Solidarity on Screen: The Polish Presidency Film Review - Film O’Clock International Festival

The fifth edition of the Film O'Clock International Festival promises a unique experience from April 3-6, 2025, celebrating the art of cinema and cultural diversity through an impressive selection of contemporary films, classics, educational events and special guest talks. The festival takes place simultaneously in eleven territories, connecting movie lovers and film professionals in Romania, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt and South Africa.

Screenings in Poland will take place at the Kino Iluzjon Filmoteki Narodowej, in Warsaw.

Polish films in Focus:

"Camera Buff" (by Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1979, 112 min): a significant masterpiece in the career of director Krzysztof Kieslowski, one of his earliest works that anticipates recurring themes in his later films. This film centres on an obsession with cinema, but more deeply explores the impact that art and creativity can have on an individual's life, interpersonal relationships and perception of reality.

"Solaris mon amour" (by Kuba Mikurda, 2023, 47 min.): A found footage documentary inspired by Stanislaw Lem's "Solaris". A trance-like, personal story about loss, mourning and memory. The film consists of excerpts from films produced by the Educational Film Studio in Lodz in 1960s. Kuba Mikurda is keynote speaker at the Academic Conference Archives, Cinema and Collective Healing: Preserving Memory Through Film, on April 4th.

Polish films at the International Short Film Competition:

"FROM YOU" (by Jędrzej Górski, 2024, 15 min.): A story of a father and son who, after the death of their grandfather, a famous journalist, come together for one night to discuss the deceased. Everything takes a turn when hidden family secrets come to light, reshaping the dynamics of their relationship.

"Hushes and Phonics" (by Piotr Kamiński, 2024, 16 min.): Eight-year-old Kacper accompanies his Deaf mother on her way to the doctor. The doctor uses the boy’s presence to communicate with the patient – Kacper becomes a translator for the first time.

"Debtors" (by Andrzej Danis, 2024): A hybrid document about painful family histories. In Poland, out of ten debtors obliged to pay child support, only two pay them in full. As a gesture of solidarity with his mother, the director decides to stage a film scene in which she wins alimony.

International educational debate: "Poets or Engineers in Filmmaking?"

On 3 April, starting at 11:00 CET time, the festival is organizing a unique online debate on "Poets or Engineers in Filmmaking", with award-winning Polish director Rafael Kapelinski as special guest. Along with him, representatives of prestigious Polish Film Schools will be present to explore how creative and technical approaches intersect in the filmmaking process, and educational opportunities. The discussion will ask a fundamental question: what defines a filmmaker: is he or she a poet of the imagination, guided by emotion and creativity, or an engineer of cinematic craft, guided by precision and structure? It will examine the balance between art and technique, highlighting how creativity and technical expertise can harmonize to form complete filmmakers.

The event is open to the public, especially to film students, young film professionals, educators and film enthusiasts who want to better understand the filmmaking process.

Film O'Clock International Festival #5 is a cultural project produced by Creatrix Fama and co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN). The fifth edition is organized under the aegis of "Solidarity on Screen - Polish Presidency Film Review", with the support of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the international cultural program of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2025.

Partners: National University of Theatre and Film "I.L.Caragiale" in Bucharest (UNATC), Union of Romanian Filmmakers (UCIN), DACIN SARA, National Film Archive, Eforie Cinematheque, Polish Institute in Bucharest, F-Sides Club Cineclub, Filmoteka Narodowa - Instytut Audiowizualny, Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, 35 mm online, Kino Iluzjon (Poland), Bulgarian National Film Archive, National Academy of Theatre and Film - NATFA (Bulgaria), Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania), Lithuanian Film Center, CNC Moldova, Mediacor Chisinau, National Film Institute of Hungary, Tisza Mozi (Hungary), Dovjenko Centre, Zhovten Cinema (Ukraine), Schedia - Center for Artistic and Pedagogical Training (Greece), Romanian-Greek Association of Art and Culture (Greece), Otvoreni Univerzitet Subotica Doo (Serbia), Cinemaeuropa Subotica (Serbia), Delta Video (Serbia), Neelsie Cinema (South Africa), Jesuit Cinema Club (Egypt), Medfest Egypt, ART, thestoryspectrum.com.