Onet Top 10

9 films
This year's Krakow Film Festival program will feature more than 190 films from around the world, including about 100 world and Polish premieres. And to make sure you don't get lost in the maze of cinematic goodness, we've prepared a guide with ten titles that are definitely worth considering when choosing screenings. Dominik Jedliński, Onet.pl

  • Be Somebody (Być kimś)

    dir. Michał Toczek
    fab2023

    Together with his family, Wiktor moves into a recently bought flat, which turns out to have belonged to Lech Wałęsa, an ordinary electrician who became Poland’s president many years ago. When his wife learns about it, she comes up with a crazy idea. Suspended between a drama and a comedy, this perverse story shows what it means to ‘be someone’ or just yourself.

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    film still Be Somebody
    Awards:Golden Hobby-Horse
      Online edition of the 63rd KFF
    • VOD
      From 2 to 18.06KFF VOD

  • Goodbye My Wonderful World (Żegnam cię, mój świecie wesoły)

    dir. Joo Joostberens
    dok2023

    The film title alludes to a traditional Polish mourning song, which was included on the album ‘Rzeczy ostatnie’ recorded by the band Polskie Znaki. The project aimed to dust off folk music, which for centuries had put people at ease with regard to death before it became a taboo in modern culture. The story of the album is at the same time an essay on passing away.

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    film still Goodbye My Wonderful World
      Online edition of the 63rd KFF
    • VOD
      From 2 to 18.06KFF VOD

  • Motherland

    dir. Alexander Mihalkovich, Hanna Badziaka
    dok2023

    The practice of hazing in the Belarussian military has a lot in common with political terror. This is why Svetlana does not believe that her son committed suicide in the barracks. Somewhere else, another young man is putting on a uniform. Their parallel lives make a shocking image of the post-Soviet reality.

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    film still Motherland

  • My Old Gals (Moje stare)

    dir. Natasza Parzymies
    fab2023

    Zofia and Ania are two senior ladies, each quite a character. They have already put the years of madness behind them – or maybe not yet? They have not seen each other for half a century. Each followed her own path. Now, they meet again and set off on a journey together like Thelma and Louise to grapple with life and their dreams. Or maybe it is all lost?

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    film still My Old Gals
      Online edition of the 63rd KFF
    • VOD
      From 2 to 18.06KFF VOD

  • Pianoforte

    dir. Jakub Piątek
    dok2023

    During the preliminary round, there are 160 of them. Then, about 80. Then 40. At last, only 10 lucky ones make it to the final. These are the contestants in the legendary International Chopin Piano Competition, held every five years in Warsaw, Poland. "Pianoforte" follows an eclectic group of young musicians from around the world who have prepared since they were children for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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    film still Pianoforte

  • There Are People in the Forest (W lesie są ludzie)

    dir. Szymon Ruczyński
    anim2023

    Polish-Belarusian border from a bird’s eye view. Refugees, who are trying to cross it to get to Poland, are hiding in the forest. As if in a computer game, they need to go back to square one when they encounter an evil character or the game is over. Based on the author and witnesses’ accounts, the animation depicts the terrifying humanitarian crisis which has been going on since 2021.

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    film still There Are People in the Forest
    Awards:Special Award
      Online edition of the 63rd KFF
    • VOD
      From 2 to 18.06KFF VOD

  • The Dmitriev Affair

    dir. Jessica Gorter
    dok2023

    Deep inside the Russian forests, against the wishes of the authorities, 60-year-old Yuri Dmitriev searches for mass graves from the era of Stalin’s terror against his own people - until one day he is arrested and sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony. Following Yuri closely, the film paints a shocking picture of the way the Russian state rewrites history and treats its citizens.

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    film still The Dmitriev Affair

  • The Thief Collector

    dir. Allison Otto
    dok2022

    One stolen painting, one seemingly happy couple, dozens of questions and at least several moments when one finds it hard to believe it is not a script of a Hollywood blockbuster but of an American documentary. A nice married couple, adored by everyone, is hiding nasty secrets.

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    film still The Thief Collector
      Online edition of the 63rd KFF
    • VOD
      From 2 to 18.06KFF VOD

  • Ula

    dir. Agnieszka Iwańska
    dok2023

    ‘This is the cradle of our beloved music. We need to verify our skills there’, said Michał Urbaniak to Polish jazz vocalist Urszula Dudziak to convince her to go and conquer the US with him. The film is a recording of the fascinating and tumultuous journey reported from off-screen by the artist herself.

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    film still Ula
    Awards:Golden Heynal
      Online edition of the 63rd KFF
    • VOD
      From 2 to 18.06KFF VOD