The 3rd edition of the Habitat International Film Festival took place on 6th -15th May 2022. The section entitled Films from Poland was presented on 8th and 9th May. The selection featured brilliant Polish films like “The Dress” nominated for the Oscar 2022 Award.
Films presented:
1. The Dress (Short film/Poland/Polish/2020/30mins)
Lust, sexuality and physicality. These are the deepest desires Julia suppresses while working at a wayside motel. That is until she crosses paths with a handsome truck driver, who soon becomes the object of her fantasies.
Dir. Tadeusz Łysiak; Cast: Anna Dzieduszycka, Dorota Pomykała, Szymon Piotr Warszawski, Andrzej Glazer, Lea Oleksiak, Michalina Robakiewicz, Maciej Robakiewicz, Ryszard Parol, Julia Kalinowska, Kinga Bloch, Wiktor Eychler, Antoni Strawa, Jakub Onichowski, Lidia Moroz, Konrad Krupiński, Monika Markowska; Script: Tadeusz Łysiak; DOP: Konrad Bloch; Editor: Mariusz Gos; Producer: Maciej Ślesicki; Production: Warsaw Film School.
The film was nominated for Oscars in the Short Film Category. Multiple award winner including Best Narrative Short at Atlanta Film Festival, USA, Bronze Tadpole for Konrad Bloch at Camerimage Festival, Poland, Grand Prize – Best Actress for Anna Dzieduszycka at Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA, The Winner in Let’s Include category at Bengaluru International Short Film Festival, India, Best Student Fiction Film at IN THE PALACE Short Film Festival, Bulgaria
2. Mother’s Day (Poland/Polish/2021/11 mins)
A short story about mothers struggling with extreme situations. The fox travels through the forest in search of food. When she reaches the edge of the forest, she comes across a lonely farm where she witnesses the stormy events involving a young woman expecting a baby.
Dir. Patryk Kaflowski; Cast: Alina Szczegielniak, Wiesław Kupczak; Script: Patryk Kaflowski; DOP: Patryk Kaflowski, Patryk Roman; Editor: Patryk Kaflowski, Michał Walter; Sound: Maciej Amilkiewicz; Production: Szkoła Filmowa im. Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego.
3. End of The World (Poland/Polish/2020/16 mins)
A young journalist suffering from insomnia is contracted to conduct an interview with a well-known artist. Feliks’ hitherto urban lifestyle is being confronted with the tranquility of a country land, likewise are his deepest fears. Purely professional at first, their relationship becomes more of an intimate nature, creating a thread of understanding between Iga and Feliks. Both coping with their loss, try to overcome obstacles of getting to the other side of life.
Dir. Karol Ulman; Cast: Małgorzata Gałkowska, Mikołaj Kubacki; Script: Karol Ulman; DOP: Maksymilian Plater-Zyberk; Editor: Aleksandra Kasprowicz; Sound: Jacek Hamela; Production: Szkoła Filmowa im. Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego.
4. Last Days of Summer (Poland/Polish/2020/28 mins)
A summer idyll in a thriving family vineyard is interrupted by an assault on Yana, one of its seasonal workers. The victim’s story can only be confirmed by one person, her friend Tosia. The teenager faces a difficult moral dilemma between justice and protecting her family. What will she choose?
Dir. Klaudia Kęska; Cast: Julia Kuzka, Grzegorz Damięcki, Monika Kwiatkowska, Sonya Slyusarenko, Jan Hrynkiewicz; Script: Klaudia Kęska; DOP: Kamil Małecki; Editor: Alan Zejer; Production: Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School.
5. Submission (Poland/Polish/2021/26 mins)
Piotr, a good but unlucky angler living in a former Polish colony. He catches the largest and most disgusting fish at the greatest Millennium Fishing Competition. His life from this moment begins to change for the better, and the hero begins to see in her a salutary amulet in the fish that he caught. Unfortunately, at the same time the fish brings apocalyptic destruction to the world. Piotr will have to choose between his own good and his entire island community.
Dir. Michał Ciechomski; Cast: Mirosław Haniszewski, Anna Krotoska, Michał Wójtowicz, Krzysztof Franieczek, Maja Pankiewicz; Script: Michał Ciechomski; DOP: Paweł Grabarek; Editor: Agnieszka Białek; Sound: Bartek Grzybkowski; Animation: Kacper Buratyński; Production: Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School.
6. The Taste of Pho (Poland/Germany, language Polish, Vietnamese/ 2019/84 min)
A Warsaw-based Vietnamese cook struggles to fit into the European culture, which his ten-year-old daughter has already embraced as her own. A story about love, misunderstanding and food.
Dir. Mariko Bobrik; Cast: Thang Long Do, Lena Nguyen, Aleksandra Domańska, Gia Khai Ton, Thi Thanh Minh Tran, Wojciech Zieliński, Bogusława Pawelec; Script: Mariko Bobrik; DOP: Andrzej Wojciechowski; Music: Aki Takase; Editor: Benjamin Mirguet; Production: Lava Films, Rohfilm GmbH, Opus Film.
