LGBT+ FILM FESTIVAL POLAND 2026

The festival is starting tomorrow, I've had a chance to preview some of the this year offerings:

OBEN OHNE (WHERE YOU FIND ME)

Watchable. Visual effects like intentionally blurred sequences or mother and daughter reflected in each other's eyes repeatedly add a dreamy feel to the story of women choosing life without obligations. The drama tackles the dualism of life: professional duties and relationship responsibilities, days of discussing diseases or pregnancies and their terminations are juxtaposed with frivolous absent-mindedness of partying hard, steamy nights and daylight lazing on the beach (cold and cloudy - it's Germany). Infrequent but fabulous techno and trance of the club sequences and along the end credits form the sountrack. No court or legal advice scenes regarding the eponymous "oben ohne" ("topless") accusation - the misdemeanor charge remains on the margin. "I hate to be an adult", mentioned by a protagonist, should be the movie title.

Reviewed from the organizers' screener, cinematic reception might differ.

DANGLING CARROT

Recommended. Taylor Ghrist's movie (written, directed and acted, he's also one of two executive producers) is straight-people-friendly - all gay terms are explained in the conversation Taylor has with his two girlfriends in one of the first scenes. Search for love is relatable to all of us so you keep rooting for him as he seeks connection. The main difference between the straight world and the male gay reality is the predominance of sex in the latter, which is also discussed with the two girls. The film offers an unflinching look at contemporary dating. Gaslighting and other manipulative tactics are vividly brought home in the plot to manifest the selfishness of our times. From a romantic comedy to a shattering finale the movie craftily navigates dramatic genres. Top-notch performances and superb music backdrop ensure it's thoroughly entertaining, engaging and doesn't feel heavy even for a minute. 

Reviewed from the organizers' screener, cinematic reception might differ.

Also Palestinian singer Bashar Murad is going to perform in Poland for the first time as part of the festival. Here comes a sample of his music: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0p78w_BpKw&list=RDx0p78w_BpKw&start_radio=1

WHISTLE

Watchable. A good story where you learn how each character would die if they lived long enough, fantastic music, of varying genres, but always matching the action on the screen. The whole thing is moderately scary. What ruins the finale is the nonsensical death of the young pastor as well as saving each other through reanimation to cheat death ripped off another horror flick.  

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

PILLION

Recommended. Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård, who also co-produced this gay flick, is perfect as the domineering partner. His subservient counterpart sings like an angel - the fabulous choir and the rest of the soundtrack are another strong point about this comedy drama. The story is original, unusual, told with a pinch of salt. A unique experience.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

유령 (PHANTOM)

Watchable. You have to watch this noir espionage thriller very carefully. About an hour in I had to go back and see it all over again from the start. Twice. And then I went back places every now and then. While it's totally engaging, as you keep solving the puzzle, those numerous details make it possible to follow only when you can rewind. Brilliant performances, especially both secretaries' as well as the cat owner's. Visually it offers memorable noir-style shots and use of colour, e.g. when blood splashes on a Mt. Fuji painting during the attempt to assassinate the Japanese governor. The finale's truly brutal, as expected in a Korean movie.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

UN TUEUR SI PROCHE: ANN RULE ET TED BUNDY (THE STRANGER BESIDE ME - ANN RULE AND TED BUNDY)

Recommended. It's not the woman's discovery of who her friend is, though her difficulty in accepting the truth is intriguing, that's shocking, it's the serial murderer's ease of manipulating others that's mind-boggling. On the screen his eyes are ice cold and his smirk revoltingly false. How come he managed to lure the 37 women he claimed he had murdered? It's also frightening where Ann Rule and Ted Bundy met - what's not mentioned in the documentary is that what inspired him to murder women was the agony he heard in their voices while working in the crisis centre. My background knowledge made the film even more frightening.

The documentary was available on Arte TV.

