Cultural bulletin 33 (530)

News in brief

• More than 120 students from Poland,Ukraine, Lithuania and Germany and world renowned organ music lecturers from Poland and abroad took part in the 15th International Organ Festival of Youth that started in Sejny, north-eastern Poland, on August 5. By August 9 they gave concerts in a local basilica and later in Onikszta in Lithuania. The festival was held under the slogan "Juniores Priores Organorium Sejnensis" and that was why the main part of the event consisted of several master courses for students led by event’s artistic director Professor Józef Serafin and Professor  Julian Gembalski.
• A Polish-German tourist guide „Visit Your Neighbour” has come out recently. It was published by German Communication Club (VCD) and describes tourists attractions of Lubuskie province and the land of Brandenburg. The guide depicts 40 sites worth seeing in the radius of 80 kilometres from the border around border towns of Frankfurt an der Oder and Słubice, including Łagów with the Ioannite Order Castle. Karolina Prędka of the Polish-German Bollmann & Partner consulting firm, who promotes the guide, has told PAP that the bilingual publication edited by Poles and Germans brings world closer and encourages independent trips to Germany and Poland.
• Old suitcases, backpacks, bags and even bed linen is scattered at a Wrocław street. Next to the items flock hundreds of extras pretending  to be Warsaw Jews. This is the location for a German movie entitled „Mein Leben” (My Life). The movie is based on autobiography of Marcel Reich-Ranicki under the Polish title „Moje życie” starring Matthias Schweighoefer. The pictured is directed by Dror Zahavi.

Reports

14th rock festival ends

The 14th three-day rock festival called Przystanek Woodstock ended in Kostrzyń an der Oder on August 3 with a concert given by The Stranglers from Great Britain.

During one-hour-long concert the Stranglers played several of their greatest hits including "Always the sun" attracting thousands of young people.

During this year open-air festival everyone could listen to his/her favourite music. The agenda of the festival included all kinds of music from heavy metal to classical music. Impression was made by a concerts of tenors accompanied by an orchestra led by Wiesław Ochman that sang old-time popular songs sang long time ago by Jan Kiepura. Jurek Owsiak did not conceal that for him this was one of the most moving parts of the festival. In all 19 bands played at the big stage including DAAB, Lao Che, Vader or Closterkeller as well as bands from Germany, Mexico, Italy or the Republic of South Africa.

The Academy of Very Fine Arts (Akademia Sztuk Przepięknych), organised for the third time during the festival was a great success, according to organisers. During the academy young people met festivla guests and asked them questions, sometimes hard ones. Among those who met with the youth were journalists and political commentator Jacek Żakowski, former Finance Minister Leszek Balcerowicz or a minister in the Dalai Lama government.

In line with Owsiak’s last year announcement the festival promoted other countries’ culture. This year’s project was entitled "India; the Gem of the Orient."

Authors of script for "Reserve" awarded in Russia

Authors of the script to the Polish comedy entitled "Reserve" (Rezerwat), namely Marcin Kwaśny and Łukasz Palkowski received the special award of the 5^th Baltic States Film Debuts’ Festivals in Svetlogorsk, Russia.

The script to the movie was written by the two of them but the film was directed by Palkowski (it was his début). The main part of photographer Marcin Wilczyński was played by Kwaśny, the actor of the Kwadrat Theatre in Warsaw.

The comedy set in Warsaw district of Praga was the most frequently awarded Polish movie in 2007. Palkowski won the award for the best director’s debut and the Journalists” Award at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.

The role of the photographer brought Kwaśny the best actor’s award at this year International Film Festival "Golden Brig" in Odessa, Ukraine.

During the festival in Svetlogorsk, held from July 27 to August 2 presented were movies from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. Apart from the "Reserve" the audience watched Grzegorz Pacek’s “Wednesday, Thursday morning” (Środa, czwartek rano) and “Our Saviour Square” (Plac Zbawiciela) by Krzysztof Krauze and Joanna Kos-Krauze.

Romantic comedy „Scandalous Behaviour”

The first shot of a new movie entitled „Scandalous Behaviour” (Zgorszenie publiczne) was made in Ruda Śląska, Silesia, on August 6. The romantic comedy set in Silesia is directed by debutant, student of Warsaw Film School Maciej Prykowski.

"Scandalous Behaviour” is a crazy comedy set in a typical miner’s settlement. Its residents live a peaceful life, outside of the present world.

Starring: Marian Dziędziel, Dorota Pomykała, Elżbieta Romanowska and Krzysztof Czeczot.

Frycz and Chyra in controversial movie "Immovable Mover"

Jan Frycz, Andrzej Chyra and Marieta Żukowska play main parts in Łukasz Barczyk’s  "Immovable Mover" (Nieruchomy poruszycie). The movie, termed controversial is full of erotism and graphic scenes.

Barczyk made the movie on the basis of his own script. The film is inspired by facto, the director wrote in a press release.

The General is player by Jan Frycz. Marieta Żukowska plays Teresy, the famme fatale and a victim while Andrzej Chyra os the General’s close aide.

The movie will hit Polish movie theatres this fall but no exact date was released. The poster promoting the film shows a naked woman with a big knive in her hand.

PAP enviusages

• Film director Andrzej Żuławski will receive the award for „life-time achievement for a director with a special visual sensitivity” at this year Plus Camerimage Festival, organizers of the event have told PAP. Last year the same award was granted to Roman Polański. The 16th International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Plus Camerimage 2008 will be held between November 20 and December 6.
• Two short movies by Rafał Kapeliński, "Emilka płacze" (Little Emily Cries) and "Ballada o Piotrowskim" (The Ballad About Piotrowski) that won a number of awards will be on in Polish movie theatres on Septmebr 26. They will be shown as part of one movie show. Scripts to the two films were written by Kapeliński starring Marta Chodorowska, Andrzej Szewczak and Maciej Wojdyła.

• Michał Rosa’s movie "Rysa" (Scratch) starring Krzysztof Stroiński and Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieślak will be show at this year 13th International Film Festival in Pusan, South Korea. The festival in Pusan, the most important film show in Asia will be held between October 2 and 10. The premiere of “Scratch” is scheduled for September 19.
• The 2nd edition of On August 31 Warsaw will stage a Warsaw Without Boundaries - Warsaw Multicultural Street Party 2008 parade featuring national and ethnic minority cultures. The parade, patterned on similar events in Brazil, Britain and Spain, will feature music, dancing, art and language workshops, and a competition for the event's Queen and King.

• Foreign and Polish artists including US rap and hip-hop star Wyclef Jean and Jan Borysewicz will give concerts during the 1^st edition of the Orange Warsaw Festival. Ewa Czeszejko-Sochacka, Warsaw mayor commissioner for gaining by the city the title of European Culture Capital has told a news conference that the festival will be held on a yearly basis and will be one of elements of Warsaw’s campaign for the title.