EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2023: Polish Films Competition line-up unveiled

EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival has announced its 2023 line-up of Polish films.

ANXIETY

Małgorzata is fully in control of every aspect her life. Resolute, well-organized, and with her feet firmly on the ground, she has sacrificed everything for her career. Her younger sister Łucja on the other hand, is impulsive, perpetually seeking and sometimes loses her way in life but has managed to find fulfilment in motherhood. Though their lives have often gone in very different directions, the sisters are brought back together for the most important journey of all when Łucja takes the terminally ill Małgorzata to a renowned clinic in Switzerland. They set off on the journey with different intentions: Małgorzata wants to leave the world on her own terms, while Łucja hopes to persuade her sister to change her mind and fight for her life. As they struggle to resolve their differences amid tears and laughter, will the two of them be able to rediscover the closeness they once shared? Or will the trip of a lifetime also be a last goodbye?

Original title: Lęk
Director: Sławomir Fabicki
Cinematographer: Bogumił Godfrejów
Produced by: Apple Film Production
Polish distributor: Monolith Films Sp. z o.o.
Country and year: Poland, 2023

DOPPELGÄNGER. THE DOUBLE

It is a suspense-filled psychological drama with elements of a thriller and a spy movie. A film inspired by the true story of a James Bond of Cold-War Poland who, under an assumed identity posing as the son of a German woman, managed to build false family relations and launch a successful espionage career. A story of how big-world politics affects the lives of ordinary people. A historical tale from the 1970s and 80s, in the style of the Oscar-winning The Lives of Others. A film about a man steeped in inner conflict, who driven by love, tries to turn back from a path of no return. Instead of love he sows destruction, but as an agent he is impeccable. Doppelgänger is not only a record of the operations of a communist intelligence agent that destroy many people’s lives. The movie is also a dark psychological tale about human relations and emotions. A story of strength, perseverance, hope and faith in justice. It is also a story about seeking the truth, searching for one’s own identity and being forced to find oneself in a new reality.

Original title: Doppelgänger. Sobowtór
Director: Jan Holoubek
Cinematographer: Bartłomiej Kaczmarek
Produced by: TVN Warner Bros. Discovery
Polish distributor: Next Film Sp. z o.o.
Country and year: Poland, 2023

FIN DEL MUNDO?

Waldi and his three sisters live in an old suburban house. Its cellar is inhabited by their elderly parents who died a few years back. Together, they enjoy family breakfasts and the cosy domestic life. Until, one day, Waldi develops a superpower. Then, two unexpected guests drag the family into a top-secret mission, forcing the dead parents to brush up on their contacts in the afterlife. The narrative weaves together elements of melodrama, western, horror, crime, and comedy. It is the perfect recipe for the end of the world. Could it be happening for real?

Director: Piotr Dumała
Cinematographer: Piotr Kukla
Produced by: Mańana Sp. z o.o.
Polish distributor: Agencja Promocji Mańana
Country and year: Poland, 2023

FORGOTTEN LOVE

Looking for his beloved daughter Marysia, world-famous surgeon Rafał Wilczur falls victim to a mugging and as a result of his injuries loses his memory. Years later, living as a vagabond, and still suffering from amnesia, he meets his daughter. They do not recognise each other. But they need each other’s help badly.

Original title: Znachor
Director: Michał Gazda
Cinematographer: Tomasz Augustynek
Produced by: Endemol Shine Polska, MS Productions Magdalena Szwedkowicz
Polish distributor: Netflix
Country and year: Poland, 2023

ONE SOUL

The year is 1990, Alojz is born. His mother decides to abandon the baby, but ultimately returns for her crying son. Years pass, the grown man becomes a hard-working miner, with charisma and respect from his friends. But Alojz’s alcoholism and violence bring daily suffering to his wife Anna and their young sons. When Anna decides to leave Alojz, an unexpected turn of events unfolds. During a mining accident, Alojz saves the life of a colleague whom he previously mercilessly taunted. The price of his heroic act is a paralysis from his hips down. This becomes a turning point for the entire family, transforming their lives, and paradoxically, despite the tragic consequences, bringing a spark of hope.

Original title: Jedna dusza
Director: Łukasz Karwowski
Cinematographer: Adam Bajerski
Produced by: Zoom Media Sp. z o.o., Canal+ Polska S.A.
Polish distributor: Kino Świat Sp. z o.o.
Country and year: Poland, 2023

THE PILECKI REPORT

The story of the great hero of World War II – cavalry captain Witold Pilecki, who after the end of military operations tried to oppose the Soviet domination that was imposed on Poland. His biography shows in an extremely dramatic way his heroic, yet sometimes hopeless struggle against two ruthless totalitarianisms of the 20th century – the German and the Soviet.

Original title: Raport Pileckiego
Director: Krzysztof Łukaszewicz
Cinematographer: Arek Tomiak
Produced by: Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych (WFDiF)
Polish distributor: TVP Dystrybucja
Country and year: Poland, 2023

STRAWMAN

Strawman tells the story of Bronek, an agent of the secret police in Communist Poland. Bronek is involved in a long-term surveillance operation targeted at Bishop Karol Wojtyła. Thanks to its focus on Bronek as the protagonist, the film shows known facts in a unique manner (the struggle for the construction of a church in Nowa Huta in Kraków, surveillance of church circles by the secret police). Strawman is not a bio-pic about the future pope, Karol Wojtyła is here only as a catalyst for action. Motivated by his desire for money and promotion, Bronek repeatedly crosses moral boundaries, and becomes obsessed with his invigilation of Wojtyła. The film skilfully uses generic tropes of an espionage thriller to tell the story of a man, who gets drawn deeper and deeper into the isolated, immoral world of the secret service and gradually succumbs to loneliness, evil and crime.

Original title: Figurant
Director: Robert Gliński
Cinematographer: Adam Bajerski
Produced by: Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych (WFDiF)
Polish distributor: TVP Dystrybucja
Country and year: Poland, 2023