On Sunday morning, the final day of the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, I had the chance to speak with Olivier Lecot, the French filmmaker who shuttles between Paris and New York to develop and shoot his projects. His film A NY THING, with financing from France, although shot in New York and with the feel of an American indie film, was screened at the Festival earlier this weekend to great acclaim. Lecot, an amiable Parisian with a full command of English, is a one-man transat...
The AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (AFF), the first film event in Eastern Europe solely devoted to the works of contemporary and classic American cinema, announced the two winners of its Audience Awards, chosen by the public as their favorites among the films presented over the past five days in Wroclaw, Poland. The winner of the American Independent Narrative Audience Award is WINTER’S BONE, the celebrated debut by filmmaker Debra Granik that won the Grand Jury Prize and Best Screenpl...
On Saturday, I sat down with three of the narrative features directors represented in this year’s American Film Festival, the first event in Eastern Europe to be solely devoted to contemporary and classic American cinema. Tim Rutilli, a musician-turned-filmmaker whose alternative rock band Califone has played concert and festival dates around the world, is represented at the Festival by ALL MY FRIENDS ARE FUNERAL SINGERS. Bill Morrison is an award-winning avant-garde filmmaker b...
On Friday morning, I sat down with three of the documentarians represented in this year’s American Film Festival, the first event in Eastern Europe to be solely devoted to contemporary and classic American cinema. Alex Mar is the writer/director of the film AMERICAN MYSTIC, which explores fringe religions and cults in America. Chuck Workman is an Oscar-winning director and compilation artist whose documentary VISIONARIES offers a historic overview of the avant-garde f...
At a lively discussion held on Thursday evening at the Szajba Festival Café of the American Film Festival in the cultural heritage city of Wroclaw, Poland, several of the American independent filmmakers present had much to say about the advent of the internet and how it is effecting their chance to produce, distribute and market their films. As they contemplated the future of the industry, the discussion became quite lively.
Michael Mohan (Director, ON...
While the Polish public certainly is aware of the latest Hollywood films, and with current American television series also freely available here, it is a little surprising that some of the American indie world's most celebrated auteurs are virtually unknown. That is one of the goals of the inaugural American Film Festival, the first film event in Eastern Europe solely devoted to contemporary and classic American cinema. And if the size of the audiences at the screenings is any indica...
SPARK OF BEING, a found footage film by celebrated avant-garde filmmaker Bill Morrison, is making its World Premiere this week in Wroclaw, Poland at the AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (AFF), the first film event in Eastern Europe solely devoted to the works of contemporary and classic American cinema. Like his earlier film DECASIA (2002), Morrison uses disparate found footage extracts and a dynamic score to create a unique film experience that communicate many different layers of resona...
While the main focus of the American Film Festival, Eastern Europe's first all-American film showcase, is on contemporary directors, the Festival is also presenting an eye-opening hommage to classic films and filmmakers from both the golden age of Hollywood and the last decade of American indie gems. The result is a full schedule designed to intrigue any casual or ardent admirer of American cinema.
In the section Play It Again, Sam, the Festival is bringing a smorgasboard of film ...
Music is definitely in the air, or at least music films, as the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland enters its second day. Last evening, DJ Spooky (aka Paul D. Miller) presented his extravagant multi-media presentation REBIRTH OF A NATION to a sold-out crowd at the Helios Cinema, as the Opening Night Attraction of the American Film Festival.
A remash and remix of the notorious silent film by D.W. Griffith, DJ Spooky added sonic layers of rich depth and imagination to the fil...
On the eve of the American Film Festival, which launches its inaugural event on Wednesday evening in the cultural heritage city of Wroclaw, Poland, an exciting art exhibition will be presented that merges the celebrated graphic excellence of Polish artists with the American film landscape. An exhibition of Polish posters of American films is currently being presented in the main Market Square, drawn from the Collection of Contemporary Culture of Wrocław and the Department of Social D...
After touring the globe for the past two years, DJ Spooky arrives in Eastern Europe. His visual/music extravaganza REBIRTH OF A NATION serves as the Opening Night attraction for the inaugural American Film Festival, a new film event that launches on Wednesday evening in Wroclaw, Poland. The man himself will be there to both orchestrate the film presentation and to mix sounds at the film's after-party at the chic Club Eter, where dancing will certainly continue into the wee hou...
DJ Spooky
An army of American producers, directors, screenwriters and actors will come together in Wroclaw next week for the inaugural edition of the AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL, the first event in the region completely devoted to classic and contemporary American cinema.
One of the most highly anticipated guests is DJ Spooky (aka Paul Miller), who will be in Wroclaw to present a live concert version of his multi-media extravaganza REBIRTH OF A NATION, ...
The AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (AFF), the first film event in Eastern Europe solely devoted to the works of contemporary and classic American cinema, has announced the American Documentary Features that will compete for an Audience Award, with a cash prize of USD$5,000 and a chance at Eastern European distribution. The program in the AMERICAN DOCS section of the Festival is drawn from films that made strong impressions at such film festivals as Cannes, Sundance, South By Southwest (SXSW), T...
The AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (AFF), the first film event in Eastern Europe solely devoted to the works of contemporary and classic American cinema, has announced the American Independent Dramatic Features that will compete for an Audience Award, with a cash prize of USD$10,000 and a chance at Eastern European distribution. The program in the SPECTRUM section of the Festival is drawn from films that made strong impressions at such film festivals as Cannes, Sundance, South By ...
The AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL , the first film event in Eastern Europe completely devoted to classic and contemporary American independent works, will take place from October 20 to 24, 2010 in the historic city of Wroclaw, Poland. The Festival is the brainchild of Roman Gutek, a pioneering distributor who has been the prime mover in bringing world cinema to his native Poland in the past two decades.
Roman Gutek has worked as a committed distributor of auteur films in Poland for a...
The AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (AFF), the first film event in Eastern Europe solely devoted to the works of contemporary and classic American cinema, has announced that it will present the most complete retrospective of American director/screenwriter/actor John Cassavetes ever presented in the region. The first edition of the AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL (www.americanfilmfestival.pl) will be held from October 20 to 24, 2010 in the cultural heritage city of Wroclaw, Poland (featured in the N...
Poland already has its fair share of film festivals, with yearly events in Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk, plus the recently concluded ERA New Horizons International Film Festival, named by the Polish Film Institute as the most significant film event in the country. The latter takes place in the UNESCO heritage city of Wroclaw in the southeastern corner of the country, an area that has become a major European go-to destination for its historic architecture and fine cuisine. Wroclaw (known b...
