As many as eight Polish films will compete in the ETIUDA Competition for the Grand Prix of the Festival –  the Golden Dinosaur and 15 000 PLN. Our country is represented by the student etudes from The Film School in Lodz, Faculty of Radio and Television of the University of Silesia, Wajda School in Warsaw and AMA Film School in Cracow. The Film School in Lodz will also compete for the title of the Best Film School of the Festival.

Polish films taking part in the competition show a very high artistic level. They are varied, interesting in their forms and creative in their approach to the subject matter. Only two of the Polish competition entries are feature films: Eugeniusz Pankov's “De Profundis”, made in a horror film convention, and Klara Kochańska-Bajon's “Tenants”, a winner of the Student Academy Awards which refers to best traditions of the Social Realism cinema. The other films are documentaries that explore the whole spectrum of the possibilities of this film genre. There is a personal documentary in Marcin Koszałka's style – “Say It Again, Grandpa” by Izabela Kiszczak, a film essay “Shujayya” by Mahommed Almughanni, a poetic documentary “Poland, My Beloved” by Łukasz Perkowski, the “talking heads” in “Education” by Emi Buchwald, a satire in a distorted mirror style “Lockjaw” by Kordian Kądziela and a lyrical take on growing up – “Urban Cowboys” by Paweł Ziemilski.

Photo from the film „Lockjaw”

II SCREENING ETIUDA: 24th November (Thursday), 5:00 PM, Małopolska Garden of Arts (MOS), Main Room – „De Profundis”, „Lockjaw”

„De Profundis”, dir. Eugeniusz Pankov, Lodz Film School, PL 2015, 21:31

“De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine...” – „Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord…”. Poland, 1995. Based on actual events, this is a story of Mariola, an ordinary woman living in the countryside who has to face the death of her two little daughters.

„Lockjaw”, dir. Kordian Kądziela, Faculty of Radio and Television of the University of Silesia, PL 2016, 30:00

“Lockjaw”, a performance art trio, dream of conquering the art industry. Unfortunately, for now, they are mainly preoccupied with more mundane things. The viewer witnesses their struggle, as they prepare for “Prowokalia” – one of the most important performance art festivals.

Photo from the film „Urban Cowboys”

III SCREENING ETIUDA: 24th November (Thursday), 9:00 PM, Małopolska Garden of Arts (MOS), Main Room – “Urban Cowboys”, “Education”

„Urban Cowboys”, dir. Paweł Ziemilski, Wajda School, PL 2016, 29:02

Can a horse save a life? In Clondalkin (Dublin) that’s exactly the case. In a district where there is a lot of problems and not a lot of prospects, young people face drugs, prison and the path of crime. But some of them manage to escape into an unusual hobby. They tame wild horses and become...urban cowboys.

„Education”, dir. Emi Buchwald, Lodz Film School, PL 2016, 19:39

In one elementary school children are told to learn Julian Tuwim’s poem “Education” by heart as homework. The poetic phrase is sometimes incomprehensible, some words require explanation, but parents come to their aid. Unfortunately, not all metaphors can be explained in an unambiguous way and poetry clashes with the prose of life.

Photo from the film „Tenants”

IV SCREENING ETIUDA: 25th November (Friday), 5:15 PM, Małopolska Garden of Arts (MOS), Main Room – “Tenants”

„Tenants”, dir. Klara Kochańska, Lodz Film School, PL 2016, 29:40

Justyna (Julia Kijowska), a single 30-year old woman buys a flat at a bailiff auction. When she wants to move in it turns out that the keys she was given do not fit the locks and Justyna cannot enter the flat. A dream about a place of her own turns into a nightmare.

Photo from the film „Say It Again, Grandpa”

VII SCREENING ETIUDA: 26th November (Saturday), 4:00 PM, Małopolska Garden of Arts (MOS), Main Room – „Shujayya”, “Poland, My Beloved”, “Say It Again, Grandpa”

„Shujayya”, dir. Mahommed Almughanni, Lodz Film School, PL 2015, 21:01

A documentary about life in the Gaza Strip and the family of Wael and Isra Alnamla wounded by war.

„Poland, My Beloved”, dir. Łukasz Perkowski, AMA Film School, PL 2016, 5:48

Roman Mieczysław Gaweł is a writer, poet and patriot. In February 2015, after 8 years of a battle with cancer and with no more money, he decided to live in a car. Despite his difficult situation, he does not give up and tries to raise hope through his poems.

„Say It Again, Grandpa”, dir. Izabela Kiszczak,  Lodz Film School, PL 2015, 21:29

Everyday life of Maria Teresa and Czesław Kiszczak as seen from the perspective of their granddaughter Izabela.