Sunny Morocco, wintry Poland. The melancholy of the tropics and the joy of life. Is it a fiction film with elements of a musical and a documentary, or a documentary with some elements of genre cinema? Once more, Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert offer unconventional, auteur cinema that is difficult to pigeonhole, despite containing plenty of cinematic delights. The world premiere of their latest hybrid film All Inclusive will take place during the closing ceremony of the 64th Krakow Film Festival on the 1st of June at the Kijów cinema.
I began my film career 25 years ago at the Krakow festival. These were my first steps as a filmmaker… in my hometown, but also globally, since the festival has international recognition. Now, after all these years, I return to this wonderful festival with Michał Englert, with whom I form a directing and artistic duo. All Inclusive has been waiting for its premiere for a long time. We are delighted for it to be the closing film. It is definitely our least obvious production, and I think many people will be taken by surprise! I can’t wait to share it with you all! – shares the film’s co-director, Małgorzata Szumowska.
Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert’s film is built on contrasts, leading to numerous confrontations and even micro-conflicts. Paradoxically, the cultural differences between Polish citizens and the Muslim community are not the most resonant in the film, thus avoiding simplistic stereotyping. The most friction is to be found within the tourist group – an incredibly diverse bunch, both in terms of worldviews and natures. Important questions about spiritual matters, happiness, and sadness are discussed by the pool, during lunch, or even on a tourist cruise.
The latter paraphrases Marek Piwowski’s cult film, with scenes from James Cameron’s Titanic also making an appearance, while the entire hotel interior shot by Michał Englert brings to mind Ulrich Seidl’s productions. There are many more such self-referential tropes and cinematic references in All Inclusive. The directing duo plays with form and genres. Talking heads typically seen in documentaries intersect with musical scenes and socio-existential drama, while amateur actors interact with seasoned professionals such as Andrzej Chyra and Izabela Kuna.
Małgorzata Szumowska – film director, born on 26 February 1973 in Krakow. She graduated from the Direction Department of The Leon Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź in 1998, having previously studies art history at Jagiellonian University for two years. In 2001, she became a member of the European Film Academy. Awarded at the Krakow Film Festival for her student fims and documentaries, she made her debut in 2000 with the feature film Happy Man, but it was the semi-autobiographical 33 Scenes from Life (2008) that brought her great success. Throughout her further film career, Szumowska became famous for directing films such as In the Name Of (2013), Body (2015), and Mug (2018), which were awarded at the Berlin International Film Festival. She is the daughter of journalist and writer Dorota Terakowska and journalist and filmmaker Maciej Szumowski, and the sister of documentary filmmaker Wojciech Szumowski.
Michał Englert – cinematographer and screenwriter, awarded at the Polish Film Festival (2008) for Best Cinematography for 33 Scenes from Life (2008). In 2000, he graduated from the Department of Direction of Photography at The Leon Schiller Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź. He collaborates regularly (also as a co-director) with Małgorzata Szumowska but is also known for his cinematography in international productions. He has been awarded for his cinematography at Sundance, in Venice, and in Gdynia.
Passes for the 64th Krakow Film Festival are on sale now!
The Krakow Film Festival is on the exclusive list of qualifying events for the Oscars® in the categories of short film (live action, animated, documentary) and documentary feature, as well as a recommending event for the European Film Awards in the same categories.
The Kraków Film Festival is organised with the financial support of the Municipality of Kraków, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the European Union’s Creative Europe program, the Lesser Poland Province, the Polish Film Institute. The festival is co-organised by the Polish Filmmakers Association.
The 64th Krakow Film Festival will be held in cinemas from 26 May to 2 June and online across Poland on the KFF VOD platform from 31 May to 16 June 2024.
Kategoria: News..