30th Warsaw Film Festival On Now!

I have a soft spot for Warsaw's film festival.  It's a wonderfully diverse, beautifully curated film event, set in one of Eastern Europe's most intriguing cities.  I covered the festival in 2009 and carry great memories of the films and people I encountered there.  Here is the official lineup and some fun facts on this years films:

Twenty-one world, 9 international and 12 European premieres will be presented at the 30^th Warsaw Film Festival, www.wff.pl, running through October 19. The line-up includes 88 fiction features, 23 feature docs and 73 shorts from 59 countries, in five competitive and five non-competitive sections. Over two hundred filmmakers from 41 countries will present their films in person.

The winners of the five competition sections will be announced on Saturday, 18 October. The last year’s Warsaw Grand Prix winner Ida by Pawel Pawlikowski is now Poland’s contender for the Academy Awards.

WFF is accompanied for the 10^th time by CentEast Market, www.centeast.eu, which will present a selection of works-in-progress from Eastern Europe and China and a number of most recent Polish films at Warsaw Screenings. The CentEast guest country will be Ukraine with over twenty Ukrainian filmmakers present, including Philip Illenko, the new head of Ukrainian State Film Agency.
The Eastern European selection will be shown October 20 in Moscow and in April 2015 in China at the Beijing Film Market.

The International Competition line-up:

Carmina & Amén / Carmina y Amén, dir. Paco Leon, Spain [International premiere]The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime / El Patron, radiografia de un crimen,  dir. Sebastián Schindel, Argentina, Venezuela [European premiere, recent Audience Award winner at Busan]The Coffin in the Mountain / Binguan, dir. Xin Yukun, China
Felix and Meira / Félix et Meira, dir. Maxime Giroux, Canada
The Guide / Povodyr, dir. Oles Sanin, Ukraine [International premiere]The Heart and The Sweetheart, dir. Jan Jakub Kolski, Poland [World premiere]In the Crosswind / Risttuules, dir. Martti Helde, Estonia
The Judgment / Sadilishteto, dir. Stephan Komandarev, Bulgaria / Germany / Croatia / Macedonia [World premiere]Justice / Hustisya, dir. Joel Lamangan, Philippines [European premiere]Labour of Love / Asha Jaoar Majhe, dir. Aditya Vikram Sengupta, India
My Mermaid, My Lorelei / Moya rusalka, moya Lorelyay, dir. Nana Djordjadze, Ukraine, Russia [International premiere]Neurasthenia, dir. Omid Tootoonchi, Iran
Star / Zvezda, dir. Anna Melikian, Russia
These Are the Rules / Takva su pravila, dir. Ognjen Sviličić, Croatia / France / Serbia /  Macedonia
Unlucky Plaza, dir. Ken Kwek, Singapore [European premiere]
The International Competition Jury members are directors and producers Sepideh Farsi (Iran), Yevgeny Gindilis (Russia), Uberto Pasolini (UK), Olena Yershova (Ukraine, Turkey), and Janusz Zaorski (Poland).
The Competition 1-2 (for first and second features) line-up:

13 / Sizdah, dir. Hooman Seyedi, Iran [European premiere, recent winner on New Currents Award at Busan]Across the Sea / Deniz Seviyesi, dir. Nisan Dag, Esra Saydam, Turkey / USAAgnieszka, dir. Tomasz E. Rudzik, Germany [World premiere]Climas, dir. Enrica Pérez, Peru / Colombia [International premiere]Fanciful / Piąte: nie odchodź, dir. Katarzyna Jungowska, Poland [World premiere]How To Stop A Wedding / Hur man stoppar ett bröllop, dir. Drazen Kuljanin, Sweden [World premiere]The Lesson / Urok, dir. Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov, BulgariaModris, dir. Juris Kursietis, LatviaName Me / Kak menya zovut, dir. Nigina Sayfullaeva, RussiaPantanal, dir. Andrew Sala, Argentina [World premiere]A Separate Wind / Viento aparte, dir. Alejandro Gerber Bicecci, Mexico [European premiere]The Tribe / Plemya, dir. Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, UkraineVincent, dir. Thomas Salvador, FranceWelcome To The Club / Willkommen im Klub, dir. Andreas Schimmelbusch, Germany, [World premiere]What a Wonderful World / Ce lume minunată, dir. Anatol Durbală, Moldova [World premiere]
The Free Spirit Competition line-up:

