GDYNIA FOR CHILDREN AT THE 41ST GDYNIA FILM FESTIVAL
Gdynia for Children is one of the most popular sections at Gdynia Film Festival. Organised every year since 2004, it attracts from 8 to 10 thousand of young viewers.
This year, there is the 50th anniversary of Polish Filmmakers Association - the main organiser of "Gdynia for Children" - which is an opportunity to offer an exceptional repertoire to the viewers, consisting of the greatest achievements of Polish cinema for children and teenagers. The special highlight of this year's edition of the programme is Polish première of the animated film "A Drop of Northern Lights" by the master of the genre, Wiesław Zięba. It is a film about the friendship of nine-year-old Janek and the fairytale giant Waligóra. The action revolves around the search for the Drop of Northern Lights, one of the philosopher's stones.
For a couple of festival days, one can watch the most famous feature films and short animations, which won renown for Polish cinema around the world: from The Crossbow - the first episode of the adventures of the most famous animated film duo - Bolek and Lolek, the Academy Award winner "Peter & the Wolf," to the productions in remarkable artistic form, by the TV Studio of Animated Films and the Film Miniatures Studio, written by Witold Giersz, Julian Józef Antonisz, Zofia Ołdak and Zbigniew Kotecki.
In the programme of the section, there are also other feature-length films: the animation "How to Save Mom" from 2005 (dir. Daniel Zduńczyk, Marcin Męczkowski) and the feature film "Adventurers' Club" by Tomasz Szafrański. The viewers will also watch the latest short films: the puppet animation by Natalia Brożyńska "The Advisers of King Hydrops" (an adaptation of Stanisław Lem) and a new episode of the series "Jim and Screw" from Animated Film Studio in Bielsko-Biała - "The Little Knight" by Marek Burda, the film "Confusion with Winter Inventory" (dir. Andrzej Piotr Morawski) from the new series "Viking Tappi" as well as new episodes of the series for the youngest children, "Mr Toti" (dir. Grzegorz Handzlik, Jaroslav Baran). It is also an opportunity to get acquainted with the new cinema for children and teenagers and to find out which means of expression it uses, which subject matters it deals with and which film forms it presents.
This year's Gdynia for Children are not only the films by native film-makers, but also the works by artists from abroad, presented in the World Cinema Panorama. The programme is complemented by accompanying events, among others, exhibition of posters from the programme Polish Cinema for Young Audiences in Gdynia Film Center. The organisers also planned film workshops, which will allow the participants to follow the process of making a short film, from the script, through film set, to the editing. Younger children will be able to participate in animated film workshops.
Gdynia for Children is organised by Polish Filmmakers Association, in co-operation with Pomeranian Film Foundation and with the financial support of Polish Film Institute. All screenings take place in the cinema "Helios." The festival is held from 19 to 24 September.