23rd Kinoteka Polish Film Festival starts in London
23rd edition of the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival opened with a screening of 'Under the Volcano’ by Damian Kocur at BFI Southbank on 6 March, and was followed by a discussion with the director. Damian Kocur’s observational second feature follows his award-winning 'Bread and Salt’, which opened Kinoteka in 2023.
In addition, this year’s festival Opening Night Gala also served as the official inauguration of the UK/Poland Season 2025, organised by the British Council, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Cultural Institute in London. Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage Hanna Wróblewska attended the event.
For the first time, the Kinoteka festival will be venturing around the UK to so many cities at one time, working in collaboration with Klassiki and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, as it expands into eight cities for a tour that will highlight key titles from across the programme. The festival will present both the latest films by Polish filmmakers (including 'White Courage’ by Marcin Koszałka, 'It’s Not My Film’ by Maria Zbąska, 'Simona Kossak’ by Adrian Panek and 'A For Antkowiak’ by Anna Więckowska and Tomasz Ossoliński) and Polish cinema classics in the next few weeks. The retrospective of Wojciech Jerzy Has’s work will include all of his films. The screening of the latest film by the Quay Brothers, 'The Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass’ (made in 2024 in co-production with IKH Pictures Production), will correspond with the W.J.Has’ classic 'The Hourglass Sanatorium’ (1973).
IKH Pictures Production is a co-organizer of the festival. The event was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Five awards for "White Courage" in Washington!
Marcin Koszałka's feature "White Courage" received five awards at the Kościuszko Foundation Washington DC Polish Film Festival, which ended on March 9. The film received all the jury awards and the Audience Award in the full-length category.
"White Courage" was one of three films from the IKH Pictures Promotion catalogue, presented as part of the event. Festival participants also had the opportunity to watch "It's Not My Film" by Maria Zbąska and "Simona Kossak" by Adrian Panek. The Festival Jury awarded Marcin Koszałka's film in the following categories:
- Best Film
- Best Director
- Best Actress - award for Sandra Drzymalska
- Best Actor - award for Filip Pławiak
The audience also awarded "White Courage". Marcin Koszałka's film had previously been awarded at festivals in Gdynia and Toronto, and also received two Polish Film Awards - Eagles - for the acting roles of Filip Pławiak and Julian Świeżewski. The film is represented at international festivals by IKH Pictures Promotion.
CinePOLSKA Festival starts in Madrid
The CinePOLSKA Festival has begun in Madrid. It is the largest event presenting the Polish cinema in Spain. This year edition was opened with 'It's Not My Film' by Maria Zbąska, followed by a director Q&A.
Since its inception, the CinePOLSKA Polish Film Festival has enjoyed recognition from both Spanish audiences and critics. The films presented there have their Spanish premieres. The organizers of the review have set themselves the goal of promoting outstanding directors of contemporary Polish cinema, with particular emphasis on those who are making their debuts or have a relatively short filmography. This year, in addition to Maria Zbąska's film, Spanish viewers will also have the opportunity to watch another film from the IKH Pictures Promotion catalogue, 'Where Do We Begin' by Monika Majorek.
The CinePOLSKA Festival, organized by the Institute of Polish Culture in Madrid and MAÑANA and co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, will last in the capital of Spain until March 18. In the following weeks, screenings will also take place in other cities in Spain: Cordoba, Granada, Murcia, Pamplona, Santander, Valencia and Zaragoza.