Krzysztof Siwoń
Cinematic life wakes up in spring, and Kraków’s festivals have been presenting captivating screenings and events for many years.
Mastercard OFF CAMERA, the Film Music Festival and the Krakow Film Festival are all unique events forming a part of the European network of celebrations of cinema, led by the Cannes Festival of course. Between late April and early June, Cracovians and visitors have plenty to choose from: from independent productions and documentaries to major concerts resounding with cinematic symphonies and grand galas featuring stars of the silver screen. Collaborations between the festivals have already produced spectacular events, including awarding artists such as Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Skolimowski and Jan A.P. Kaczmarek.
American indie and girl power
The first breath of spring arrives with the Mastercard OFF CAMERA International Festival of Independent Cinema. The 17th festival comes to studio cinemas and Kraków’s largest screen at Kijów Cinema.
Mastercard OFF CAMERA presents the latest films (frequently in pre-premiere screenings) as well as examining the latest social trends through its thematic sections. The “Festival Hits” section includes premieres from the finest cinematic events all over the globe. “American Indie” introduces titles from the largest independent circles – the Sundance-style of cinematography from the US is recognisable all over the globe, and not just thanks to support from Robert Redford. The remaining two regular sections are the Polish Film Competition and the “Making Way” Main Competition with the entrants vying for the Andrzej Wajda Kraków Film Award. Viewers will discover the latest trends in independent cinema and see films arriving fresh from festivals in Toronto, Locarno, Rotterdam and Sundance itself.
The latest social trends will be explored through four themed sections. “Black Sheep” is an encounter with unconventional protagonists whose peculiar lifestyles pose a challenge to the society as a whole. The section “Girl Power!” gives voice to girls and young women. “On the Border” intertwines political and social motifs (all too painfully current, with the war being waged by Russia on Ukraine and the brutal conflict between Israel and Palestine), as well as barriers boldly broken down by protagonists. Fans of the true crime genre are bound to enjoy “For a Good Cause” showcasing dark stories and the latest tricks in presenting crime while not shying away from asking pertinent questions about the nature of evil.
Symphonies, electronics, folk
In mid-spring, Kraków celebrates the Film Music Festival – one of the most important events of its kind on the global scale. Every year, the finest orchestras and soloists perform at some of the city’s greatest concert halls to bring us the full spectrum of film music: from screenings with live accompaniment, via symphonic, chamber and club concerts, to industry meetings and accompanying events.
This year’s event is the 17th, just a step away from reaching symbolic “adulthood”. And the programme reflects this: the FMF doesn’t just follow trends, but it creates them by presenting new forms of expression and new ways of encountering film music.
And since we’re talking about counting years, this year’s festival pays homage to two major premieres from 1994. Schindler’s List, produced in Kraków under the watchful eye of its director Steven Spielberg, was a huge event for the city at the time, and many locals still look back fondly thirty years. The soundtrack resounds at the Kraków Philharmonic under the baton of Alexander Humala. On a very different end of the scale, 1994 also saw the premiere of The Lion King – one of Disney’s most acclaimed production and the first cinematic experience for many kids of the 1990s. The screening with live accompaniment at Tauron Arena Kraków is the perfect event for whole families – both children discovering the film for the first time and their parents who can indulge in nostalgia for the era of VHS and Elton John’s hit.
The Orchestra of the Capital Royal City of Krakow Sinfonietta Cracovia also celebrates its 30th anniversary this year; under the baton of guest conductor Dirk Brossé, the musicians present works by some of the most interesting composers working on recent films of all genres, all the way from the epic Napoleon, via the superhero classic Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to the emotionally-laden The Whale.
But the Film Music Festival is about far more than just string orchestras! We will also hear chamber adaptations of music by Maestro John Williams (some of his best-known melodies set for flute, cello and piano), unusual combinations of choir and piano (including the soundtrack from Interstellar adapted by the acclaimed pianist Aleksander Dębicz) and club evenings resounding with electronica. The latter will be hosted at Kwadrat, presenting synths straight from the 1980s and themes form films such as The Terminator, Blade Runner and Top Gun.
