On Warsaw’s Praga Północ district, at Kino Praha, the Praga Youth Film Festival will be held for the ninth time. The Programme Council of the 9th edition of PFFM 2016 selected 26 finalists from more than 130 submitted films. One of them is “Tree of Fire”, made by the BOK-MCC Film Education Studio. The film was created in cooperation with the Bolesławiec Film School.
The documentary “Tree of Fire” was made by young filmmakers during last year’s holiday workshops organised by the BOK-MCC Film Education Studio. The young people worked under the supervision of instructor Michał Szwed. The film was shot in August during the 21st Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival. It portrays artist Mateusz Grobelny while building a spectacular outdoor kiln in the Market Square. A ceramic sculpture—a four-metre-high tree—was created inside the six-metre structure. The sculpture was inspired by a tree whose trunk and branches were made of clay and metal, while its crown consisted of fire and smoke. The entire structure was built on the basis of a cube. Three walls were movable. At the climax of the firing, two of them were opened “like a wardrobe”, while the third, divided horizontally, opened from top to bottom. It was a unique opportunity to see the sculpture during firing, heated to 1,200 degrees Celsius.
In the film, the structure’s creator, ceramic artist Mateusz Grobelny, talks about his passion, inspirations and work on the construction.
The film’s preview screening took place in September at the “Orzeł” Cultural Integration Centre during the official closing of the 51st International Ceramic and Sculpture Symposium in Bolesławiec. Its premiere was also held at CIK “Orzeł” in October.
The films to be presented during the 9th PRAGA YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL were made by teenagers from Poland and abroad. They will be judged by a professional jury connected with the Polish film industry. Participants whose films qualified for the competition will have the opportunity to see their work on the big screen. The young filmmakers’ creations will be assessed by a professional jury consisting of: Kinga Dębska (director and screenwriter), Jacek Lusiński (director, screenwriter and composer), Paweł Domagała (theatre, film and television actor, singer), Artur Liebhart (founder of Against Gravity and the PLANETE+ DOC FILM FESTIVAL), Anna Tatarska (film journalist) and Andrzej Rossa (cultural journalist).
Productions could be submitted in three categories: documentary and reportage, music video and animation, and fiction. The finalists will compete for the Golden, Silver and Bronze Praga Clapperboard awards, the special award of the “Magazyn Ekspres Reporterów” magazine (a film broadcast on TVP2), the audience award and the internet users’ award. In addition to commemorative statuettes, the winners will receive cash and in-kind prizes.
