11/07/2019 - Poland’s leading film event is still seeking out unexplored cinematic worlds and uncompromising stories in its competition, while its side sections and retrospectives raise the bar once again

The New Horizons International Film Festival is probably the largest film event in Poland, and the line-up for its 19^th edition reaffirms its position in the national cinema landscape. Running for the 14^th consecutive year in Wrocław, the historical capital of Silesia, the festival will showcase 223 feature-length films hailing from 54 countries at over 600 screenings, unspooling over 11 days (25 July-4 August). The Cannes Film Festival Best Screenplay Award winner, Portrait of a Lady on Fire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Céline Sciamma
film profile] by Céline Sciamma, will open New Horizons on 25 July in the presence of the director and actress Adèle Haenel. The festival will close with one of the first European screenings of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood on 3 August.

New Horizons is known for its uncompromising and edgy selection of movies in its International Film Competition, and this year is no exception. Twelve films will be competing for New Horizons’ Grand Prix, with the majority being European productions. The selection includes: Jessica Forever [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel (France), Koko-di Koko-da [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Johannes Nyholm
film profile] by Johannes Nyholm (Sweden/Denmark), Alva [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ico Costa
film profile] by Ico Costa (Portugal/France/Argentina), Ray & Liz [+see also:
film review
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interview: Richard Billingham
film profile] by Richard Billingham (UK), Take Me Somewhere Nice [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ena Sendijarević
film profile] by Ena Sendijarević (Netherlands/Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ghost Tropic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bas Devos
film profile] by Bas Devos (Belgium), Bait [+see also:
film review
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interview: Mark Jenkin
film profile] by Mark Jenkin (UK), The Children of the Dead [+see also:
film review
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interview: Kelly Copper and Pavol Liška
film profile] by Kelly Copper and Pavola Liski (Austria), Fire Will Come [+see also:
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interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] by Oliver Laxe (Spain/France/Luxembourg) and Tlamess [+see also:
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interview: Ala Eddine Slim
film profile] by Ala Eddine Slim (Tunisia/France). Finally, A Russian Youth [+see also:
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film profile] by Alexander Zolotukhin (Russia) and Jinpa by Pema Tseden (China) round off the selection.

Apart from the opening and closing films, some of the other pictures selected for the Gala programme include the Cannes Palme d’Or winner Parasite by Bong Joon-ho, The Souvenir [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Joanna Hogg, Pain & Glory [+see also:
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interview: Antonio Banderas
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile] by Pedro Almodóvar, The Traitor [+see also:
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Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
film profile] by Marco Bellocchio and Mr. Jones [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Holland
film profile], the latest film by Agnieszka Holland. One of the highlights of the section is Xawery Żuławski’s feature Bird Talk [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xawery Żuławski
film profile], based on a script by his late father and leading figure of Polish cinema Andrzej Żuławski. Also, a special showcase bearing the title Żuławski / Żuławski will screen films by both.

Known for its special focus on retrospectives, New Horizons will home in on four fairly controversial and well-known figures: Catalan auteur Albert Serra; French filmmaker Olivier Assayas; avant-garde Japanese poet, dramatist, writer, film director and photographer Shūji Terayama; and, as an integral part of a special focus on New Argentinian Cinema, Albertina Carri.

Finally, the focus section “The Body in Which I Live” will be a pretext for investigating how the body is treated in the modern world, while the “Third Eye: Spirituality, Magic and Witches” thematic cycle will take a closer look at portraits of the body and corporality in film, and “Lost Lost Lost – Movies from the Outer Edge” is dedicated to those filmmakers who aim to operate at the extreme outer reaches of auteur cinema.