SACRE COEUR: SON REGNE N'A PAS DE FIN (SACRED HEART)

Switched off. This documentary is boring for two reasons. Firstly, converts' stories are the norm for religious true-life films, as is commentary about a nun's vision, so it feels tedious to hear some again, over and over, also told in monotonous voices. Secondly, the Sacred Heart devotion is limited so a film solely about that feels sectarian, unattractive to a non-follower.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

ARTEKINO FESTIVAL 2023

SPLENDIDE HOTEL: UN VOYANT EN ENFER (SPLENDID HOTEL)

Watchable. Based on an obscure period in poet Arthur Rimbaud's life, this poetic drama mixes history when travel wasn't common and towns tended to be quiet, with modern day pictures and visual effects or music. You learn he tried to poison someone's dogs out of frustration, that he was religious, that he longed for family life instead of travel. It's a picture of waiting, for over 10 months. Also a lesson of life which was a turning point for him, not just because of his musings, but because it may have ruined his health and certainly didn't bring him expected wealth - an unusual set of events made him return to square one but more experienced and humbled. Occasional theatricality of set decor and mediocre acting are the downsides of this picture. 

SUNDAYS

Watchable. A fully professional documentary, thorough, even unduly filled with conversations at times, some of them had better be cut out, but about a very ordinary person. The only justification of it could be it deals with fate, or, in religious terms, God's plan for you. Does God truly have a plan for everyone? Seems true for this priest. Still, there's nothing special about him to tell the world, he's just the narrator's family member. 

VAMOS A LA PLAYA

Switched off. Two girls and one boy go to Cuba to find the boy's brother doing research on manatees. Little Cuba, no manatees, instead silly chatter, the most ridiculous about sex, wanking too. Why would I watch that? Ah, and one of the girls repeatedly talks directly to the camera like in some kind of reality show. 

DEN SISTE VAREN (SISTER, WHAT GROWS WHERE LAND IS SICK?) 

Switched off. This psychological drama consists of silly chit-chat and, on top of that blabber, a narrator reading one of the teenager's diaries where she talks about her mental problems. 

PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS

Recommended. This Irish animation is a cute, heart-warming tale for young children. Not only is it filled with love but it also teaches kids some environmental lessons. 

AFRYKAMERA 2023 ONLINE

LE SPECTRE DE BOKO HARAM (THE SPECTRE OF BOKO HARAM)

Watchable. An observational etnographic documentary about a village in Cameroon, near the Nigerian border. Colourful pigeons on the ground, white birds in the trees, lizzards on the walls, men resting on blankets outside, an elementary school teaching French, a woman pounding millet. Soldiers in the background. It's centred around kids. Some turn out to be former child soldiers, runaways from Boko Haram. Their accounts mix with magic. Magic, Christianity and Islam mix in the culture as exemplified by the case of a child ill with malaria treated with chicken blood mixed with bark. Too much focus on children, no commentary, little to the point. 

THE BRIDE

Watchable. For Rwandan women violence didn't end with the war. While the drama sees the aftermath, e.g. people who have lost their entire families and who have moved to a house leftover after other exterminated people, the custom of abducting a woman and making her a bride via rape is rife. The film is slow-paced and looks too theatrical at times. But it's engaging not only in terms of action but also relationships there and then since part is local culture and part coping with the tragic past.

ARTEKINO FESTIVAL 2023

РИБЕНА КОСТ (FISHBONE)

Switched off. A few separate parallel stories. No idea what some of them are about.

MI VACIO Y YO (MY EMPTINESS AND I)

Watchable. A colourful production with occasional good music Raphaelle's story tells you all you need to know about what it's like to be an m to f trans looking for love. The romantic search part is totally engaging, the trans layer is interesting enough but overtalked at times. 

A SIBILA (THE SIBIL)

Switched off. A narrator and all characters talk in a lofty, stilted, monotonous way, often about abstract things.

NIEMAND IST BEI DEN KALBERN (NO ONE'S WITH THE CALVES)

Switched off. A countryside girl picks up men, wanks, drinks, smokes, her father gets wasted. 

