This annual event, organized by the Białystok Cultural Center (BOK), has built a reputation for connecting Eastern and Western cultures.
Grażyna Dworakowska, the center's director, emphasized the festival's growing significance as evidenced by this year's "broad and varied program, reflecting current global events."
A key feature of the festival is the short film competition, with around 1,300 submissions received, and 140 selected for evaluation in various categories.
Notable categories include "Window to the East," intended for films from Eastern European countries; "This Whole World," geared toward international films; and three national competitions: for Polish amateurs, students, and independent creators.
Other categories open to all include "Kids," featuring short films for children and youth; "Music Videos;" "On the Edge" for experimental and video art; and "Midnight Shorts," films blending horror, black comedy, and absurd experimentation.
The Grand Prix top prize and other awards are up for grabs.
The festival also features special screenings, including of the 1920s French film Ménilmontant, accompanied by live music.
Theme sets will explore topics such as women's perspectives, war-torn everyday life in Ukraine, censorship, and migration.
Unique screenings will be held in various regional locations, including a special showing for winter swimmers at Dojlidy Beach at the edge of the city, with films selected for their mercifully ultra-short duration.
The festival's culinary dimension includes film breakfasts featuring German, French, and local Podlasie cuisines paired with short films from those regions.
Musical elements will form a significant part of the festival, with performances by Polish collective Zuchy, highlighting 1970s Polish pop music gems, and a "Żubroffka Goes Techno" event featuring international DJs.
Żubroffka is a play on words, combining żubrówka - the name of an iconic local vodka - and the designation "off," frequently used to mark out arts events that are not of the mainstream.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP