The event opened with the screening of Secret Agent, a political thriller by Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho.
The film, which won the best director award in Cannes earlier this year, is set in 1970s Brazil during the military dictatorship and follows a scientist, played by Wagner Moura, who returns to his hometown in search of safety, only to find the past catching up with him.
Filho, speaking before the screening, said that his film is both a tribute to cinema and a personal reflection on his homeland.
“I made this film out of all the films that shaped me as a viewer,” he said, adding that it is important to remember that films reflect the particular logic and the society of the country from which they come.
The opening gala also featured a tribute to Roman Gutek, founder of the New Horizons festival and a longtime film distributor and producer in Poland.
Gutek received the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for Merit to Polish Culture from Deputy Culture Minister Sławomir Rogowski, who praised Gutek for creating “a new standard in film culture” with a strong educational mission.
Gutek, visibly moved, thanked the Ministry of Culture and the many collaborators who have supported him over the past five decades.
“For nearly 50 years, I have had the privilege of selecting and showing films that are close to my heart,” he said. “I’ve been able to share my tastes, my emotions, and even my views with the public, and that has only been possible thanks to the hundreds of people who worked with me.”
The festival runs through July 27, with an online component available until August 3.
One of the other highlights of opening night was the Polish premiere of Człowiek do wszystkiego by Anka and Wilhelm Sasnal, based on The Assistant, a novel by early 20th-century Swiss author Robert Walser.
The film, described by a UK critic as "highly original, capriciously sumptuous," tells the story of a young man who takes on a series of unpaid roles in service of a charismatic inventor.
A retrospective of the Sasnals' earlier works began the same evening, accompanied by a DJ set curated by Wilhelm Sasnal. The artists will also host a public masterclass next week, joined by collaborators such as actors Piotr Trojan and Agnieszka Żulewska.
The international competition features 12 films, including The Chronology of Water by American actress and director Kristen Stewart, Victoria Franco's debut feature Twelve Moons, The Message by Argentinian Iván Fund, and Her Will Be Done by Polish-French director Julia Kowalski.
The jury includes Lithuanian filmmaker Marija Kavtaradze, French director Lucile Hadžihalilović, Polish director Damian Kocur, Greek programmer Yorgos Krassakopoulos, and Berlinale Forum curator Barbara Wurm.
A separate audience award will also be given.
Retrospectives during this year’s festival spotlight the work of Swiss filmmaker Anne-Marie Miéville, longtime partner and collaborator of Jean-Luc Godard, as well as Greek director Athina Rachel Tsangari, South Korea’s Lee Chang-dong, and Brazilian cinema icon Glauber Rocha.
The festival's title sponsor, BNP Paribas, was the subject of a small protest before the opening gala. Demonstrators criticized the bank’s US affiliate for acquiring shares in Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems earlier this year.
In June, a Wrocław-based activist group called on the festival to cut ties with the bank, accusing it of using cultural sponsorships to distract from controversial investments.
In response, the festival organizers issued an open letter to audiences earlier this week, reiterating their opposition to the war in Gaza and stating that the program reflects the festival’s values.
At the same time, they acknowledged the concerns and promised to examine the sponsor’s record more closely.
BNP Paribas, in a separate statement, said it adheres to strict guidelines regarding its defense-sector investments and welcomes “transparent dialogue on the matter.”
For details of screenings, go to nowehoryzonty.pl.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP, nowehoryzonty.pl