The festival had 'very large' subtitles actually legible from a distance which was great. Unfortunately they'd often blend into light coloured backgrounds. Movies would stutter so badly they took half longer than their official running time. But most were of meagre quality anyway.  

LOS DOMINGOS (SUNDAYS)

Recommended. Catchy dance rhythms open this unusual drama from Spain, a lofty and joyful religious song closes it which wonderfully sums up the protagonist's transition. The secular world isn't attractive: bank loans, family fights over inheritance, a scheming aunt, all youngsters' entertainment connected to sex, whether singing or bragging about it. It's all realistically depicted, from life-like conversations to a diversity of characters and their responses to the extraordinary decision of the 17-year-old. Among some memorable lines in this drama you're told that "Jesus puts desires in your heart" - this is when I actually paused the movie to reflect on my own life decisions, when you look at your own, sometimes unexpected, but morally driven choices it all starts making sense. The Jeremiah 10:23 quote: "It is not up to the man who walks to direct his steps" reverberates through the movie. Putting your fate in the hands of God is a totally different approach to life than atheists'. The way the girl's aunt sees it, nuns hide away from the world scared. At the same time it's her who, subtly yet manipulatively, denies the girl her freedom of choice. The film also insightfully and realistically depicts how nuns live which made me ponder whether I could accept and even want such a lifestyle. While I quickly came to the conclusion I couldn't, the point of no wastefulness really appeals to me - it's so environmentlly friendly. On the other hand, it also highlights how we're spoilt by excess every day and the big question is: can we do without it all? Sadly this Spanish Oscar candidate wasn't lucky enough to be shortlisted.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

ARRETE AVEC TES MENSONGES (LIE WITH ME)

Recommended. Gripping plot, exciting, keeping you in suspense, deeply touching and thought-provoking when you realise the first love leaves an indelible mark and one becomes aware it was love sometimes only in hindsight. It's also about how destructive it can be. Love so powerful, even if unspoken, that you see through the person, you know them better than they know themselves. When a circumstantial division splits the lovers' roads it's profound, the tragedy of being in love rings painfully true. On the sidelines the movie conveys a message that ideas divide, music unites.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

AFRYKAMERA 2023 ONLINE

BURKINA BABES

Watchable. This short documentary photo essay doesn't say much new other than the fact Burkina Faso bikes, usually motorbikes, are often ridden by women.

INDLELA YOKUPHILA: THE SOUL'S JOURNEY

Watchable. Zulu mythology turns out to be very environmental in this short animation which looks evocative yet too purple for an ocean.

PRAYERS FOR SWEET WATERS

Watchable. A quiet documentary on transgender sex workers in Cape Town. The first story is a bit interesting since her remote American client cared about her so much he paid for her hotel when she had nowhere to live. Other ones are just expressions of hope for the future. 

And that was when VOD Warszawa failed again. It was't just the slight stutter of the films but their disappearance from the website where they were supposed to be available for pass holders for 5 days longer. 

NENEH SUPERSTAR

Recommended. The position of blacks, especially black children in France through the prism of a ballet school. This gripping tale digs deep into the systemic bias of the opera and bullying by privileged white kids, on top of the school physical demands. A dancer is going to be in pain all her life, as one of the teachers remarks, a black dance student faces extra challenges. And instead of adults' support, she's branded aggressive for self-defence. Smartly depicted. Music changes genres, just as the black girl moves cultures between the school and her home and mates. A riveting song accompanies the end credits.

Reviewed from the distributor's superb quality screener, cinematic reception might differ.

CZAS NA POGODE (A TIME FOR SUMMER)

Switched off. A typical slow-paced Polish drama where people are poor, mourn their dead, are depressed. Worst of all, there's nothing to look forward to in the action. 

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

LE GRAND CHARIOT (THE PLOUGH)

Walked out. No clear storyline, instead lots of talking about Femen activism, about puppetry and puppet shows for children, mourning after a deceased close one, another one demented.