Munk Studio at Two Riversides

01|08|2012

In today’s block of HALF SHORT HALF SERIOUS (Allianz Cinema, 4pm) we shall see films produced by Munk Studio: “The Hamster” (dir. Bartek Ignaciuk), “The Railway Watchman” (dir. Piotr Szczepanowicz), “The Whistle” (dir. Grzegorz Zariczny), “The Lake” (dir. Jacek Piotr Bławut), “Rondo” (dir. Artur Kordas), „Freestyle life” (dir. Adam Palenta). You are also cordially invited to join the pre-screening meeting with the filmmakers.

Munk Studio functioning in the structures of the Polish Filmmakers Association, it is a producer of film debuts, short- and full-length. The young artists who want to make their first film in Munk Studio can count on the support and supervision over the project – from development, through production under professional conditions, to the widely understood promotion of the completed film. Munk Studio was created in 2008 by the Polish Filmmakers Association, by virtue of an agreement between PFA and the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Polish Television, and aimed from the beginning to produce ambitious artistic films.

In the land of flashlights and autographs

31|07|2012

This picture raised discussions long before its official launch. However only one person was the focus of attention. And what about the story the film tells? “No film is able to capture the cruelty of war” – admits Angelina Jolie, the director of “In The Land of Blood And Honey”.

One of the most renowned Hollywood actresses, a number of times vowed the world’s most beautiful woman. A wife to an equally recognisable man, a mother to a little brood. The centre of numerous scandals.  Bombed both with love and with hatred, she incessantly tries to protect the privacy of herself and her family. At one point she gives up acting for some time to stand on the other side of the camera. She begins to write a script because she feels her moral duty is to learn more on the Balkan war. Only later the idea is born to take the script onto the big screen.

Jolie appears on the set. Articles, gossip. She is too thin, no – she is too fat after all, what is she thinking, she cannot direct films, the script is not hers, it is plagiarism. And the story? A love story. If it was not for the war it would be one of many.

Playing marbles with Ruiz

31|07|2012

Almost a year after his death the Chilean director Raoul Ruiz remains equally mysterious. This time with regard to his last production – “The Night in Front”. A baroque meditation on death, memory, and passage of time.

Inspired by texts by Hernan del Solar, Ruiz made an untypical film. The storyline spans over a few decades from half till the end of the 20th century. It is never certain which moment we are in. Such shifts between points in time break generally acknowledged rules of classical narration. Indeed, as pointed out by the ageing Don Celso, time is like “playing marbles” and our lives – a series of crossing events, retrospections, dreams and fantasies. On the other hand, Celso defines our existence as “butterflies of uncertainty” which also is a reference to Ruiz’s previous works.

The moment the rebellion is being born

30|07|2012

In the documentary “Rock in Reykjavik”, termed also a rockumentary, we will be able to witness the beginnings of the alternative music scene in Iceland and this means, inter alia, a 14-year-old Björk on the eve of her world-wide success.  

Films by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson may be seen as Iceland’s landscapes preserved on film. A good example may be his most renowned work “Children of nature”, a 1992 Oscar-nominee for Best foreign language film. Despite his weakness for beautiful landscapes, Fridriksson always puts a man in the foreground.  He began his career as a documentary film maker and most probably will remain one until the end.

One of his first documentaries was “Rock in Reykjavik” from 1982, where he captured the beginning of Icelandic alternative music scene. At the beginning of the 80’s post punk and new wave bands were set up in stacks and Reykjavik became regarded as a “town with the biggest number of bands per inhabitant.” 

What is the person in Munch’s “The Scream” thinking about?

30/07/2012

It might seem they have nothing in common. Two women. Worlds apart. Two different stores. But…

“The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears” by Teona Strugar Mitevska is a story of two women: Helena (Victoria Abril) and Aysun (Labina Mitevska) who live in two entirely different parts of Europe. Their lives are  far from easy. Helena is struggling with family tragedy and her son’s  death. Aysun is fighting for survival in  male-dominated Macedonian world. She is striving to protect her family and her honour from strong influences of patriarchate. In an unexpected moment the paths of the two women will cross. What will be the result? We shall  see as soon as at 7pm in the PGE cinema at the first in Poland screening of the film.

Mitevska explains her film as a production that toys with various conventions and flirts with the viewers by focusing most of the time on the two female characters and conflicts in their lives. “The woman who brushed off her tears” is a story on strength and vengeance, portrayed additionally in an untypical, in every possible respect, way.

Northern exotica

29|07|2012

Iceland is famous not only for its volcanoes and geysers, or at least it will not be famous only for that  after Two Riversides. This year we will see the retrospective of Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, the most prominent director from the island in the far North.

Fridriksson never got to any film school but this did not stop him from becoming the best known Icelandic artist next to Björk. Although he was not the first director from Ultima Thule, he is considered the father of its cinema. It is no surprise but, as the themes of all Fridriksson’s films, even those produced internationally,  is rooted deep in Nordic culture and mythology.

The films of Fridrik Thor Fridriksson are very special for their personal approach. The director pictures the great Icelandic glaciers and tells the viewer the history of his country. He also makes a sociological analysis of the views of inhabitants from different classes; of their attitude, which is – as befits a Northern country – cold towards everything alien, and especially American. The omnipresent westernisation is the main theme of “Movie Days,” a film about a young boy who is in love with television and cinema.

Two Riversides to the reggae rhythm

29|07|2012

Once again about Bob Marley: this time in a completely different way. Memories, confessions, unknown recordings, in other words: the whole truth about the “Prophet of Rasta.”

Almost everybody knows that Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer, populariser of reggae music, and a follower of the Rastafari religious movement. It is also nothing new that his music and charisma attracts a multitude of people. Material on his vivid life and rich output had been compiled in a number of ways. Can we learn anything new about Bob Marley?

Scottish director Kevin Macdonald (known for his films “The Eagle” and “The Last King of Scotland”) undertook a difficult, but at the same time a very interesting matter. His newest work – “Marley”  – is an over two-hour-long journey into the little known areas of the artist’s life. Anyone who is expecting a wearisome reconstruction of facts will undoubtedly be pleasantly surprised. The mini-story was supplemented with the statements developed thanks to the statements of Marley’s family, his friends, and co-workers. The memories of those closest to him are not free of controversy but thanks to that a real face of the hero emerges, and it has certainly never been a bland one.

We are looking for the truth in television

28|07|2012

The sixth edition of Two Riversides will begin with a race for fame – at the opening gala we will see Matteo Garrone’s “Reality”, winner of this year’s Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

In the times of television’s unabated power it is hard to believe that so few directors decide to analyse its influence on society. “Reality” seems to be the first valuable voice in the discussion on the phenomenon of television since the times of “Truman Show.” The social satire created by Garrone is based on observing the life of Luciano, a Neapolitan fishmonger. The man, bored with his life, is persuaded by his relatives to take part in a reality show program. Reluctant at first, he slowly begins to see the chance to become rich and famous. This dream, however, soon turns against him and drives him to madness.

A tragicomical story of the protagonist is an encouragement to think about the difference between reality and the world created by television. This seemingly cliché topic, which may cause concerns among some, is outbalanced by an inventive script and the director’s extraordinary care for form.

The festival of music

24|07|2012

Quentin Tarantino says that a good musical score can elevate any scene several stories higher. We agree with him! At the Two Riversides Film and Art Festival not only does music illustrate film, but it can also be the theme of the script. Rap as seen by Ice-T, Bob Marley’s reggae, Krzysztof Komeda’s jazz, Icelandic Björk-style alternative music, together with Caribbean sounds and blues references – that is the melody heard in the MUSIC – MY LOVE section.

Kazimierz Dolny will be the premiere place of  “Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.” Ice-T plays a double role here – he is the director and the interviewer. In explaining how street music became stronger and began to dominate the world he is assisted by Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West.

Together with  Kevin Macdonald, the director of “Marley,” we will sing “No Woman, No Cry” and visit places which turned out to be crucial in Bob Marley’s artistic career and life philosophy. We will accompany Calypso Rose, the leading ambassador of Caribbean music, on her trip across three continents: from Paris to New York through Trinidad, and back to the ancestral continent, Africa (“Calypso Rose. The Lioness of the Jungle,” directed by Pascale Obolo). We will find out how big an influence on body art and contemporary art does Marina Abramović have. Her thrilling story presented in the “Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present” documentary directed by Matthew Akers surprised the audience at this year’s Berlinale.

Our next stop is Iceland. “Rock in Reykjavik” documents the history of 19 bands from the land of geysers and volcanoes. On the screen we will see a 14-year-old Björk. We will have the chance to talk to the director of the film, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, in person. He is a special guest at the Two Riversides.

“Rising Above the Blues” is Yoon-Ha Chang’s documentary about one of the most important figures in the history of jazz and pop – Jimmy Scott. There will also be a Polish musical accent in the program. In “Komeda, Komeda…,” directed by Natasza Ziółkowska-Kurczuk, the Polish jazz musician is recalled by Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Edward  Etler and Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski.

The MUSIC – MY LOVE section is accompanied by a broad program of CONCERTS. We invite you to Kazimierz Dolny and Janowiec nad Wisłą between the 28th of July until the 5th of August.

Little Cannes in Kazimierz Dolny

18|07|2012

The program of the 6th Two Riversides Film and Art Festival features as many as seven films which were presented as a part of the Main Competition  of the 65th Festival in Cannes.

At the opening of the Two Riversides we will see “Reality” (Grand Prix Cannes 2012). In this new picture Matteo Garrone, the director of “Gomorrah,” concentrates on the phenomenon of television vicariousness. “Reality” was intended as a comedy but during the work on the script it became a dark drama. Massimo Gaudioso, author of the script, will speak about the process of film “writing” to the festival audience.

In Kazimierz Dolny we will also see the Polish premiere of this year’s Cannes sensation. “The Angels’ Share” (Jury Prize) by British director Ken Loach surprises, because no-one going to see this film expected to see an excellent gangster comedy set in the reality of contemporary Scotland. John Henshaw, who plays one of the main roles, will be a special guest at the Polish premiere.

The Two Riversides program also includes: “Holy Motors” by Léos Carax (a film fairytale for the 21st century), Carlos Reygadas’ “Post Tenebras Lux” which was awarded for best direction, and “Beyond the Hills” by Cristian Mungiu, awarded by the Cannes Jury for best acting (Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur) and for the script.

Our program will not lack Cannes’ most controversial film. “Paperboy” by Lee Daniels divided the audience and the critics. Nicole Kidman, who played one of the main roles, surprised everyone. During the Two Riversides we will also see the premiere of “Night Across the Street” – tha latest film of Chilean director Raoul Ruiz, who belongs to the generation that revolutionised cinema in the ’60s.

The festival will end on the 4th of August with the premiere screening of “A Royal Affair” (directed by Nikolaj Arcel). The film was nominated for the Golden Bear (Berlin 2012), and awarded for Best Actor and Best Script.

The tickets to this year’s Two Riversides Festival can be bought online at: http://sklep.icomarch24.pl/dwa_brzegi/. See you in Kazimierz and Janowiec nad Wisłą. We are waiting from the 28th of July until the 5th of August.