May starts with a bang – already on the first day of the month a review of selected film schools begins as part of the MovieZone Short Film Festival in China with short films from the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. Chinese audiences will have the opportunity to watch the following films online: “Bad Night Story” by Nawojka Wierzbowska, and“Dust” by Jakub Radeja.
The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film will take place also in Germany and also in the first week of May. Its program features four Polish productions: “I’m Here” by Julia Orlik and “You Are Overreacting” by Karina Paciorkowska. Orlik’s film has a chance to win multiple awards this month due to being included in the competitions of the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts in Egypt, the International Short Film Week Regensburg in Germany, and the festival Les Sommets du Cinéma d’Animation in Canada, moved from last year, where it is going to compete with “We Have One Heart” by Katarzyna Warzecha.
The 10th edition of the Boston ReelAbilites Festival will take place in the second week of May. The program includes a screening of Aleksandra Maciejczyk’s “Connected”. The Freiburger Filmforum – Festival of Transcultural Cinema in Germany is slated to open at the same time and include Julia Pełka’s “Fat Kathy” in its program.
Meanwhile, the program of the French Roanne Animation Festival – Ciné Court Animé includes Jola Bańkowska’s award-winning animation, “Story”. The long unseen “The Hunt” will also get its chance for another award. Mateusz Jarmulski’s film will be rated at the Formentera Film – International Short Film Festival in Spain. The competition of the postponed 2020 edition of Australia’s MIAF Re-Animated features Mateusz Lenart’s “Re-Cycle”. One of the most significant destinations Polish short films are headed this month is the Animatricks International Animation Festival whose competitive segment includes: “We Have One Heart” by Katarzyna Warzecha, “My Fat Arse And I” by Yelyzaveta Pysmak, “Plantarium” by Tomek Ducki, “Portrait of Suzanne” by Izabela Plucińska, “Your Own Bullshit” by Daria Kopiec, “We Hope You Won’t Need To Come Back” by Anastazja Naumenko, and “Such a Beautiful Town” by Marta Koch.
The following films are all going to enjoy one festival screening each this month: Marcin Polar’s “The Tough” at the London Mountain Film Festival, Weronika Jurkiewicz’s “The Vibrant Village” at the International Short Film Week Regensburg, and Andrzej Cichocki’s “A Little Bit of Paradise” at the FICMEC – Festival Internacional de Cine Medioambiental de Canarias.
The competition jury of the German Einsiedeln Film Festival will judge Natalia Nylec’s “Loss”. The International Encounters Traverse will be held in France at the same time whose program features Karina Paciorkowska’s “You Are Overreacting”. During the jubilee 50th edition of the Molodist festival in Kiev, Yelyzaveta Pysmak will get a chance to win awards for her “My Fat Arse And I”. The Irish Fastnet Film Festival and the Austrian Vienna Shorts – International Short Film Festival will feature three Polish productions each. The former’s competition includes Zofia Kowalewska’s “Loved Ones”, Daniel Stopa’s “Skinny”, and Piotr Sułkowski’s “Play”. In turn, Klaudia Kęska’s “Last Days of Summer” (competition), Tomek Popakul’s “The Moon”, and Julia Orlik’s “I’m Here” will be screened in Austria.
“The Whale from Lorino” by Maciej Cuske will be shown two times. The document will be presented as part of the competitive segment at the International Short Film Week Regensburg and out-of-competition at the Polish Film Festival “VISTULA” in Russia.
Two festivals with above-average representation of Polish short films are slated for the end of May. First, audiences of the Framed Animation Festival in the Netherlands will have a chance to watch Paulina Ziółkowska’s “Bless You!”, Julia Orlik’s “I’m Here”, Tomek Ducki’s “Plantarium”, and Yelyzaveta Pysmak’s “My Fat Arse And I”. The Festival International du Film d’Aubagne – Music & Cinema will start on the last day of May with ten Polish films in its program. Urszula Domańska’s “Okna tego domku”, Zuzanna Grajcewicz’s “Settling the Score”, Bartosz Kozera’s “The Stone” , and Izabela Plucińska’s “Portret Suzanne” are all competing for awards, while the following will be screened out of competition: “Squaring the Circle” by Karolina Specht, “Tango of Longing” by Marta Szymańska, “Such a Beautiful Town” by Marta Koch, “Guilt” by Marcjanna Urbańska, “You Are Overreacting” by Karina Paciorkowska, and “Noamia” by Antonio Galdamez.
Lastly, the 61st edition of the Krakow Film Festival will begin at the end of the month. You can read more about Polish productions featured during this event here.
A complete list of festival screenings is available here.