Joanna Kos-Krauze
director, screenwriter and producer. Born in 1972. Co-author of the award-winning “Papusza”, “Saviour Square” and “My Nikifor”. Chairwoman of the Polish Directors’ Union in 2013-2018, current vice-chairwoman. Chairwoman of the Polish Screenwriters’ Section in 2006-2013, member of the Artistic Council of the Andrzej Munk Film Studio and the European and Polish Film Academy. Expert of the Polish Film Institute, Silesia Film Fund, Gdynia Film Fund and Euroimage in Strasbourg. Her latest film “Birds Are Singing in Kigali” was awarded at dozens of festivals around the world, including: Karlovy Vary, Chicago, Locarno, Luxembourg, Calcutta, Istanbul, Gdynia.
Mateusz Demski
journalist, film critic, film expert. He has published in “Przekrój”, “Przegląd”, as well as in the portals Dwutygodnik, Onet.pl, NOIZZ.pl, newonce.net and Mint Magazine. He also writes as a guest in “Gazeta Wyborcza”, the monthly “Kino”, the magazine “Ekrany” and many other titles. Until August this year, he hosted a weekly broadcast on OFF Radio Kraków.
Author of several hundred conversations and interviews with filmmakers awarded at world festivals, including Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”), Laura Poitras (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”), Bong Joon-ho (“Parasite”), the Daniels duo (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Ari Aster (“Beau Is Afraid”).
Adrian Apanel
director and screenwriter, graduate of the Gdynia Film School. His short, genre-bending film “The Last Room On the Left” combining humor and macabre was honored for the best film at the Prowincjonalia National Film Art Festival in Września, the laurel for the Best Short Film at the Pyszadło National Satirical Film Festival in Mogilno, and the Solanin Film Festival 2022 Special Mention.
His full-length feature debut – “Horror Story” premiered in the Main Competition at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, and then won a number of awards at festivals – including the Audience Award at the Młodzi i Film Festival in Koszalin and the European Festival of Young Cinema in Tirana, the award for the Best Film at the Pyszadło Satirical Film Festival in Mogilno, and awards for the Best Actor for Jakub Zając in Koszalin and the Mastercard OFF CAMERA Festival in Krakow. “Horror Story” was also recognized as one of the 10 best Polish films of 2023 by the weekly “Polityka”.
Sylwia Olszewska