Festival "Film on the border"
The Film Festival “ The cinema at the Border” is a cyclical event that takes place in both Polish- and Czech-Cieszyn every April. The idea came from the circle of activists from The Polish-Czech-Slovak Solidarity Assn. (SPCzS) who for many years have been realizing the idea of bringing Poles, Czechs and Slovaks closer to each other through cultural contacts. The organizers are, apart from SPCzS, the “Piast” cinema in Cieszyn and Kulturní a společenske středisko „Střelnice” in Czech Cieszyn. Every year the program contains a retrospect of the outputs of recognized film directors as well as film “news” – films that have gained the appreciation of the critics in the past year and have achieved attendance success. Most of these are films that have never been shown in Poland before. The accompanying concerts of Czech and Slovak performers as well as discussions are also very popular with the public.
The first edition of the festival took place in 1999 and its main slogan was: “The Czech Cinema of the Sixties”. The guest of the event was Jiři Menzel, an outstanding Czech director, the best known representative of the New Wave and an Oscar winner for his film “Closely watched Trains”. Apart from Menzel’s films, some other “pearls” of cinematography of that period were shown, i.e. films by Miloą Forman, Věra Chytilová, Ivan Passer, Jan Němec, Jan Kadar and Elmar Klos. The accompanying events were concerts of a Polish-Czech jazz band “The Quartet East” and a rock group “MCH Band”. Also, an exhibition by Oto Nepilý, a well-known and respected photographer, aroused interest. It was entitled “Poland and its Czech friends”. A show of skills, presented by both Polish and Czech firemen in Cieszyn Market Square to supplement the presentation of the film “The Fireman’s Ball” turned out to be a great attraction of the festival.
The main hero of the second Film Festival was Vojtěch Jasný , a director who is now living in the U.S.A. The retrospect here comprised the majority of his films, starting with the ones made in his country in the sixties (among others, “Cassandra cat”, “All my good countrymen”) and then the films made after he emigrated (“Dlaczego Havel”) and his last one and American, “Gladys”. One of the days of the festival was devoted to the memory of Frantiąek Vlačil , an artist who passed away a few years before. His extraordinary film “Marketa Lazarová” is considered by the critics to be the best Czech film of all times. Three years ago the festival was enriched by Slovak films and a world class artist, Juraj Jakubisko, represented that cinema. Vladimír Körner, a respected writer in the Czech Republic, was also a guest of the festival. Films with his screenplays were presented (among them Czech, Slovak and (1)Polish films). Two years ago the rich film output of Juraj Herz was presented, with his great “The Cremator” and “Oil lamps” as the cream. Also, one of the best known directors of the generation of the middle-aged, Vladimír Michálek, brought his films to Cieszyn.
During this year’s festival one could see 22 films and listen to 4 concerts in four days. The program contained a retrospect of the output of one of the most outstanding Czech directors, Karel Kachynia. The guests of the festival were: Jiři Svoboda (a FAMU lecturer in Prague), Jan Hřebejk ( at the moment the best known director of the young generation) and Jaroslav Duąek ( a popular actor).
A great attraction was Czech and Slovak news films whose premieres took place at the end of 2002 or the beginning of 2003. The accompanying events were, apart from meetings with the artists, concerts.
In the Adam Mickiewicz theatre the queen of the Czech chanson, Hana Hegerová, called by the critics a sad lady or Piaf from Prague, gave a recital. In the jazz clubs on both sides of the Olza river ‘alternative’ performers played: Vypsaná FiXa, Radůza and ChiKiLiKi.
The festival-goers are mainly young people – students of secondary schools or students of different fields at Polish and Czech universities. The majority are students of Czech studies and Film students. The event already has its permanent audience and it is growing in number.
The next edition of “The cinema at the Border” will take place from 20th - 24th of April, 2005.