The Film Town at Galeria Krakowska is the beating heart of the Festival. As part of the OFF NA MAKSA talks, on May 3, Maks Behr talked to Iza Kuna and Katarzyna Warnke, who starred in a new series production by player.pl called “Klara”. Viewers had the opportunity to meet “Klara” during the Storytellers shows, so the conversation was a great extension of this annual celebration of TV series.
They also warmed up the emotions of the audience gathered in the Film Town Paweł Maślonadirector of the film “Kos” i Bartosz Bielenia, the actor of one of the main roles. The conversation about this brave film discussion with Polish history on May 3 resonated exceptionally strongly. As the film's director noted, speaking about his motivations for tackling such a difficult topic: “Every mature community should have the courage to face what is difficult, what is unnamed, unspoken (…) this legacy of serfdom is still present in us.”
Those gathered in the square next to Galeria Krakowska also had the opportunity to find out what prompted Maślona to use the conventions of the western and revenge cinema, and to hear about how ambiguous the process of creating the film was.
Bartosz Bielenia, in turn, spoke emotionally about what fascinated him in the character of Ignac, who, despite everything, is driven by selfish motives: “That was exactly what interested me most in this story. If it were a peasant who happily joins to history, grabs the scythe and goes to the barricades, it simply wouldn't be interesting (…). His internal conflict was the most interesting (…) He has one very strong imperative, which breaks only in the scene in the inn, “Wherever the cup overflows, this is where the decision is actually made.”
Independent cinema is about conversations about what is important, although not always easy. This was also evidenced by the Q&A sessions that took place after today's screenings of films participating in the Polish Feature Film Competition: “You want peace, get ready for war” directed by Agnieszka Elbanowska, “White Courage” directed by Marcin Koszałka and the already mentioned “Blackbird” directed by Paweł Maślony.
In the auditorium of the Academy of Fine Arts, the festival audience met the creators of works participating in the Main Competition “Making the Path”. The guest of the Q&A session after the screening of “Silent Roar” was Johnny Barrington, the film's director. Viewers of “Tyle co nic” could talk to its director, Grzegorz Dębowski, as well as Artur Poczesny, Jerzy Kapuściński and Agnieszka Kwietniewska. The last meeting of the evening was devoted to the production of “78 Days”, which was talked about by its director, Emila Gasić.
The excitement doesn't end there yet! On May 3, there was also a unique special screening at the Kijów Cinema. Before the screening of “The Conductor” directed by Andrzej Wajda, he talked about his experiences in cooperation with this outstanding creator. Andrzej Seweryn, who played one of the main roles in the film. A look into the past of Polish cinema perfectly complemented the spectrum of festival experiences.
The eighth day of the festival was another great opportunity to watch a screening in an outdoor cinema! On a warm May night, viewers sat on festival loungers to watch “Limbo” directed by Ivan Sen, the fascinating “In a Corset” by Marie Kreutzer or “Rams. An Icelandic Story” by Grimur Hakonarson. With this last show, we ended this year's edition of Cinema in the Botanical Garden. The end of Friday's movie experiences? Of course, at the Poczta Główna Meeting Club! To the rhythms of the 80s, 90s and 00s played by the energetic Baywatch Parties, festival goers and volunteers had fun until late at night.
Today at 8 p.m. the most important moment of the 17th edition of Mastercard OFF CAMERA – the Closing Gala, during which the Andrzej Wajda Krakow Film Award will be awarded to the winner of the Main Competition “Making the Path”. The Dominika Kulczyk & dFlights Award in the Polish Feature Film Competition will also be awarded. That evening, we will also learn the name of the Best Actress and the Best Actor of this Competition, as well as the winners of the awards: Female Voice, Mastercard Rising Star, FIPRESCI and KIPA. Let's not forget about the Audience Award, for which all films from the two main competitions of the Festival compete. The Closing Gala will be honored with a performance by the unique Daria from Silesia.
But before that, as every day, we invite you to the Film Town at Galeria Krakowska and to the last Q&A sessions at this year's festival! In the OFF NA MAXSA program:
12:00 – 12:45 – conversation with Karolina Bruchnicka, actress awarded the Mastercard Rising Star award for her role in the film “The Coach's Daughter” (directed by Łukasz Grzegorzek) during the 12th edition of Mastercard OFF CAMERA.
12:45 – 13:30 – meeting with the guest of Michał Sikorski, an actor who can be seen in the film “You want peace, get ready for war” directed by Agnieszka Elbanowska. The film takes part in the Polish Feature Film Competition.
16.00 – 17.30 – Maks Behr's guest will be Jan Holoubek, director of the film “Dopperlgänger. Doppelganger”.
And as part of Mastercard Special Screening you will see:
12.00, Aula of the Academy of Fine Arts: “The Hypnosis” directed by Ernest De Geer. The film takes part in the Main Competition “Making the Path”. After the screening, there will be a Q&A session with Jonathan Bjerstedt.
12.00, Kino pod Baranami, Red Room: “Doppelgänger. Sobowtór” directed by Jan Holoubek, who is competing for an award in the Polish Feature Film Competition. The Q&A after the show will be attended by: Jan Holoubek, Anna Waśniewska-Gil.
This is the last opportunity to watch a movie in an outdoor cinema! We invite you to the Cinema at Galeria Krakowska at 7 p.m. to watch “Aftersun” directed by Charlotte Wells. You can also drop by the Cinema at Plac Szczepański, where at 8:30 p.m. we will show “Yang” (directed by Kogonada), which we screened as part of the 16th edition of Mastercard OFF CAMERA.
At the end of the festival day, we always invite you to the Poczta Główna Meeting Club for the Jazz Afterparty Mastercard OFF CAMERA / jam! A team of Krakow musicians will take festival viewers on a musical journey combining the rhythms of jazz, funk and blues. After the concert part, the stage will be opened to artists who will present their improvisations in a jam session format.