London Debut for Important Polish Film

Polish Radio reports that Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, premiered in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2008 at the 6th Polish Film Festival in London. The screening was to be followed by a month-long retrospective of the acclaimed director’s body of work. Concord Live reviewed the film after its Miami premiere on February 29, 2008.

Michael Kubicki writes that

This is of course not the kind of film after which a tumultuous applause is appropriate. The London premiere was no exception: after some very brief  and restrained clapping there was a long silence. Later on, in the conversations between members of the audience which included many film critics, historians and actors, one could hear descriptions such as ‘powerful’, ‘well-done’ and ‘superbly acted.’

Read the full article here.

Katyn International Distribution Update

Other Polish Radio reports provide details about plans for Katyn to be distributed internationally. The first, published on April 22, 2008, states that the film has played at festivals in Dublin, Miami, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Istanbul and Bombay.  Other recent premieres included Washington on April 25, and New York on April 29. The report goes on to say that premieres are scheduled later this year for Seoul, Seattle, St. Petersburg and Jerusalem. The film’s first two international engagements, however, were Berlin and Moscow, where the film about the twin totalitarian terrors of Nazism and Communism was also well-received.

The second report was published on February 20, 2008, and though it may no longer reflect the most current information, it reveals that “negotiations closed with Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, the whole of Middle East and Brazil. Talks still continue with distributors in the US, GB, France Scandinavia and South America.” It was unclear whether distributors were in talks to premiere the film at festivals, theatrical engagements, or for DVD release.