Premieres of films produced as part of Fotofestiwal!
Fotofestiwal is not just about photography. This year, you can visit us and watch two films that were made specifically for us. These films address the most recent events in Poland and Europe and this is what makes them so special. We are presenting their trailers here and you are welcome to watch the full versions premiere in Łódź in less than a month.
We started our film-making tradition last year, during the edition dedicated to Łódź and the local communities. This is when a very special film “No ba! Grozi zawaleniem lub oświeceniem // DANGER OF COLLAPSE OR ENLIGHTENMENT!” directed by Łukasz z Bałut had its premiere. It’s a medium-length film about the infamous district, whose unobvious beauty has been recognised and promoted by this artist for years. It will have its online premiere during Fotofestiwal 2022.
This year, we are focusing on COMMUNITY. We have invited Mohammed Almughanni and Rami Shaya to work on films connected with this theme. For both these filmmakers, at some point Łódź became a new home. They originally considered making films about Palestinian and Syrian communities in Poland, but eventually focused on more recent topics such as situations on the Polish-Belarussian and Polish-Ukrainian borders.
“The Other Refugees” directed by Mohammed Almughanni offers a closer look at the refugee crisis on the Polish-Ukrainian border. The protagonists are the elderly, women and children, including foreigners who stayed in Ukraine, all of them forced to suddenly flee the country. The film documents their struggle from the point of view of the international humanitarian aid volunteers.
“Shadows” by Ola & Rami Shaya is a story of three people trying to reach Poland. Maria is waiting for an Easter visit from her in-laws, Stefan pretends to be a wild mushroom picker to help the refugees who are stuck at the Polish-Belarussian border, and Watermelon Lady would rather be a Ukrainian cat.
The screenings, in cooperation with the Polówka open-air cinema project, will take place on 24 June at 21:30 in the backyard at Piotrkowska 17, next to the Niebostan café-club.
This is, of course, only a part of the film programme. It’s going to feature films and panel discussions with regard to, among other things, the role of architecture and political systems in creating housing communities, based on the example of blocks of flats, as well as a film screening and a discussion about the confrontation of different lifestyles in the countryside. You can join us at a special Polówka screening in historic Kotłownia in the Fuzja complex and at evening screenings in the beautiful garden of the Book Art Museum. Stay tuned!
ph. fragment from “The Other Refugees” directed by Mohammed Almughanni
