14 November 2021
Newsdesk
After a four-year hiatus PLAY POLAND FILM FESTIVAL – the annual celebration of Polish cinema and art, has made a much applauded and much anticipated comeback both in Glasgow and Edinburgh as a so-called ‘hybrid edition’.
More precisely this means that both the Filmhouse in Edinburgh as well as the Glasgow Film Theatre will present a physical programme of feature films while Edinburgh’s Screen Academy will host various workshops and screen selected short films with the rest of the programme available online. Furthermore, this year’s programme is divided into three different categories: culture, ecology and society.
Thursday’s opening bash at Edinburgh’s Sheraton Grand Hotel left no doubt that PLAY POLAND FILM FESTIVAL is back with a bang and an enticing selection of films for every taste and interest – proof that Polish cinema has much more to offer than internationally recognised arthouse gems if the teaser clips are anything to go by!
Invited guests were treated to copious amounts of Polish delicacies including specialist cheeses and smoked cold cuts while organisers ensured that thirsty guests were equally (if not more) catered for thanks to a seemingly unlimited amount of selected wines, beers and Polish vodka-liqueur.
The first hour provided plenty of opportunity for guests to mingle and even make new acquaintances and friends while admiring the graphic exhibition of artist Daniel Mróz, a Polish illustrator renowned for his illustrations of science fiction books by writer Stanislaw Lem. Among Mroz’s eye-catching works is his illustration ‘Terminus’ (see picture) for Lem’s ‘Tales of Pirx the Pilot’. Of course Lem’s novel ‘Solaris’ has been adapted for the big screen twice, most famously by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and then in 2002 by American director Steven Soderbergh. No wonder the organizers (in partnership with The Blob Studio) decided to further celebrate Lem with several short films inspired by his works.
Then followed a welcome speech and introduction by the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh, Łukasz Lutostański. Next up were Director of The Blob Studio, Mateusz Jarza and Director of Play Poland Film Festival Iwona Nowak who provided assembled guests with interesting revelations concerning the Polish Film Festival 2021. For all her hard work Iwona was presented with an impressive bouquet of flowers.
Further info and full programme details are available via www.playpoland.org.uk