Alice in Marialand / Alicia en el pais de Maria, dir. Jesus Magana Vazquez, Mexico [World premiere]Anatomy of a Paper Clip / Yamamori clip koujo no atari, dir. Ikeda Akira, Japan
Before I Disappear, dir. Shawn Christensen, USACar Park / Parkoló, dir. Bence Miklauzič, Hungary [World premiere]Cold in July, dir. Jim Mickle, USAEchoes of Times / Odmevi časa, dir. Ema Kugler, SloveniaFutureless Things, dir. Kim Kyung-mook, South Korea [International premiere]Halfway / Halfweg, dir. Geoffrey Enthoven, Belgium [World premiere]Kafka's The Burrow / Kafka's Der Bau, dir. Jochen Alexander Freydank, Germany [European premiere]Let's Sin / Itirazim Var, dir. Onur Ünlü, Turkey [International premiere]Nocturne, dir. Saul Pincus, Canada [International premiere]Nomadic Childhoods / Enfances nomades, dir. Christophe Boula, France [European premiere]The Owners / Ukkylikamshat, dir. Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Kazakhstan Tada's Do-It-All House: Disconcerto / Mahoro ekimae kyôsôkyoku, dir. Tatsushi Omori, Japan [European premiere]Travelator, dir. Dušan Milić, Serbia [European premiere]
The Documentary Competition line-up:

The Authors / Autorki, dir. Janusz Mrozowski, Poland [World premiere]Breaking the Wave / Rompiendo la ola, dir. Annie Canavaggio, Panama [International premiere]
Crossroads / Perekrestok, dir. Anastasiya Miroshnichenko, Belarus / Sweden [World premiere]
The Culture High, dir. Brett Harvey, Canada / UK / USA
Dancing Before The Enemy: How a teenage boy fooled the Nazis and lived, dir. Adam Bardach, USA [World premiere] David & Me, dir. Ray Klonsky, Marc Lamy, Canada [European premiere]The Forest / Padurea/Suma, dir. Siniša Dragin, Romania / SerbiaGottland, Lukáš Kokeš, Rozálie Kohoutová, Viera Čákanyová, Petr Hátle, Klará Tasovská, Czech Republic / Poland [World premiere]I, Kamikaze / Parole de Kamikaze, dir. Masa Sawada, FranceSuper Local Hero, dir. Toshinori Tanaka, Japan [World premiere]TOTART, dir. Bartosz Paduch, Poland [World premiere]Toto And His Sisters / Toto si surorile lui, dir. Alexander Nanau, RomaniaTraces In The Snow, dir. Vladimir Kozlov, Russia [World premiere]Uncle Tony, Three Fools, and the Secret Service, dir. Mina Mileva, Vesela Kazakova, UK / BulgariaWhen under Fire - Shoot Back!, dir. Marc Wiese, Germany
Premieres in non-competitive sections:

Angels / Andělé všedního dne, dir. Alice Nellis, Czech Republic [World premiere]Beltracchi - The Art Of Forgery / Beltracchi - Die Kunst der  Fälschung, dir. Arne Birkenstock, Germany [World premiere]Chess Game / Jogo de Xadrez, dir. Luis Antonio Pereira, Brazil [World premiere]Foreign Body, dir. Krzysztof Zanussi, Poland / Italy / Russia [European premiere]Gentle / Diu Dang, dir. Kiet Le-Van, Vietnam [European premiere]Ordered To Forget / Prikazano zabyt', dir. Hussein Erkenov, Russia [International premiere]Polish Shit, dir. Grzegorz Jankowski, Poland [World premiere]Slovakia 2.0 / Slovensko 2.0, dir. Juraj Herz, Martin Šulík, Peter Kerekes, Zuzana Liová, Mišo Suchý, Ondrej Rudavský, Iveta Grófová, Peter Krištúfek, Viera Čákanyová, Miro Jelok, Slovakia [International premiere]
The section Classics from Poland includes digitally restored Constant Factor by Krzysztof Zanussi (1980), Mother of Kings by Janusz Zaorski (1982/1987), Interrogation by Ryszard Bugajski (1982/1990), and Top Dog by Feliks Falk (1977).