– ‘The movies are not easy, they are not entertaining either, but our experience has shown that people want to watch them. I remember from the last summer, when the Polish cinema was represented by the movie Wszystko co kocham (All That I Love), there were over a thousand people watching it. Every single chair and the entire lawn behind the fence were occupied. Our goal is to prove that open air screenings are not always about entertainment. Popular culture is available at any multiplex. Our movies are important and require attention,’ he adds.
When asked which movies cannot be missed from the ones he selected, he gave three titles, two of which are the most demanding out of the entire bunch. Hunger (directed by Steve McQueen) is a movie about IRA prisoners who fight for being treated not as criminals but as political prisoners. The White Ribbon (directed by Michael Haneke) depicts the German society just before the outbreak of World War I.
Also, the movie that the author of the festival is particularly fond of – The Lives of Others (directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck) which depicts a petrifying, paranoid and sometimes hilarious story about monitoring the GDR citizens by agents of the Stasi.
The organizers believe that in connection with the recent premiere at the Provisorium Theatre of Janusz Opryński, the movie The Karamazovs directed by Petr Zelenka will also attract lots of attention.
– All screenings will take place regardless of the weather. ‘In case of rain, chairs will be offered to the audience on the roofed stage,’ says Chwała. Admission to all screenings is free of charge.
Schedule
July 23 (Saturday)
The White Ribbon by Michael Haneke
He directed movies such as The Piano Teacher and Caché. In The White Ribbon he focuses on the German society just before the outbreak of World War I. The plot is based in a northern German protestant village. The peaceful existence of the villagers in 1913-1914 is disrupted by a series of awkward events.
July 24 (Sunday)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days by Cristian Mungiu
The film is set in a dreary town in Communist Romania during the final years of the Nicolae Ceauşescu era. A young woman, Gabita, faces unwanted pregnancy. She is petrified to become a single mother and to see others reacting to her pregnancy.
July 25 (Monday)
The Child by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Bruno and Sonia are still very young; she is eighteen and he is twenty. They are surviving on her welfare checks and Bruno’s gang petty crimes. When their son, Jimmy, is born, the time comes for Bruno to start making choices.
July 26 (Tuesday)
The Karamazovs by Petr Zelenka
The film is set in contemporary Poland. A group of actors accompanied by their director (Roman Luknár) arrives to Cracow from Prague in order to stage The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in the former steelworks during an alternative arts festival.
July 27 (Wednesday)
Hunger by Steve McQueen
This is the first movie directed by Steve McQueen. The movie is about members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who turn into hunger strikers in jail. Their goal is to change their status of criminal prisoners into political prisoners.
July 28 (Thursday)
Grbavica by Jasmila Zbanic
The movie reminds of one of the most shameful episodes of the war – systematic rapes of imprisoned Bosniak women by Serbian troops.
July 29 (Friday)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Julian Schnabel
Based on a true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby – editor of the French fashion magazine ELLE, who at the age of 43 suffered a massive stroke as a result of which most of his body is paralyzed.
July 30 (Saturday)
The Lives of Others directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
The plot is based on a popular topic of secret service. It depicts a petrifying, paranoid and sometimes hilarious story about monitoring the GDR citizens by agents of the Stasi. The film is based on a true story.
July 31 (Sunday)
Kontroll by Nimrod Antal
This is the most popular Hungarian movie of the last couple of years. It is a story about a young man called Bulcsu, who, in attempt to escape his previous lifestyle, seeks employment as a subway ticket inspector.