The 39th Warsaw International Film Festival will commence on Friday, October 6, and will go on until Sunday, October 15, 2023. The festival cinemas will be Atlantic and Multikino Zlote Tarasy. The programme, selected from 4,800 submissions, includes 77 feature-length films and 61 short films from 52 countries, many of them world, international, and European premieres. Tickets will be available from Friday, September 22 at 2 p.m. online at www.wff.pl. Starting Monday, October 2, tickets will be sold at Atlantic cinema box offices, and starting Friday, October 6, also at Multikino Złote Tarasy.
British films at WFF:
Closing Film:
Defiant, dir. Karim Amer, Ukraine, UK, USA
A gripping documentary that chronicles the extraordinary journey of Ukraine as it stands its ground against the might of Russia during the invasion of February 2022. The acclaimed filmmakers behind Oscar winner “Navalny” and the Oscar-nominated “The Square” and “Hell and Back Again”, Karim Amer, Mike Lerner and Odessa Rae, bring us behind the scenes with key figures in Ukraine’s government.
MULTIKINO 3: Friday 6.10. 19:00 | MULTIKINO 3: Saturday 7.10. 21:30 | MULTIKINO 2: Monday 9.10. 13:30 | MULTIKINO 2: Sunday 15.10. 21:00
Documentary Competition:
1. Cyborg: a Documentary, dir. Carey Born, UK / USA / Germany / Spain
Colour-blind artist Neil Harbisson is the world's first formally recognised cyborg. He has an antenna implanted in his head that allows him to hear colour. Now Neil is on a mission to convince the world to follow him and adopt his credo: Design Yourself.
Screenings:
ATLANTIC C: Friday 6.10. 13:45 | ATLANTIC C: Monday 9.10. 16:15 |
ATLANTIC D: Tuesday 10.10. 21:30 | ATLANTIC D: Wednesday 11.10. 16:30
2. Danger Zone, dir. Vita Maria Drygas, Poland / UK / Belgium
A front-row, unfiltered look at the global war tourism industry. Weaving in different perspectives and narratives, there are no easy answers presented when two worlds collide: between the wealthy, privileged and the safe, and the helpless caught in conflicts they have no control over or escape from. “Danger Zone” is a damning commentary on a society in which everything is available at a price.
Screenings:
ATLANTIC C: Monday 9.10. 13:45 | ATLANTIC D: Tuesday 10.10. 19:00 |
ATLANTIC C: Wednesday 11.10. 16:15 | ATLANTIC D: Friday 13.10. 11:30
3. We Dare To Dream, dir. Waad al-Kateab, UK
The amazing stories of young refugee athletes aiming to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. They come from Iran, Syria, South Sudan and Cameroon; they swim, run and fight their way to opportunity and safety in host nations across the world. Directed by Waad al-Kateab, who was Academy Award®-nominated for the film “For Sama”; the film’s producers include Angelina Jolie.
Screenings:
ATLANTIC D: Friday 6.10. 16:30 | ATLANTIC D: Saturday 7.10. 21:30 |
ATLANTIC D: Sunday 8.10. 19:00 | ATLANTIC D: Tuesday 10.10. 14:00
Short Films Competition:
1. The Golden West, dir. Tom Berkeley, Ross White, UK / Ireland
The year is 1849. Fionnuala and her blind sister Noreen leave Ireland to flee the famine and seek gold in the mountains of Wales. Weeks turn into months, winter is approaching fast, but the women have yet to succeed. Growing frustration and demons of the past could bring things to a tragic end.
Screenings:
ATLANTIC C: Wednesday 11.10. 18:45 | ATLANTIC C: Friday 13.10. 21:15 | ATLANTIC B: Sunday 15.10. 10:15
2. Where the Sun Always Shines, dir. Rosie Baldwin, UK
Bognor Regis may have been repeatedly crowned Britain’s worst seaside town, but its residents keep smiling even as another unwelcome piece of news creeps into their consciousness: the rising ocean threatens to swallow up their small town.
Screenings:
ATLANTIC C: Thursday 12.10. 21:15 | ATLANTIC C: Saturday 14.10. 18:45 | ATLANTIC B: Sunday 15.10. 15:00
39th Warsaw International Film Festival, organised by the Warsaw Film Foundation, is supported by the City of Warsaw, Polish Film Institute, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Mazovian Voivodeship Government. WFF Sponsors and Partners are: British Council, Epson, Fabryka Wyobraźni, Max-Film, and Pardon To Tu. Festival Cinemas: Atlantic and Multikino Zlote Tarasy. Official cars are Mercedes Benz, provided by MB Motors. The festival hotel is Marriott Warsaw. WFF Media Partners are: AMC, Filmweb, Gazeta Wyborcza, Pani, RMF FM, RMF Classic, SundanceTV, Twój Styl, Viva!, and Wirtualna Polska.