Jewish Motifs International Film Festival ( pl, Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmowy Żydowskie Motywy) is a major Jewish-themed
film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
held annually in
Warsaw, Poland. The festival has been held every year since 2004.
"The biggest European festival focused on Jewish themes in contemporary cinematography"—according to the
Polish Embassy in Bern.
The 15th edition is scheduled to take place in mid-September 2019. Initially the Festival dates were around the anniversary of the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany' ...
that is why the precise dates are changing but always in same season (usually in April), since 2016 the festival takes place in late May. In September an exceptional change in dates occurred and Festival was moved for September.
Idea
Muranów Cinema in , Warsaw">Muranów, Warsaw
The festival organizers declare as the aim and objectives:
* raising awareness on subjects related to "Jewish identity and experience throughout history, to the preservation of Jewish culture and tradition as a source of Judeo-Christian civilization – through the art of cinema";
* promote films on Jewish culture "to reach the young audience who is confronted today with the complex problems of our times, such as terrorism, intolerance and hatred";
* "Through artistic expression in the form of films we want to find ways of communicating with all religious, national and cultural communities in order to better know each other and better understand their diverse motives."
especially when emphasizing common elements.
* "Present non-profit productions, pioneer or seeking new ways of expression, which do not clash with the universal requirement of truth in artistic work."
Special focus of the festival films is on those produced in the
Central-Eastern European region.
Active participation of the audience is specialty of the festival, which organizes direct meetings with the film directors after each screening. Organizers and other experts participate also in the debates and meetings accompanying the shows and post-festival shows, which gives them opportunity for direct interaction. That is why the festival is often described as direct networking meeting and not the festival of red carpets.
The festival partners with other similar Jewish film festivals in Brighton, Vienna and Stockholm.
History
The Festival was organized for the first time in 2004.
According to its director,
Mirek Chojecki, it was supposed to be one-time event aiming in presenting tradition of the Jewish cinema, from pre-war
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
movies made in Poland up to modern cinema of the 21st century. The festival received such positive attention both from international guests and Polish local audience that at the closing ceremony Chojecki said "see you next year" and this promise he keeps continuing. The "Jewish Motifs" festival became an annual event but only since 2004 as International Film Festival ("Jewish Motifs" International Film Festival).
Traditionally the opening and closing ceremonies are led by
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
(Polish film director) and (Polish-Jewish writer)
Józef Hen.
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Date
From the beginning, the festival has taken place regularly in Spring, around the anniversary of the
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany' ...
in 1943 – which is celebrated as according to the Hebrew (not Julian) calendar.
"Jewish Motifs" Association
In 2004 the group of organizers of first event has founded The Jewish Motifs Association which is a nonprofit organization responsible for organizing further editions of the festival. The Association organizes also post-festival shows and promotes festival movies at the other cultural events in Poland.
Program
The program consists of the following sections: feature, documentary, experimental, animation, short.
All the films presented, regardless of the competitive or non-competitive category, are eligible for the Audience Award.
Different educational aspect is learning-through-participation: volunteership and internship program offered by the festival. Each year there were from 15 to 80 participants of volunteer and internship program editions.
In 2018, at its 14th edition, the Festival organized a Masterclass workshop in film making led by Israeli document films director and producer
Barak Heymann
Barak Heymann is an Israeli film director and producer.
Biography
Heymann joined the " Heymann Brothers Films" company in 2003 and has since directed and produced several documentary films and series. Together with his brother Tomer he create ...
.
Each year the festival is also accompanied by additional events: from kosher cuisine cooking workshops to expert debates on recent topics.
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Guest of Honor
* 2006:
Claude Lelouch
Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish Family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained criti ...
* 2007:
Artur Brauner
Artur "Atze" Brauner (born Abraham Brauner; 1 August 1918 – 7 July 2019) was a German film producer and entrepreneur of Polish origin. He produced more than 300 films from 1946.
Life and career
He was born the oldest son of a Jewish family ...
* 2008:
Janusz Morgenstern
Janusz "Kuba" Morgenstern (16 November 1922 – 6 September 2011) was a Polish film director and producer.
Janusz Morgenstern was born in 1922 to a Jewish family in the town of Mikulińce, Poland (now Mykulyntsi, Ukraine), to Dawid Morgenstern ...
* 2009:
Adam Holender
Adam Holender (born 13 November 1937) is a Polish cinematographer, best known for his work on ''Midnight Cowboy''.
He was born 13 November 1937 in Kraków, Poland, the son of a judge. In 1939, he and his family were deported to a Siberian labor ...
* 2010:
Edward Żebrowski
* 2011: n/a
* 2012:
Gila Almagor
Gila Almagor Agmon ( he, גילה אלמגור אגמון; born Gila Alexandrowitz; July 22, 1939) is an Israeli actress, film star, and author. In Israel, she is known as "queen of the Israeli cinema and theatre".
