After 2 years, the International Festival of Independent Cinema Mastercard OFF CAMERA again takes place in Cracow from April 29 – May 8! It is one of the biggest events of this kind in this part of Europe. It promotes independent cinema from Poland and abroad. The participants can win record-high awards.
The festival is one of the points of the “6 Senses” project, bringing together various artistic events in Cracow. A characteristic sign of the event is the placement of film projections in small, studio rooms of Cracow cinemas in the centre of the Old Town. The organizers invite young filmmakers from all over the world, directors, actors, and experts from the film industry to allow the festival audience to get to know the authors of the films directly.
The main assumptions and tradition of the Mastercard OFF CAMERA festival refer to the American festival of independent cinema – the Sundance Film Festival. High awards and promotion of independent cinema distinguish the event from other festivals around the world. During the Krakow film fiesta, the audience from all over the world focuses on independent cinema, brave both in terms of content and formal structure, that relies on gripping, fascinating stories. The most important part of the festival is the International Dramatic Competition “Making Way” in which ten first and second film directors compete for the Krakow Film Award of USD 25,000, granted by the International Jury. (offcamera.pl)
Films competing in the Polish Feature Film Competition:
1. Autumn Girl, dir. Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, 2021
2. Back Then, dir. Kinga Dębska, 2021
3. Back To Those Days, dir. Konrad Aksinowicz, 2021
4. Faithbreaker, dir. Piotr Złotorowicz, 2021
5. Fucking Bornholm, dir. Anna Kazejak, 2022
6. Leave No Traces, dir. Jan P. Matuszyński, 2021
7. Magdalena, dir. Filip Gieldon, 2021
8. Sonata, dir. Bartosz Blashke, 2021
9. Songs About Love, dir. Tomasz Habowski, 2021
10. The In-Laws, dir. Jakub Michalczuk, 2021
Mastercard OFF CAMERA is also a series of workshops, lectures, and discussions related to the films and specific sections of the cinema industry. Many directors of the presented films come to the festival to meet and talk with the audience. All these events create the unique atmosphere of the Mastercard OFF CAMERA Festival – a celebration of independent cinema.