Days one, two and three: looking for gems while meditating on life

At the Venice70 Jury Press Conference of this year’s Venice Film Festival, its president, the eminent Bernardo Bertolucci shared one of the reasons he first declined the presidency of the jury: it is too much work! Indeed, it is! Although having a vote in the FIPRESCI jury of the 29^th edition of the Warsaw Film Festival is most certainly an exciting challenge as well as an immense honor for every aspiring film critic, I cannot help but agree with the Italian maestro. Screening – in a fully alert manner - eleven films competing for the FIPRESCI Award here in Warsaw over the course of three or four days is a rather demanding task yet one I am taking a great pleasure in completing.

Moreover, the Warsaw Film Festival is a wonderful place to be digging true cinematic gems out. And, its 29^th edition opened on 11 October with precisely one of these: Still Life, Uberto Pasolini’s second feature film and winner of the Orizzonti section of this year’s Venice Film Festival. This particularly touching film explores the life of John May, a London funeral officer and the small gestures he does so that the people he helps bury do not remain alone on their last day on Earth and thus completely forgotten forever.

Still Life by Uberto Pasolini

Continuing with musings on how life – and sometimes death – happens and films screened during the second day of the festival that, unfortunately, proved to be less of a success in terms of quality and allure. These included: The Gambler, Ignas Jonynas’s debut feature that screened in San Sebastián’s Kutxa-New Directors section and is now competing in the International Competition program here in Warsaw, a raw and brutal portrayal of the Baltic inhuman medical “underbelly” of gambling that explores the game of life and death, vice, love and morality however insufficiently, the human conscience; Iulia Rugina’s enjoyable and heartwarming first feature film, Love Building, that is the product of a 2010 actors’ workshop (Actoriedefilm.ro) starring thirty-one non-professionals and three well-known Romanian actors, Dragoș Bucur, Dorian Boguță and Alexandru Papadopol who play three therapists who run a seven-day camp called “Love Building”, conceived to mend broken relationships and last but not least, The Japanese Dog, Tudor Cristian Jurgiu’s deep, quiet and moving debut film that was also screened in San Sebastián’s Kutxa-New Directors section and that follows an elderly man in the Romanian countryside whose recent loss brings him back in touch with his son, who moved to Japan.

The Whirlpool by Bojan Vuk Kosovčević

The third day proceeded in a similar fashion, without my stumbling upon any shining gem. I should perhaps confess that I am not particularly engrossed by the goods produced by the film industry of my native country (Serbia) but Bojan Vuk Kosovčević’s first feature film, The Whirlpool, proved to be a rather positive surprise, a proof that there may still be hope for the film industry in Serbia. After watching Yozgat Blues, Mahmut Fazil Coskun's film, which enjoyed its world premiere in Istanbul, you cannot refrain from humming Joe Dassin’s famous and distinctive tune “L’Été Indien”.

And so, day four will perhaps prove to be slightly luckier! Stay tuned for more!