The 49th Krakow Film Festival finished with a customary flourish, with a crowded closing-night ceremony that saw the presentation awards, numerous (mercifully brief) speeches and toy instruments. Now that’s something that even the Oscars can’t boast. Yes, thanks to a fine musical performance from band Małe Instrumenty and a diverse range of films receiving awards, it was a fine end to what has been an excellent year for the KFF.
The middle of the Krakow Film Festival brings with it more excitement and interest for audiences and industry professionals with much debate as to which films will walk away with the coveted festival prizes. There were also – unsurprisingly – huge crowds for the Polish films that have been nominated for both the National and International awards in the festival.
The streets of Krakow were awash with celebration as Wisla Krakow once again clinched the championship title in the Polish First Football League. As football fans savoured their moment of victory, film fans in the city were also celebrating as the second day of the Krakow Film Festival was highlighted by the presentation of the Dragon of Dragons to Polish animator Jerzy Kucia.
One of the most oldest and respected festivals in Europe got under way last night with a wildly popular screening of the Paul Mazursky documentary Yippee!, which was introduced by Mazursky himself alongside the legendary figure of Andrzej Wajda.
