12 great hits in the On Air section; Panahi, Dziedziel, and Jakubik with an award for being rebellious. Here comes the programme and guests of the 16th Tofifest IFF
On 10th October, a press conference dedicated to the 16th edition of the Tofifest IFF took place at the Kubrick Club, during which the highlights of the programme became public knowledge. We have revealed the 12 films to compete in the On Air main competition of the festival, all members of the juries, as well as the guests who are going to come to Torun this year.
For many years now, Tofifest has made every effort to single out and appreciate filmmakers for their contribution in the development of cinema and artistic independence, both of which manifest in their art and artistic attitude. Tenacity, being a lone wolf, and not submitting to the trends or fashions – all of that constitutes their distinctive features we wish to underline and thank them for.
This year, the organisers of the festival have decided to present awards for artistic insolence to Marian Dziedziel, Arkadiusz Jakubik, and Jafar Panahi. On behalf of the Indian director, Solmaz Panahi, daughter of Jafar Panahi, is going to accept the statuette at the Opening Ceremony. The Flisak, which is an award given to filmmakers from the region, will go to Grazyna Szapolowska and Dawid Janicki, and the latter of the two will present his latest film project – “Broad Peak” – about the Polish mountaineering expedition to the Himalayas, during the festival. An award for lifetime achievement will go to Maja Komorowska.
In addition to the winners of awards, the following people are going to come to Torun: Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Krzysztof Zanussi, Wojtek Smarzowski, Katarzyna Figura, Filip Bajon, Jan Jakub Kolski, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Jacek Braciak, Lukasz Grzegorzek, Eliza Rycembel, Urszula Grabowska, or Anna Radwan – they are going to have their individual meetings with the audience.
The films featured in the On Air section will certainly provide a pretext for some discussions, as they certainly include true gems found at international festivals. 10 of the films will have their Polish premières during the festival.
The following films are featured in the competition:
- Another Day of Life, directed by Damian Nenow and Raúl de la Fuente - it is a unique combination of animation and documentary, and at the same time a story about the events that brought to life one of the most important books by Ryszard Kapuscinski (PRE-RELEASE);
- Dear Son, directed by Mohamed Ben Attia - a film story from Tunisia about the drama of a father, whose son goes to Syria (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Girl, directed by Lukas Dhont - a story about a headstrong ballet dancer, who comes to realise that she was born in a different body (PRE-RELEASE);
- Crystal Swan, directed by Darya Zhuk - here, the protagonist is a young woman from Belarus, who dreams of moving to Chicago, where she could finally live the life she wants (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Trot, directed by Xacio Baño - a family drama developing during a festival called “Rapa das Bestas,” when men break in the horses, which becomes a symbol of man’s power over nature (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Her Job, directed by Nikos Labôt - a portrait of a Greek woman, who is forced to look for a job during the time of recession – the film was screened at TIFF (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Orange Days, directed by Arash Lahooti - in Iran, women must still fight for their emancipation at work; the protagonist in the film is one of such women, who wins a big tender (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Firecrackers, directed by Jasmin Mozaffari - the protagonist takes revenge on her ex-boyfriend, but sets loose some of the instincts she did not expect to have, in the process (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Maine, directed by Matthew Brown - a story about a woman from Spain, who decides to walk the entire 2,200-mile long Appalachian Trail, and during the march discovers who she really is (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Summer Survivors, directed by Marija Kavtaradze - an ambitious psychologist and two patients with mental disorders set off on a trip together (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Likemeback, directed by Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli - three teenagers on the holidays of their dreams are brutally forced into adulthood (POLISH PREMIERE);
- Joy, directed by Sudabeh Mortezai - this film was a true shocker at the Venice IFF – two Nigerian women living in Austria try to make their dream about a better life come true (POLISH PREMIERE).
The jury evaluating the competing films is composed of the following people:
- Magnus van Horn - he is the director of The Here After – a film that had a triumphant parade through international film festivals;
- Julia Kijowska - an actress, who played in films by Smarzowski, Koszalka, or Holland;
- Lukasz Maciejewski - a film critic, who this year has won an award of the Polish Film Institute for the successive volume of the book cycle titled Actresses;
- Robert Glinski - an outstanding film director known for such films as Hi, Tereska and Stones For the Rampart;
- Agnieszka Zulewska - an actress, who has won the hearts of audiences with her roles in Chemo and Demon;
- Adam Woronowicz - an actor and this year’s winner of an award for the best actor at the Gdynia Film Festival.
The jury will give the Golden Angel Main Award of the festival to a producer (this award is funded by Piotr Calbecki, Marshal of Kujawsko-Pomorskie), and to a director (this one is funded by Michal Zaleski, President of Torun). The Golden Angel Award is a reference to the symbol of the city of Torun.
Also in this section
- Idea
- Sections
- Awards
- Jury of 2023 On Air Competion
- Volunteers
- Archive
