Cinemaforum is a unique event on the festival map of Poland, focused exclusively on short film forms – in all their diversity and multidimensionality. Every year, the festival attracts thousands of fans of niche, unique cinema that sets new directions in film art. It is an ideal proposition for those who are looking for something fresh and different; something they won’t find in the standard cinema repertoire.
International Short Feature Film Competition
The Cinemaforum Main Competition presents the best short films from around the world. During the screening of films nominated for the Awards. Jan Machulski, the Warsaw audience has the opportunity to see a review of short discoveries from Polish festivals from the entire last season. Non-competitive sections include: an opportunity to look at the latest trends in American and British cinematography, as well as to see where today’s masters and mistresses of cinema started.
The International Short Feature Film Competition is the main point of the festival program. This year, artistic director Błażej Hrapkowicz selected 15 productions from such distant corners of the globe as Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, China and Canada, not forgetting about European films, including Polish titles. The pictures that will compete for the Grand Prix and the Audience Award include: winner of the main prize for a short film at Sundance – “The Flying Sailor” (directed by Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbis), awarded in Cannes “Bolero” (directed by Nans Laborde-Jourdàa) and nominated for an Oscar and European Film Award “Ice Merchants” (dir. João Gonzalez).
All films from the Main Competition will be presented on November 24-25, 2023 at the Atlantic Cinema. The winning title will be selected by famous personalities from the world of film: Anna Jadowska, Kaja Krawczuk-Wnuk, Maria Sobocińska and – according to tradition – Janusz Zaorski as the chairman of the jury. The festival audience will also award their prize.
Awards Jan Machulski
However, Cinemaforum is not only about film journeys to distant corners of the globe. The festival is also an opportunity to see the best short films from Poland, which have been nominated for awards over the last 12 months. Jan Machulski – in 9 categories, at 7 partner festivals. This year there are as many as 32 titles. These include the award-winning “Moje Stare” by Natasza Parzymies, “Beautiful flower meadow” by Emi Buchwald or “Bać Kimś” by Michał Toczek, as well as the independent “Droga” by Łukasz Pompa, the experimental “4 Dogs” by Maciej Białoruski and the one just starting its path festival “Song of the Humpback Whales” by Klaudia Folga.
The winners in all categories (direction, screenplay, cinematography, editing, actor, actress, documentary, animation, film) will be selected by the annually appointed Jury, to which this year invited actress Lena Górê, director Maria Ornaf (winner of the 18th edition of the Awards), cinematographer film director Andrzej Ślązak (PSC representative), editor Magdalena Chowańska (PSM representative), actor Maciej Makowski (ZASP representative) and actor and teacher Grzegorz Milczarczyk. Screenings of films nominated for the Awards. Jan Machulski will take place on November 22-23, 2023 at the Atlantic Cinema.
Special shows
During the 22nd edition of Cinemaforum, there will also be permanent non-competitive sections, such as American Shorts, BAFTA Shorts, Champions and the Independent Music Video Show. As part of the review of short films from the USA, organized together with the American Film Festival in Wrocław, we will see 6 films whose authors focus on the pathologies of the American health service, systemic racism and sexual violence, and at the same time fluently use conventions such as black comedy, social drama, thriller. The titles from the American Shorts section will once again prove that no one uses genre cinema to capture the pulse of contemporary times like American filmmakers.
Supported by the British Council, the BAFTA Shorts section is a chance to see the best British short films, nominated for BAFTA and Oscar, as well as the Academy Award-winning “An Irish Goodbye” (directed by Tom Berkeley) and “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse” (dir. Charlie Mackesy, Peter Baynton).
Masters is a section where short films made by currently recognized directors are presented. Their group undoubtedly includes Jan Holoubek, Małgorzata Szumowska and this year’s winner of the Palme d’Or in Cannes, Justine Triet. The first one mentioned will meet the audience after the screening of the master and mistresses’ etudes, which will take place on Saturday, November 25, at 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be led by Marcin Radomski.
On the Sunday after the gala (November 26), the 12th Independent Music Video Show will traditionally take place, organized by Marta Karnkowska, and this year it returns to its roots! Punk and independent productions will dominate. In addition to punk, there will be cold wave, electro, rap, rock, ballad and even an actor’s song, as well as sound and visual experiments that cannot be pigeonholed. Between 10 p.m. and midnight we will see as many as 30 clips! During the festival, there will also be special screenings of films by Magdalena Juszczyk (“Poles of Donbas”, “Faith. Hope. Love”) and the independent production “Randka” directed by Paweł Stroiński.
Accompanying events
Film education is also an extremely important part of Cinemaforum. The festival will again be accompanied by open meetings with renowned creators, such as Paweł Maślona and Lena Góra, organized under the banner of Masterclass – Film School at the Film Culture Center. Andrzej Wajda. A full-day meeting of the A35 Studio was prepared for teachers, pedagogues and educators, filled with training, workshops and discussions on film education. The experts will include: the author of the SpoilerMaster podcast, Michał Oleszczyk, and the blogger and teacher known under the pseudonym Koń Movie – Marcin Kończewski. In addition, accredited participants from Poland, France, Norway and Ukraine will take part in specialized script workshops at the SPA Script Pitching Academy.
The festival will traditionally culminate with the final gala, which will take place on November 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Atlantic Cinema. The names of the winners of the Main Competition will be announced during the ceremony. We will also meet the winners of the awards. Jan Machulski and the winners of the Script Wars screenplay competition organized by Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
