13 isn’t always an unlucky number, and so it has proved for Kinopolis, Dublin’s Polish Film Festival which will be hosting it’s 13th edition at the Irish Film Institute this December. For years the Kinopolis Polish Film Festival has been one of the highlights of the IFI’s international programming, packing out audiences with a celebration of one of the hallmarks of European cinema. With seven films and an enticing animation showcase on offer, Kinopolis 2018 is shaping up to be a can’t miss event at the end of Dublin film fans’ calendars.
The 13th season of the Kinopolis Polish Film Festival will be returning to the IFI from December 6th to 9th. Individual festival tickets are available for €11 with a festival multi-pass offering four festival films for €38 also available in person or by phone from the IFI Box Office (call 01-6793477).
Polish actor Olgierd Łukaszewicz will be in attendance for a Q&A session to kick off the festival, with his dramey film A Cat With a Dog. Estranged brothers Janusz (Robert Więckiewicz) and Andrzej (Olgierd Łukaszewicz) are both acclaimed filmmakers. When word is received that Andrzej, the elder of the two, has suffered a debilitating stroke, Beata (Bozena Stachura), aware that she has never met her brother-in-law, encourages her husband Janusz to reconnect with his sibling. When it becomes apparent that Andrzej’s own wife Iga (former Kinopolis guest Aleksandra Konieczna, The Last Family) is neither willing nor able to offer her husband the care that he needs, Janusz takes him in, and the two slowly and grudgingly begin to re-establish their fraternal bond. This warm-hearted and moving comedy is based on the director’s own experiences, and benefits from excellent performances by its four main actors.
Also among the festival’s films is Mug by Małgorzata Szumowska, a rising name in Polish cinema who will also be in attendance after the screening of her film. Mug tells the story ofJacek (Mateusz Kościukiewicz), a young man who might be expected to be at odds with his small, insular community, given his love of heavy metal, dishevelled appearance, and desire to escape, but is in fact not only accepted, but well-liked. However, following an accident that requires him to undergo Poland’s first face transplant, the attitudes of his neighbours, his girlfriend, and even his family change, making him an outsider in his own home. Szumowska’s approach balances playfulness with more barbed comments on contemporary Polish society in this dark satire.
Also included in the programme is the late Piotr Szulkin’s take on H.G. Wells; War of the Worlds: Next Century, quirky comedy Julius, a selection of vivid Polish animated shorts in the always popular Animation Programme slot and more.
See the full schedule for Kinopolis Polish Film Festival 2018 below:
Thursday 6th December
18.30 A Cat with a Dog
Friday 7th December
18.20 Panic Attack
20.30 Nina
Saturday 8th December
15.30 Ether
18.00 Mug
Sunday 12th December
12.00 Animation Programme
15.50 The War of the Worlds: Next Century
18.00 Julius