The 10th anniversary edition of the Era New Horizons international film festival kicks off in the south-western city of Wroclaw today.
The organisers of the festival, which last year drew in crowds of over 120,000, have prepared two completely differing inauguration screenings, capped with a performance of American singer-songwriter Mike Patton, who inaugurates his European tour promoting his new CD ‘Mondo Cane’.
The inauguration screenings comprise two films which were well-received at the Cannes festival. The first is a tale of monks Algeria, “Of Gods and Men” directed by Xavier Beauvois, the other a story of a drug-dealer in Tokyo: “Enter the Void” by Gaspar Noé.
“Selected films are not part of the popular blockbuster category, the idea is to show directors who go against the trend,” says Roman Gutek, a film distributor and founder of the festival.
Joanna Lapinska, the artistic director of the Era New Horizons film festival, told Polish Radio’s External Service that the festival shows “difficult and demanding films,” and that it is “the largest festival in Poland and the region.”
About 280 films will be screened (including about 230 feature films) from more than 50 countries, with an emphasis on Turkish cinema, with 30 different films being screened.
The famous French director Jean-Luc Godard and the late Polish director, Wojciech Jerzy Has, have their retrospectives. Jean-Luc Godard and the Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer are among the festival guests in this year's edition.
The most important part of the festival, however, and the greatest crowd puller, are the competitions.
The jury at the New Horizons International Competition will award the Grand Prix for the best film, which comes with a 20,000 euro cheque.
Films will also compete for the Audience's Award and for the first time this year, the FIPRESCI prize awarded by film buffs from in the International Federation of Film Critics.
There is also a New Polish Film Competition, with the best works receiving the Wroclaw Film Award, funded by the Mayor of the city to the tune of 100,000 zloty (around 25,000 euro).
The Era New Horizons Festival is the brainchild of Roman Gutek, Poland’s leading promoter of new and independent cinema. A modest event initially held in the small towns of Sanok and Cieszyn, it moved to Wroclaw in 2006 and has since developed into the country’s premier film festival. Era New Horizons kicks off today, Thursday, and lasts until August 1. (jb/mk)
Audio by Agnieszka Bielawska
Sources: PRES/film.onet.pl/enh.pl
More information on the festival can be found here.
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