27th Warsaw Film Festival programme announced

Today at the press conference held at the Warsaw Marriott Hotel the programme of the 27th Warsaw Film Festival was announced. The festival will run for ten days – October 7-16, 2011, on nine screens at two locations in the heart of Warsaw: Multikino Zlote Tarasy and Kinoteka.
The Opening Film will be Page Eight by David Hare. The Director and Bill Nighy are expected to attend. The Closing Film will be A Dangerous Method by David Cronenberg. Other programme highlights will include The Battle of Algiers, a 1966 classic by Gillo Pontecorvo and This Is Not A Film by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, a documentary about Jafar Panahi, Iranian filmmaker, who stays under home arrest awaiting the sentence for his alleged “anti-system activities”. Panahi was invited to preside the Warsaw Jury.

Since 2009 WFF is listed by FIAPF (www.fiapf.org) as competitive international film festival.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION line-up:
- 17 Hours (23-F) by Chema de la Pena, Spain 2011 / International Premiere
- Alois Nebel by Tomáš Luňák, Czech, Germany, Slovakia 2011
- Another Silence (Otros silencios) by Santiago Amigorena, France, Argentina, Canada 2011
- Beast by Christoffer Boe, Dania 2011 / World Premiere
- Being Mitsuko by Kenji Yamauchi, Japan 2011 / World Premiere
- Blowfish by Chi Yuarn Lee Taiwan 2011 / European Premiere
- Courage (Wymyk) by Greg Zglinski, Poland 2011
- Crulic – The Path to Beyond (Crulic – drumul spre dincolo) by Anca Damian, Romania, Poland 2011
- Grey Matter (Matiere Grise) by Kivu Ruhorahoza, Australia, Rwanda 2011 / European Premiere
- Land of Oblivion (La terre outrage) by Michale Boganim, France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine 2011
- Lena by Christophe van Rampoey, Netherlands, Belgium 2011 / European Premiere
- A Letter to Momo (Momo e no Tegami) by Hiroyuki Okiura, Japan 2011 / European Premiere
- Losing Innocence in Alma-Ata (Terya nevinnost v Almaty) by Zhanna Issabayeva, Kazakhstan 2011 / World Premiere
- Majid by Nassim Abassi, Marocco 2010 / European Premiere
- Policeman (Ha'shoter) by Nadav Lapid, Israel 2011
- Presumed Consent (Prezumpcya soglasya) by Farkhot Abdullaev, Russia 2011 / International Premiere
- Reasons of the Heart (Las razones del corazón) by Arturo Ripstein, Mexico/Spain 2011 / International Premiere
- Rose (Róża) by Wojciech Smarzowski, Poland 2011
- Three and a Half by Naghi Nemati, Iran 2011 / World Premiere
- Ulysses by Oscar Godoy, Chile, Argentina 2011
Most filmmakers of films in competition are expected to attend, including Arturo Ripstein, Christopher Boe and his long-time collaborators, actors Nicolas Bro and Nikolaj Lie Kaas.
The winner will get the Warsaw Grand Prix and 100,000 zlotys (approx. 23,000 euro).
The Jury are: Christa Saredi, Milcho Manchevski (Before the Rain, Mothers), Bogdan George Apetri (Periferic), Alvaro Brechner (Bad Day for Fishing), and Artem Vassiliev (producer, A Room and a Half, Paper Soldier).

COMPETITION 1-2 line-up:
- Avé by Konstantin Bojanov, Bulgaria 2011
- Between Night and Day (Entre la noche y el día) by Bernardo Arellano, Mexico 2011
- Breathing (Atmen) by Karl Markovics, Austria 2011
- The Cinema Hold-Up (Asalto al cine) by Iria Gómez Concheiro, Mexico 2010
- Combat Girls (Kriegerin) by David F. Wnendt, Germany 2011
- Hanaan by Ruslan Pak South, Korea (South), Uzbekistan 2011
- January (Enero) by Cynthia Gabrenja, Marcelo Scoccia, Argentina 2011
- My Last Round (Mi último round) by Julio Jorquera, Chile, Argentina 2010
- Natural Selection by Robbie Pickering, USA 2011 / European Premiere
- No. 89 Shimen Road by Haolun Shu Hong Kong (China), Netherlands 2010
- Porfirio by Alejandro Landes, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay 2011
- Qarantina by Oday Rasheed Iraq, Germany 2010
- The Shadow of the Sun (La sombra del sol) by David Blanco, Spain 2011 / International Premiere
- Spots (Fleke) by Aldo Tardozzi, Croatia 2011
- Toll Booth (Gişe memuru) by Tolga Karaçelik, Turkey 2010 / International Premiere
- The Trip (Izlet) by Nejc Gazvoda, Slovenia 2011
- Twilight Portrait (Portret v sumerkakh) by Angelina Nikonova, Russia 2011
The Competition 1-2 Jury are: Sitora Alieva, Andrzej Bart (writer, director, and scriptwiter, Reverse), and David Mackenzie (Young Adam, Hallam Foe, Perfect Sense)

Separate Juries will judge films in Free Spirit Competition, Documentary Features Competition and Shorts Competition. FIPRESCI, Ecumenical and NETPAC Juries will also give their awards.
Premieres in the Free Spirit Competition:
- Close Encounter of Mahjong by Donald Li, China / European Premiere
- Farewell Loneliness by Huai-Syuan (Yaoyao) Jhuang, Taiwan, China / World Premiere
- Indifference / Bezrazlichie by Oleg Flyangolts, Russia / International Premiere
- The Man Who Dances / El hombre que baila by Sergio Aisenstein and Pablo Pintor, Argentina / European Premiere
- Pompeya by Tamae Garateguy, Argentina / European Premiere
- A Sky Too Far to See by Norio Enomoto, Japan / International Premiere
- Splinters by Adam Pesce, USA / European Premiere
Premieres in the Documentary Competition:
- Buck by Cindy Meehl, USA / European Premiere
- Dancing Across Borders by Anne Bass, USA / European Premiere
- How To Boil A Frog by Jon Cooksey, Canada / European Premiere
- A Man's story by Varon Bonicos, UK / European Premiere
- Überflieger - The Art of Ski jumping by Matthias Thönnissen, Germany 2010 / World Premiere

A total of 127 feature length films and 97 shorts from 59 countries will be presented.

The CentEast Market Warsaw, an industry event accompanying the WFF, will run October 14-16. It will consist of:
- CentEast Warsaw-Moscow (October 14), presentations of selected Eastern European works-in-progress, which will be repeated October 22 in Moscow at 2morrow Film Festival, in collaboration with TVINDIE;
- Warsaw Screenings, industry screenings of the newest Polish films;
- panel on sales and distribution;
- The Art of Editing (October 12), an open workshop where the basics of film editing will be explained;
- FIPRESCI Warsaw Project, workshop for young Eastern European film critics and journalists, organised with FIPRESCI (www.fipresci.org);
- Shorts Warszawa, a programme for young Polish short filmmakers, who will learn about how the international film industry works.
More info at www.wff.pl, media@wff.pl