Due to the programme of the main festival, the series “Confrontations Cinema” has so far focused on Russian cinema. With this year’s revolutionary changes in programme, which turns to the “not necessarily theatrical”, experimental and performance forms, the motto of this year’s edition of the festival is “Forget about Theatre” and it accompanies both performances as well as films. The central figure will be the actor, the director, the set design… – what is important in the world of theatre will be presented through the eye of a camera, opening a new possibilities for interpretation, providing a fresh look on art.

 

Italiani – dir. Łukasz Barczyk
cast: Krzysztof Warlikowski, Renate Jett, Jacek Poniedziałek
drama/Poland/2011

This film can be easily called a conceptual project and, at the same time, a free improvisation. An intriguing, very theatrical, for some quite controversial picture by a young director, who is not afraid to look for an original and surprising form. The plot of the film is a typical variation on the subject of a woman and three men present in her life: her husband, lover and son.

 

Dogville – dir. Lars von Trier
cast: Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany
drama/Denmark, Finland, France/2003

USA in the 30s. The protagonist of the film is a provincial town and its citizens, who decide to accept a new person in their community, but they do it on their conditions. This person is Grace, seeking refuge from gangsters. The film is shot in a surprising, theatrical form; Bertolt Brecht, Samuel Beckett and existentialism are probably the most important and most visible ways of referring to theatrical tradition.

 

Caesar Must Die – dir. Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani
cast: Cosimo Rega, Giovanni Arcuri, Antonio Frasca
drama/Italy/2012

Inmates of an Italian prison take part in rehearsals for the Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar”. The rehearsals take place in claustrophobic corridors or the visiting room of the prison. The inmates are studying the roles in their free time translating Shakespeare’s language into the language in which they express their feelings and thoughts. They gradually start to identify with their protagonists.

 

The Brothers Karamazov – dir. Pert Zelenka
cast: Ivan Trojan, Igor Chmela, Martin Myšička, David Novotný, Lenka Krobotová
psychological drama/Czech Republic, Poland/2007

The actors from Prague visit a theatre in Krakow to work on a stage adaptation of the masterpiece “The Brothers Karamazov” by Dostoyevsky. A piece on morality, human nature, our conscience, crime, punishment and forgiveness. The story is mainly told through what goes on in the lives of the protagonists of the novel, but also, simultaneously, it presents the life of one of the employees who is watching the performance.

 

Synecdoche, New York – dir. Charlie Kaufman
cast: Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Josh Pais, Philip Seymour Hoffman
drama/USA/2008

A unique story of a theatre artist, who is working on his masterpiece, an extremely realistic performance. Caden Cotard, a neurotic and slightly lost director is desperately trying to find some sense through art, express himself, learn what he truly wants. After many years of working on the performance, the lines between fiction and reality become blurred and the unfulfilled dreams and disillusions take over.