POLISH ANIMATIONS AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS IN NOVEMBER

Autumn days become shorter and shorter which means more and more festival screenings for Polish animations. In November our films will visit, among others, the UK, the US, Spain, Estonia and Canada. Take a look where else you will be able to see Polish productions.

Already the first days of November will be intense. To get off to a good start “Oh God!” by Betina Bożek will have two competition screenings – one at Wiesbaden International Weekend of Animation in Germany, and the other at Leeds International Film Festival in the UK.  Just after that, at Tirana International Film Festival in Albania, “REM” by Artur Hanaj and “Three Women on a Bench” by Karolina Borgiasz will compete for awards. In the meantime Young Art Nagaoka Festival will take place in Japan where “Squaring the Circle” by Karolina Specht will take part in the competition.

Three Polish animations will be shown at Animated Spirits – New Animation from Europe Film Festival in the United States. We will see there “The Other” by Marta Magnuska, “XOXO – Hugs and Kisses” by Wiola Sowa and “III” by Marta Pajek. The last animation will not leave America without a competition screening at this year’s AFI Fest.

On November 8th QUEERSICHT begins in Switzerland and Kooz Festival starts in Palestine. Both festivals will show “Pussy” directed by Renata Gąsiorowska. One day later two festivals will start in Spain: International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao ZINEBI and Seville European Film Festival. At the former we will see “The Other” by Marta Magnuska, and at the latter “III” by Marta Pajek and “Beside Oneself” by Karolina Specht.

Plenty of Polish animations can also be seen during Cellu l’Art Polish Shorts Day in Austria. The event will host screenings of “Oh Mother!” by Paulina Ziółkowska and “Strange Case” by Zbigniew Czapla. This month following films will have one screening: “Evening” by Izabela Plucińska (The Sugarly Sweet Film Festival in the Netherlands) and “Lexicon of Reflextions” by Urszula Reszczyńska (“Du Grain a Demoudre” Film Festival in France).

A big selection of Polish films will be presented this month in the United Kingdom. Manchester Animation Festival takes place in the first half of November. Five films from our talented female animators  were invited to its competition: “Squaring the Circle” by Karolina Specht, “The Other” by Marta Magnuska, “Bless You!” by Paulina Ziółkowska, “Norma” by Agata Mianowska and “Bernard” by Anna Oparkowska. A week later Kinofilm Manchester International Short Film & Animation Festival starts. The cinemagoers that will miss the animations by Mianowska, Ziółkowska and Magnuska will have a chance to catch up there and also see Artur Hanaj’s “REM”.

A similar set of films will be presented in the competition of Polish Etiuda&Anima Festival. During the event in Krakow the audience will watch four Polish animations: “Colaholic” by Marcin Podolec, “III” by Marta Pajek, “Squaring the Circle” by Karolina Specht and “Bless You!” by Paulina Ziółkowska. The last three will represent Polish animation also at the Estonian festival PÖFF Shorts. Apart from them the competition, the festival program includes “Room” by Michał Socha, “Oh God!” by Betina Bożek and “Bernard” by Anna Oparkowska. The last film was also invited to Shorts That Are Not Pants in Canada.

On November 21st the animations by Oparkowska and Socha, together with films “The Other” by Marta Magnuska and “Incarnation” by Barbara Rupik, will compete for awards at the Canadian festival Les Sommets du Cinema d’Animation. At the same time Fem&ist Films Festival will take place in Australia, where two Polish films will take part in the competition: “III” by Marta Pajek will compete with… “Impossible Figures and Other Stories II” by Marta Pajek.

This month the record holder is “The Other”. Marta Magnuska’s animation will be shown at 9 festivals. This Polish production can be seen, among others, in the competition of German festival Interfilm and at Poitiers Film Festival in France. At the latter event “The Other” will be presented together with “Squaring the Circle” by Karolina Specht. Magnuska’s film can also be seen at Bilbao European Schools Zinema in Spain, where the audience will also have a chance to see the equally popular this moth “Bless You!” by Paulina Ziółkowska. This animation will also visit Asia during China International New Media Short Film Festival.

The last day of November will bring one more important film event in Great Britain – London International Animation Festival. Five Polish production were invited to the program, including two in the competition: “III” by Marta Pajek and “Bless You!” by Paulina Ziółkowska.

The full list of the festival screenings is available here.