The “2nd OFF Film Festival: Bolesławiec and Surrounding Area” opened with a screening of two workshop films. “Roses” by Krzysztof Grześków, Iwo Rachwał and Kacper Rafalski was shown, along with “London Could Be Here Too,” directed by Anna Wieczur-Bluszcz. The first film was made during summer workshops in Łódź; the second was produced with funds from the Voivodeship Office, in cooperation with private businesses from Bolesławiec.

This year, the Festival programme consisted of three blocks of films. Royal Flush Entertainment presented the winning film “Zamczersi” and two short studies, “Wiesiek?” and “Teflon Pan.”

In the second block, the “Flushka” Film Club showed five short films on varied themes. “Reflection,” “Maister card” and “Czikita” were parodies of famous advertisements, while “Stone Face” and “Life” completed the programme.

Iwo Rachwał, Luis Probala and Krzysztof Grześków, students of the film class led by Zuzanna Mróz at the I General Secondary School, showed three films: “Destiny,” “LSD” and, in its premiere screening, “The Lens,” made especially for the Festival.

This year, the festival involved the audience in its activities, as the audience served as the jury. The young people chose “Zamczersi” with sixty-eight votes out of one hundred and thirty-two voters. Royal Flush Entertainment (Mateusz Olek, Wojciech Antosik, Paweł Miklaszewski, Jacek Sawicki) are repeat winners of the OFF Film Festival.

The creators from Lwówek Śląski chose the form of parodies of famous films, filled with gags and situational humour. “Zamczersi” was filmed in the style of a Monty Python sketch, although the English absurdist humour was replaced with a rustic Polish flavour. In “Zamczersi,” the Middle Ages—treated with a wink—were full of drunken warriors, sharp, spicy remarks and blunt profanity.

The students of the film class presented a completely different atmosphere. “Destiny,” which received 16 votes, is a docudrama about death. It consists of several statements by people who encounter death in the course of their work. A priest, a funeral-home owner, an ambulance paramedic and a morgue worker spoke about their experiences.

The premiere film “The Lens,” which received 25 votes, tells the story of complicated relationships within a group of young photography enthusiasts.

The film “Reflection” by the Flushka Film Club (Mateusz Gil, Paweł Maziara, Łukasz and Mateusz Sławecki, Paweł Miklaszewski, Jacek Sawicki, Wojciech Antosik, Mateusz Olek, Zbigniew Irski and Edyta Bagińska) deserves attention. It is a short study based on the idea of surprising the viewer. A boy who has been hit by a car gets up from the street and continues on his way, but encounters certain difficulties in his interactions with his surroundings during the walk. He cannot contact anyone living.

Students of the II General Secondary School interviewed the authors of the films; we will publish the interviews soon.

Considering the enormous interest among young people in this form of activity, the large number of productions and the cinema hall filled to capacity with young people, it is concerning that the creators face the greatest difficulties in obtaining basic equipment: cameras, microphones and legal editing software. Unfortunately, most films still illegally use music by well-known artists as their soundtracks. For this reason, this year’s prize is payment for the rental of film-production equipment.

(GF staff report)