This section features both films already released in cinemas and the most eye-catching trailers for this season. They will be the best, most interesting, and most controversial productions representing Polish cinema. It is the first time I have had the honour of taking the role of a curator of From Poland competition at the TOFIFEST festival, so I am taking the liberty of introducing a number of changes.
First of all, my priority is diversity. It means that new productions made by renowned filmmakers (Mr. Jones by Agnieszka Holland, Czarny mercedes by Janusz Majewski) will stand right next to a number of very interesting débuts (The Iron Bridge or All for My Mother). This section will include big spectacular films, such as The Coldest Game or I am Lying Now, but also films, in which their authors are looking for things more profound, alternative, and independent (such as Nothing is Lost or Rotten Ears). One of the highlights of this section will certainly be the screenings of Bird Talk by Xawery Żuławski or Corpus Christi by Jan Komasa, but also one of the very first presentations of Kult, a full-length documentary about this legendary rock band, all of which are part of the competition. Another important theme featured in From Poland competition will be a reflection on the condition of family bonds and the frailty of interpersonal relations, both of which are frequently reoccurring subjects. This is the theme analysed in the heart-breaking Back Home, directed by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, Dolce fine giornata by Jacek Borcuch, or in Fuga by Agnieszka Smoczyńska. I am certain that From Poland competition will become a very strong accent of the 17th edition of TOFIFEST.
Łukasz Maciejewski