Jewish Motifs International Film Festival
| Location | Warsaw, Poland |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Directed by | Mirek Chojecki- director, Magdalena Łazarkiewicz - art director |
| Hosted by | "Jewish Motifs" Association |
| Festival date | April/May |
| Language |
Polish English |
| Website | JewishMotifs.org.pl |
| Formation | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | ul. Wilcza 12C, PL 00-532 Warsaw, Poland |
|
Official language
|
Polish |
|
President
|
Ewa Szprynger |
| Website | Jewish Motifs Association |
"Jewish Motifs" International Film Festival (Polish: Międzynarodowy Festiwal Filmowy "Żydowskie Motywy") is a major Jewish-themed film festival held every April in Warsaw, Poland. The festival has been held every year since 2004.
"The biggest European festival focused on Jewish themes in contemporary cinematography" – according to the Polish Embassy in Bern.
The 11th edition is scheduled to take place in early May 2015. The Festival dates are always on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising that is why the precize dates are changing but always in same season (usually in April).
The festival organizers declare as the aim and objectives:
Special focus of the festival films is on those produced in the Central-Eastern European region. Active participation of the audience is speciality of the festival, which organizes direct meetings with the film directos after each screening. Organizers and other experts participate also in the debates and meetings accompanying the shows and post-festival shows, which gives them opportunity for direct interaction. That is why the festival is often described as direct networking meeting and not the festival of red carpets.
The festival partners with other similar Jewish film festivals in Brighton, Vienna and Stockholm.
The Festival was organized for the first time in 2004.
According to its director, Mirek Chojecki, it was supposed to be one-time event aiming in presenting tradition of the Jewish cinema, from pre-war Yiddish movies made in Poland up to modern cinema of the 21st century. The festival received such positive attention both from international guests and Polish local audience that at the closing ceremony Chojecki said "see you next year" and this promise he keeps continuing. The "Jewish Motifs" festival became an annual event but only since 2004 as International Film Festival ("Jewish Motifs" International Film Festival).
Traditionally the opening and closing ceremonies are led by Andrzej Wajda (Polish film director) and (Polish-Jewish writer) Józef Hen.
From the beginning, the festival has taken place regularly in Spring, around the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 – which is celebrated as according to the Hebrew (not Julian) calendar.
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Wikipedia