The festival culminates with the Gala of Polish Music themed around recent films recalling ethnic and folk traditions, including music from The Peasants and The Quack. The Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra performs under the baton of Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak; they are joined by folk musicians (e.g. the SVAHY trio appearing in the latest adaptation of The Quack) and the Rebel Babel Film Orchestra led by Łukasz “L.U.C.” Rostkowski.
And the FMF isn’t just about artistic events in prestigious concert halls such as the ICE Kraków Congress Centre, Tauron Arena Kraków and the Kraków Philharmonic: it also provides a platform for up-and-coming artists through workshops and recording sessions for young composers at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre of Music in Lusławice and industry meetings, with the Potocki Palace serving as a link between the Film Music Festival and Mastercard OFF CAMERA.
Kraków – the capital of documentaries for the 64th time!
The screenings of the Qatsi trilogy as part of Krakow Film Festival outdoor cinema presentations at the foot of Wawel Hill will serve as a meeting point between film music and documentaries. Godfrey Reggio, director of the three environmentally-themed documentary essays, and the acclaimed Polish filmmaker Jacek Petrycki receive this year’s honorary Dragon of Dragons statuettes for lifetime achievement. Qatsi are classics of the documentary genre, serving as an important voice supporting sustainable development. The environment is one of the hottest (!) topics affecting today’s society, spilling into the cultural sphere, and something the organisers and participants in the Krakow Film Festival are acutely aware of. Last year, the KFF recom- mended Songs of Earth for the European Film Award; the film has been on show in cinemas throughout Poland since February.
Since 1961, the Krakow Film Festival has been developing Poland’s documentary-making, as well as inviting some of the most important makers of animations, documentaries and short films to the city. KFF is the only Polish festival with the power to qualify films for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, and one of just two in the Best Documentary Short Film category.
Talented filmmakers flock to the festival from all over the globe, bringing myriad genres and topics. Films are presented in the International Documentary Competition, International Short Film Festival, International Music Documentary Competition DocFilmMusic and the Polish Competition (including documentaries, animations and short films). Additionally, cinemas all over Kraków show films as part of thematic streams, including productions intertwining science with filmmaking, films for kids of all ages, and even virtual reality presentations.
The Krakow Film Festival has spent many years showing that humankind remains at the very centre of attention, regardless of genre or country of origin (this year we will see films from Asia, both Americas and Europe, with a special focus on Romanian cinematography). This year’s festival received a record number of 2500 entries! Selected films include Life Is Beautiful (made by the Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly as he found himself in an unplanned long exile in Norway) and 1498, telling the story of a family separated from their son in wartorn Nagorno-Karabakh. Both films come to Kraków straight from Amsterdam, where they were awarded at the prestigious IDFA Festival. In turn, the Berlin Film Festival brings two queer stories: Teaches of Peaches (filmed during an anniversary tour by this acclaimed feminist and cultural powerhouse) and Baldiga: Unlocked Heart, based on a vast collection of diaries and photographs taken in the city by Jürgen Baldiga documenting the 1980s AIDS crisis.
In spring, Kraków takes us on a fascinating journey through the cinematic world: from independent films to vast productions awarded the most important prizes, from chamber music to symphonic soundtracks, from major political and social themes to personal stories which reveal that cinema can be – and is – a truly empathetic medium.
Krzysztof Siwoń – cultural scholar involved with the Cultural Institute at the Jagiellonian University. Co-creator of the narrative of the permanent exhibition at the National Centre for Film Culture in Łódź. Member of the KFF selection committee between 2015 and 2023. His articles about topics such as film music have been published in numerous journals. In his daily life, he works in communications and promotion of the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra.
The article published in the 1/2024 issue of “Kraków Culture” quarterly.