Biography
Gila Alexandrowitz (A ...
* 2013:
Józef Hen
* 2014:
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
Juries
* 2004:
Miron Chernyenko,
Michael Handelzalts
Michael Handelzalts (born 1950) ( he, מיכאל הנדלזלץ) is an Israeli theater critic.
Biography
Michael Handelzalts was born in Poland. His grandfather, Elyahu Handelzalc, was a teacher and writer from Warsaw, Poland who fled the city i ...
,
Kurt Weber,
Leo Kantor,
Edward Zebrowski.
* 2005:
Akos Engelmayer,
Aryeh Golan-Skornik,
Włodek Goldkorn,
Sławomir Grunberg,
Tadeusz Lubelski.
* 2006:
Izabela Cywińska,
Aleksander Jochwed,
Dmitriy Kabakow,
Marek Rozenbaum,
Witold Stok.
* 2007:
Alona Frankel,
Peter Fudakowski
Peter Jan Fudakowski (1954) is a London-based film producer, writer and director. Fudakowski, born in London to Polish emigrants, didn’t go to film school but he studied Economics at Magdalene College, Cambridge (where he was President of the ...
,
Peter Mostovoy,
Yoram Golan,
Aleksander Kwiatkowski.
* 2008:
Ewa Kuryluk,
Tomasz Jastrun Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English.
Notable people with the given name include:
* Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer
*Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime Mini ...
,
Haim Schreiber,
Andrzej Titkow,
Aleksander Gutman.
* 2009:
Andrzej Wolski,
Tadeusz Sobolewski,
Vita Żelakeviciute,
Wanda Kościa-Rostowska,
Yossi Wein.
* 2010:
Irina Rubanova,
Petruška Šustrova,
Barbara Hollender,
Ami Drozd,
Ludwik Lewin.
* 2011: n/a
* 2012:
Benjamin Freidenberg,
Tatiana Kosinowa,
Gabriele Lesser
Gabriele Alexandra Lesser (born 16 May 1960 in Frankfurt am Main) is a historian and journalist, who specializes in the history of World War II and the occupation of Poland, the Baltic countries, and Ukraine 1939–1945.
As Warsaw-based correspond ...
,
Lukáš Přibyl,
Andrzej Titkow.
* 2013:
Alexandra Szacka,
Danae Elon,
Jacek Blawut,
Olena Babiy,
Rafal Listopad.
* 2014:
Alon Garbuz,
Łukasz Gutt,
Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz,
Michał Bregant,
Paweł Felis.
* 2015:
Borys Lankosz,
Magdalena Łazarkiewicz
Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, née Holland (born 6 July 1954 in Warsaw) is a Polish film director and screenwriter.
Life and career
Magdalena Łazarkiewicz was born on 6 July 1954 in Warsaw as a daughter of Polish communist politician Henryk Holl ...
,
Jacek Petrycki.
* 2016:
Anna Kazejak,
Paweł Łoziński,
Łukasz Maciejewski.
* 2017:
, fr
Andrzej Luter,
Anna Zamecka
* 2018:
Beata Chmiel,
Andrzej Jakimowski,
Adam Bajerski.
*2019:
Beata Chmiel,
Cezary Harasimowicz Cezary is the Polish version of the given name Caesar. Notable people with the name include:
*Cezary Balicki (born 1958), Polish bridge player
* Cezary Czpak (born 1982), Polish footballer, playing as a midfielder
* Cezary Geroń (1960–1998), Pol ...
,
Natalia Koryncka-Gruz.
Award winners
Awards are in several categories:
* Warsaw Phoenix:
** Golden
Warsaw Phoenix (Grand Prix)
*** Warsaw Phoenix
**** for the best feature film,
**** for the best documentary film,
**** for the best experimental film / best short;
* Audience Award (since 2005);
*special awards:
**The
Ger Mandolin Orchestra Award (awarded in the years 2010 - 2016),
**
Antoni Marianowicz Award for the best Polish film (funded by
Association of Authors ZAiKS),
** Award funded by the
Jewish Community of Warsaw for the best presentation of contemporary Jewish life in film.
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File:Oren Rosenfeld with award at the Jewish Motifs IFF 2017, Warsaw, PL.jpg
Warsaw Phoenix award
Golden Warsaw Phoenix (Grand Prix)
Warsaw Phoenix for the best feature film
Warsaw Phoenix for the best documentary film
Warsaw Phoenix for the best short film
Warsaw Phoenix for the best experimental film
Audience award
See also
*
Warsaw Jewish Film Festival
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Motifs International Film Festival
Film festivals in Poland
Jewish film festivals in Europe
Recurring events established in 2003
Events in Warsaw
2003 establishments in Poland
Spring (season) events in Poland