmakers unanimously spoke of a certain universal sensitivity directed at the years of childhood, which for them are naturally connected with this period in Poland. Although not everything is clearly recorded in conscious memory, the artists have the ability to recreate elements, feelings and emotions related to the time of "post-communism".
"Many things are easier for me to imagine and those years stimulate my imagination more than modern times," said the director.
"The '90s are very interesting cinematically in terms of contrasts: shades of grey, street architecture, colours, clothing, car bodies, poverty and wealth, emerging at that time, and, importantly, the lack of mobile phones. Cinema loves contrasts," concluded the cinematographer.
* "A FANTASTIC FILM MADE BY A FANTASTIC GUY" *
"Your surname appears twice in the film, but with different names. Who is Marcin Bujnowski?" – Bolek Racięski asked about the role of the father, played by Jan Bujnowski's father.
"I thought that my father's character could be best played by my father. (...) It was his debut," said the director, and the decision to entrust the film role to a relative, an amateur, adds a special, para-autobiographical character to the film.
But even without this commentary, the film simply "works" on the big screen, and the magical realism "charms" the viewer thanks to the apt director, cinematographer and editor’s choices talked about by the filmmakers.
Conclusion?
DANCING IN THE CORNER is the first film league, and this is proven by the awards it has won so far: Rail d’Or Semaine de la Critique in Cannes and the Best Short Film award at the Les Arcs Festival in France; as well as festival screenings: Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Poitiers Film Festival in France, Curtas Vila do Conde IFF in Portugal, Tirana IFF in Albania.
ed.: Małgorzata Lisiecka-Muniak
photos: Jędrzej Kocjan
18th Łodzią po Wiśle
28-29, March, 2025
Iluzjon Cinema, Warszawa
ORGANIZER
Lodz Film School (PWSFTviT)
MAIN PARTNER
National Archive – Audiovisual Institute FINA
PARTNERS
ILUZJON Cinema, Documentary and Feature Film Studio in Warsaw WFDiF, Polish Filmmakers Society SFP, National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers KIPA, ATM Group, Black Photon, Editorium Postproduction, INDEKS Film Studio, Filmpolski.pl, CAMERA ACTION Festival