Polish Docs PRO returns to Sunny Side in 2023 with a delegation of 5 producers representing nine projects. These include profiles of two giants of Polish cinema, the controversial Roman Polański and the maverick Andrzej Wajda, as well as Krakow FF Industry winner What the… Hen! directed by Joanna Deja and produced by Raban Foundation.
The organisation focuses primarily on the wide‐ranging promotion of the Polish documentary film industry at international events, supporting filmmakers and producers in developing their projects by facilitating access to markets, pitching forums, and co‐production meetings.
Marta Dużbabel of ATM Grupa attends with two projects. Polański, directed by Marcin Borchardt, tells the “epic” story of the eponymous subject, with a “visceral and immersive narrative” exploring the human dimensions of the artist. “As a counterpoint to Polański’s subjective, first‐person narrative, there will be an objectifying polyphony created from off‐camera statements, not only from his friends, acquaintances and co‐workers, but also from women accusing the director of acts numbered with paragraphs of the penal code,” Dużbabel says in her notes for the project.
The second ATM Grupa project is Polish Wrestlers by Grzegorz Szczepaniak. The film will juxtapose “the crazy, sometimes grotesque world full of Polish super heroes…with the typical Silesian environment of old tenements and dark streets of ill repute,” say the film notes.
Daria Maślona of Silver Frame will be at Sunny Side with Wajda, co-directed by Liliana Komorowska and Maria Zmarz‐Koczanowicz. The project presents the “untold story” of the Polish master Andrzej Wajda, based on his diaries, private archives and interviews with some of the greats of world cinema, whose films he inspired.
Producer Justyna Kluczewska of Raban attends with Joanna Deja’s What the… Hen!, about an internationally famous puppeteer (Łukasz Puczko) who is working on a giant biomechanical hen to protest against a chicken farm. When he takes in the Ukrainian refugee Sabina and her family, the fates of both are changed radically. Łukasz is pulled out of creative crisis and Sabina discovers a new purpose in life. The project won the Café Ole post-production award at Krakow FF earlier this month.
Łukasz Bluszcz of Vision House is in La Rochelle to discuss Emilia Śniegoska’s The Chums, described as a fairy‐tale‐style story of a unique relationship between widowed neighbours. Hanka and Bronka, who grow older together work on their farms in a remote village of Romanian Bukovina.
Polish Docs PRO is promoting three projects by producer Anna Gawlita of Kijora. These are Isabella by Joanna Janikowska, about a woman whose verve and indefatigability defies her 93 years; The Big Chief, the latest archive work by Tomasz Wolski; and You Have to Go, the Others Stay by Aleksandra Potoczek, in which folk who have undergone loss “embark on reimagining funeral traditions, confronting the limitations of existing rituals to find solace and honor their loved ones anew.” Gawlita is also director of Lip Choreography (also produced by Kijora), described as “an empowering documentary that follows charismatic choreographer Marta who guides a diverse group of women to defy societal beauty norms and rediscover their self‐worth.” Kijora’s Anahita Rezaei is in La Rochelle to represent these projects.
KFF Sales & Promotion MD Barbara Orlicz-Szczypuła underlines that Polish documentaries are rooted in their creativity and the “high level” of their visuals. “Filmmakers in Poland are looking for unique topics and trying to tell the stories in a very unusual form but still [they are] very connected with the “Polish documentary school” and observational docs – this combination seems to be very attractive.”
“Besides, Polish producers are very professional and well prepared for the international co-productions, which makes them very good partners,” she adds.
Recent high profile Polish docs successes include Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosołowski’s The Hamlet Syndrome (Locarno Grand Prix of Semaine de la Critique), the selection of Jakub Piątek’s Pianoforte at Sundance 2023, Maciek Hamela’s In a Rear View (Sheffield International Competition winner) and Piotr Pawlus and Tomasz Wolski’s selection of In Ukraine at Berlinale Forum. The Balcony Movie by Paweł Łoziński had a very successful 2022 which culminated with an EFA nomination.
The Pawnshop by Łukasz Kowalski won the Eagle Award for the Best Polish Documentary (The Polish Film Academy Award). At Krakow Film Festival, Ula by Agnieszka Iwańska won the top prize in International DocFilmMusic Competition while Małgorzata Kozera’s Faces of Agata was the winner of the National Competition.Sunny Side guests can meet the Polish delegation during Happy Hour drinks on June 20 (17.30, C17).
