POLISH FILMS IN MELBOURNE
59th International Film Festival in Melbourne means 18 days of screenings, 227 feature films and 99 short films from over 50 countries – among them also the representation of the brand new Polish cinematography.
59th International Film Festival in Melbourne is the largest and the most important film event in Australia, and it is also one of the leading festivals on the world. Its significance is supported by the fact that since 1996, the number of each edition’s viewers has been increasing by 230 per cent. The festival in Melbourne offers an extremely rich programme, diverse as far as the form and topics are concerned. Feature films as well as documentaries and animations are shown.
During this year’s edition of the festival, the audience will have an opportunity to get acquainted with several Polish films. Within the frames of the cycle “Polish Shorts”, seven short films will be shown, among them “Poste Restante” by Marcel Łoziński. The film presents the story of a letter, which was addressed to God, and perhaps that is why it ended up in the Department of Unsent Mail in Koluszki.
Also two feature-long documentaries will be presented in Melbourne. These include: the 2009 Oscar-nominee “Rabbit a la Berlin” by Bartek Konopka, a story about the Berlin Wall told from the perspective of rabbits living there, and “War Games” by Dariusz Jabłoński, history of Ryszard Kukliński, a Polish colonel, who handed over the top secret documents of the Warsaw Pact to CIA during the Cold War.
It is noteworthy that it is the first time when Polish films have such a strong representation in Melbourne. During the previous editions, only a few films appeared, among them three documentaries. In 2005, “Born Dead’ by Jacek Bławut and “For a Miracle” by Jarek Sztandera were shown, and in 2008 – the documentary “The Existence” by Marcin Koszałka.
59th International Film Festival in Melbourne starts on 22nd July and ends on 8th August.
Detailed information about the festival can be found on: www.melbournefilmfestival.com.au