Stronger than Titane! All films by Coralie Fargeat at the 15th Camera Action Festival
Exploring the human body, uncompromising, bloody horror gore, grotesque and not for the faint of heart. Viewers of the Camera Action Festival will be able to feel their hearts beat faster and see films by Coralie Fargeat, winner of the award for best script at the last festival in Cannes already in October of the current year. The French director doesn't play in half-measures – she has already shown it in her debut "Revenge" (2017), hailed as the first film of the #METOO movement, in which she smuggled a sharp critique of rape culture under the guise of violent cinema. The director successfully found herself in the mix of thriller and revenge cinema.
She has also shown it in the latest "The Substance", a feminine and feminist, but at the same time brutal and caricatured film with Demi Moore in the main role, which turned the Croisette upside down. The director boldly quotes the works of recognized masters, such as "The Shining" by Kubrick or "The Fly" by Cronenberg, but she goes her own way and destroys the boundaries of film correctness. Despite its iconoclastic nature, the film received a long, 11-minute standing ovation from the Cannes audience.
The jubilee visual identification reminds us of great figures who marked turning points in cinematography and constantly inspire contemporary critics and creators
– adds Malwina Czajka, the Festival Director.
Viewers of the 15th Camera Action Festival will also be able to see Fargeat's first short films. The programme will include her first film – "The Telegram" (2003), which tells the story of two women waiting for a parcel from the postman during World War II. The production was appreciated at international festivals for its perverse reflection on fear, selfishness and honesty. Her "Reality+" (2014) is, in turn, the starting point for the production of "The Substance". Will new technologies allow you to experience life in the body of a different gender? Will they be able to be used to impersonate and steal someone's identity? There are many questions the director asks, and, paradoxically, we are already starting to receive answers.
Poster of the 15th edition of the Camera Action Festival. Author: Arkadiusz Jaworek
What connects Greta Garbo with the Camera Action Festival?
The jubilee edition of the Camera Action Festival will be unique in every respect. This is proven not only by programme hits, but also by the unique visual identification by Arkadiusz Jaworkek and the slogan of this year's edition: turning points. This year's poster refers to inevitable changes. In the centre there is a nostalgic portrait of Greta Garbo, an icon of classical cinema, a great eccentric combining extraordinary beauty, modern spirit and irresistible charm, and against her background there is the contrasting name of the festival in yellow, which is the hallmark of Camera Action.
The style is reminiscent of the eclectic, contemporary films that moviegoers love. When Greta Garbo appeared in a sound film for the first time, it turned out that her flawless beauty was accompanied by a low, radio voice. The actress is not only an icon of the Golden Age of Hollywood, but also a symbol of the connection between the past and the future and our ability to adapt to changes set by technological turning points, once a sound breakthrough, today artificial intelligence
– this is what the poster's author, Arkadiusz Jaworek, says about the concept.
Still from the film "The Substance", directed by Coralie Fargeat
Don't delay! Buy a pass for the 15th Camera Action Festival
The organisers of the Camera Action Festival have repeatedly proven that the hallmark of the quality of this only feature film festival in Lodz is the film programme. This year, the refreshed, jubilee formula of the event with the main hall with pre-premiere screenings in Monopolis guarantees that cinema lovers will get what they are waiting for – selected titles, including these from Cannes, Berlinale and Venice.
Like every film festival, we need stimuli for development, and these are changes for... the better. For the 15th edition, we have prepared the largest possible cinema halls to accommodate all interested cinema lovers who come to the festival in large numbers every year. The screenings will take place in Monopolis, the Film School in Lodz and the Kinematograf Cinema in the Film Museum in Lodz
– explains Przemek Glajzner, FKA Director.
Due to the dispersal of the festival, the organisers are introducing a novelty – a booking system so that everyone will be sure of their seat in the cinema hall. From Monday, 22 July, it will be possible to hunt for Early bird tickets, but you should remember that these are limited in number. A unique opportunity also awaits true cinema goers – upon presentation of 3 tickets from the last few months for screenings held in the Arthouse Cinema Network, a pass for Camera Action can be purchased at a special discount.
Katarzyna Warzecha – a member of the Creators Jury of the Krytyk Pisze Competition
It's time to start the critics' tournament
The Camera Action Festival cannot exist without insight, broadening of horizons, discovering completely new cinematic perspectives, as well as without often sharp language sprinkled with unusual humour. For 15 years, the festival has been consistently supporting the development of film criticism, which has become a permanent part of the festival's DNA. The organisers want young critics to take their first steps in journalism in Lodz.
The call for the jubilee edition of the Krytyk Pisze Competition, which is consistently very popular, has been launched. The winners will receive cash prizes, the opportunity to publish their texts in the monthly KINO, as well as tickets to the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia and the Camera Action Festival. The organisers are waiting for applications until 22 September 2024. The winners are selected by three jury panels: the Krytyczek Jury, the Creators Jury and the KINO Monthly Jury.
Poster of the Krytyk Pisze Competition, author: Arkadiusz Jaworek
During this year's edition, participants will have to face the perspective of a critical trio: Kaja Klimek – a film and pop culture educator, known from the Kajutex channel, Red Carpet TV and Dzień Dobry TVN, Kamila Żyto – a film expert, Professor at the University of Lodz, and Klara Cykorz who is a cultural expert, writer, among others for "Dwutygodnik" and the winner of the Krzysztof Mętrak Award. The Creators Jury will include, among others: Luiza Skrzek – a production manager at Lava Films, a line producer who worked on Magnus von Horn's "Girl with a Needle", Katarzyna Warzecha who is a director of Netflix's "Absolute Debutants", and the second director of Agnieszka Holland’s "Green Border" which won the Special Jury Prize in Venice
During the 15th edition of the festival, another edition of the Krytyk Mówi Competition will also be held. It is addressed to the authors of vlogs, film broadcasts, video essays and film podcasts. The organisers are waiting for applications until 4 October 2024. The call for Authors Spotlight – a competition of short live action films and animations from around the world – continues until 31 August 2024.
The 15th Camera Action Festival will be held from 24 to 27 October 2024 in Lodz and from 14 to 23 October 2024 online on the Think Film platform. The task is implemented thanks to the funding from the budget of the City of Lodz. It is co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund, the Polish Film Institute and the University of Lodz – the patron of the festival. The main partners of the festival are Monopolis and the Film School in Lodz. The Camera Action Festival and the Man in Danger Media Festival form the cooperation network "Lodz Film Festival". Tickets starting from PLN 129, on sale from 22 July 2024.
Edit and materials: Mateusz Demski, Press Spokesperson of the Camera Action Festival
