“The Kamera Akcja Festival is an event during which the reception of the film, the experience, the emotions associated with the screening are in the first place. The Kamera Akcja Festival is based on two pillars: emphasizing the importance of film criticism and looking at the industry from a broad perspective. These two foundations lead to the need to distinguish creative, art-sensitive and incredibly creative personalities who inspire the festival participants. For fifteen years, the organizers have been emphasizing that film is a network of interconnected vessels, teamwork and a passion for cinema. We want to honor this passion for cinema, draw attention to those who inspire us to discover and explore cinema,” says Malwina Czajka, director of FKA.
“This year, the special award of the Kamera Akcja Festival — presented for the first time — will be given to Mariola Wiktor, a film journalist and correspondent from many prestigious festivals around the world, including Venice, Cannes, Locarno, Karlovy Vary and Gdynia. A graduate of Polish Philology and Cultural Studies at the University of Łódź. Since 2001, she has been a member of the International Federation of Film Critics, on whose behalf she sat on the jury of the FIPRESCI competition section of the 75th IFF in Cannes. Her energetic commitment and excitement accompanying each subsequent screening is an attitude worth honoring,” adds the festival director.
“With the Special Awards, we want to distinguish courage, temperament and perseverance in one’s passions. And these are the features that are certainly dominant when we think of Mariola Wiktor,” echoes Przemek Glajzner, the festival director. The award for the film critic will be presented together with the award for the filmmaker during the 15th Kamera Akcja Festival. The latter will be announced by the organizers on September 17, 2024.
A controversial film by a master that evokes extreme emotions among viewers – “Megalopolis”, Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus, will shock the audience of this year’s edition of the Camera Action Festival. The film shown in Cannes is a political satire, science fiction and a reference to ancient Rome in one.
“Absolutely insane, the craziest movie I’ve ever seen. … There’s absolutely nothing in ‘Megalopolis’ that resembles a ‘normal’ movie. The story has its own logic, pace and language. The characters speak in ancient phrases and words, mixing bits of Shakespeare and Ovid with simple Latin. Some characters communicate in rhymes, others in lofty verse,” writes critic Bilge Ebiri in Vulture. “Coppola’s latest is like ‘Succession’ meets ‘Batman Forever’ meets a lava lamp,” adds Robbie Collin in the Los Angeles Times.
Coppola harnessed the hottest stars of world cinema for his production – viewers will see on the screen Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”, “Annette”), Aubrey Plaza (“White Lotus”) and even Dustin Hoffman (“The Graduate”, “Rain Man”).
The film was over 40 years in the making — the first draft of the script was ready in the early 80s, three years after the premiere of the famous “Apocalypse Now”. The production cost 120 million dollars and was financed by Francis Ford Coppola himself — to do it, the director sold shares in his profitable vineyard. Was it worth it? Who will be delighted by the film and who will flee the cinema? One thing is certain — at the 15th FKA, discussions about Coppola’s film will last until late at night.
This year, the bursting-at-the-seams program of the stationary edition of FKA is preceded by a ten-day, attraction-packed online program. A return to cult titles or masterful classics, as well as the first films by contemporary cinema auteurs that are the talk of the film world – this is an online selection precisely tailored to the 15th anniversary of the Kamera Akcja Festival. From October 14 to 23, 2024, viewers will be able to see 16 feature-length and 13 short specially selected films.
The online part of the program includes “Simona” by Natalia Koryncka-Gruz, a story about the uncompromising Simona Kossak through the lens of her partner Lech Wilczek. This documentary is a must-see before watching the closing film of the 15th FKA “Simona Kossak” directed by Adrian Panek with Sandra Drzymalska and Jakub Gierszał in the main roles.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, whose “Among the Dry Grasses” moved the sensitivity of the viewers of the previous edition of the event, is also returning to the Kamera Akcja Festival. This time, the directors will recall “Winter Sleep” (2014) presented at the 5th FKA – the Turkish candidate for the Oscar in 2015 and a work awarded the Palme d’Or in Cannes, in which the stunning landscapes of Cappadocia contrast with an intimate portrait of a marriage, based on masterful dialogues full of tension.
Viewers cannot miss the film by the guest of the 11th edition of FKA Mark Cousins. His “My Name is Alfred Hitchcock” will be an introduction to “Psycho”, which in the director’s version will appear on the festival screens in Łódź. Also worthy of special attention is the award-winning “City of God”, which has, among others, 4 Oscar nominations in 2004. Fernando Meirelles’ film is a gloomy gangster saga in the style of Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas”, combining social elements like in Danny Boyle’s “Trainspotting”.
The online part of the 15th FKA is also a nod to animation enthusiasts – the program includes “Metropia” by Tarik Saleh, whose visual concept and effects developed specifically for its needs make this film unlike anything that has ever been made in cinema (Twitch Film). The organizers also do not forget about domestic cinematography. Special screenings of the films “Dom zły” by Wojciech Smarzowski, “Chaos” by Xawery Żuławski, “Hostages” by Rezo Gigineishvili presented at the 67th Berlinale, whose Polish co-producer is Ewa Puszczyńska from the Łódź studio Extreme Emotions, have been prepared for the audience. Before festival goers see the latest works of graduates of the Łódź Film School – “Dziewczyna z igła” or “Lany Poniedziałek” – they can watch short films by Magnus von Horn and Justyna Mytnik online.
The 15th Kamera Akcja Festival will take place from 24 to 27.10.2024 in Łódź and from 14 to 23.10.2024 online on the Think Film platform. The project is implemented thanks to co-financing from the budget of the City of Łódź. Co-financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Fund for the Promotion of Culture, the Polish Film Institute and the University of Łódź – the patron of the festival. The main partners of the festival are Monopolis and the Film School in Łódź. The Kamera Akcja Festival and the Man in Danger Media Festival form the cooperation network “Łódź Film Festival”. Tickets are on sale only until 10 October 2024.