The Sundance Film Festival – is the largest annual independent film festival in the USA, it is held in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and in the ski resort Sundance in Utah since 1978 . The upcoming edition is held from January 19 to 29, 2017, and there are three Polish productions in the short film section.
The first of them is "Pussy," directed by Renata Gąsiorowska. It is a funny story of a young girl who spends an evening in her apartment. The protagonist decides to organise a session of pleasure only for herself, however, not everything goes according to the plan. The animated film has already featured at several international festivals, winning awards at, among others, DOK Leipzig and AFI Fest.
The second film, which appears at the Sundance festival, is "Close Ties" by Zofia Kowalewska. The documentary film shows an elderly married couple, preparing for their 45th wedding anniversary. Barbara and Zdzisław could have been proud of themselves had it not been for the fact that the husband had abandoned his wife for his mistress for eight years. However, now they spend their old age together – though, as Barbara claims, if it was not for his aching legs, Zdzisław would still "kick about in Krakow." In spite of the former injuries, everyday problems with the accounting, the busy bathroom and moving the furniture, they are connected by a bond which is hard to define.
"Close Ties" is an award-winning film, awarded at the festivals IDFA, DOK Leipzig, New Horizons, as well as Krakow Film Festival. The Silver Dragon award, won in Krakow, allowed the documentary film to apply for the Academy Award nomination. The film is included on the short-list, and the screening at Sundance can help it in the struggle for the Academy Award. We would like to invite you to read the review of the film, as well as the interview with Zofia Kowalewska.
Another film invited to the programme of the Sundance Film Festival is "Heat" by Agata Trzebuchowska and Mateusz Pacewicz. The short feature film tells about a young boy who does an unusual favour for his colleague – pretending to be his friend, he visits his grandmother, who suffers from dementia. The woman takes him for a walk to a place which evokes old memories and hides the greatest secret of her life.
"Skwar" had its international premiere at the festival Tofifest in Toruń.
You can read more about the festival here.