About Festival
THE KOSZALIN DEBUT FILMS FESTIVAL - “THE YOUNG AND CINEMA"
The “Young and Cinema" Festival in Koszalin is the largest and most significant competition concerning young Polish cinema. It is considered an honour for young Polish filmmakers to participate in the festival, and winning a prize may have great importance for their further career development. The “Young and Cinema" Festival is not only a place for the meeting of the young audience with young directors' films, but it is also an important place on the map of professional meetings of the Polish film community, as well as an obligatory point in the calendar of young Polish filmmakers.
THE PROGRAMME
The “Young and Cinema" Festival is a competition of full-length and short film debuts. In the full-length programme, professional feature films of a length of at least 60 minutes are presented. In the short film section there are the animated, feature and documentary films of up to 40 minutes. Films from both the official mainstream cinema as well as independent productions are qualified to participate in the competition. The conditions
The Festival programme is complemented by a small international section - the best debuts of the European and world cinema of the last season are presented here. A tradition of the “Young and Cinema" Festival is an excellent music programme. The music scene, usually presenting alternative music, young Polish rock, but also fantastic Polish jazz, is open to the young audience throughout the entire Festival.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS
The “Young and Cinema" Festival is considered one of the most important Polish film events, next to the festival in Gdynia, Cracow, Wrocław and Warsaw. Every year there is an increasing number of professionals and guests taking part in the festival. Koszalin is a place where meetings are held with producers, television representatives producing programmes, state institutions and organizations such as the Polish Film Institute and the Polish Filmmakers Association. Coming to Koszalin is a chance for young people to establish professional contacts for the future. A wonderful, relaxed and authentic atmosphere accompanies the festival, which is why it is considered by the Polish film community as one of the most pleasurable film events.
PLACE, DATE AND HOW TO GET THERE
Going to Koszalin is also a true tourist experience. Koszalin is a charming town in the West Pomeranian Province, located several kilometres from the Baltic Sea. Visitors of the Festival can find accommodation both in Koszalin and at the Mielno seaside resort, connecting their stay at the “Young and Cinema" Festival with leisure and sightseeing. The beaches in this region of the Polish sea coast are incredible, natural and are famous for their extremely clear and fine sand. Mielno offers the Festival guests swimming pools, restaurants and narrow-gauge railway rides. The festival takes place in September (until 2009 it was held in June), thus making it a very convenient time to enjoy a calmer sea outside the peak season, and have time for relaxation and active recreation.
Koszalin can be reached by train (express or night sleeper) mainly from Warsaw. It is also recommended to travel by airplane to Szczecin (Goleniów airport, about 120 km from Koszalin), where several times a day a plane lands from Warsaw. Visitors can reach Koszalin by bus transfer organized by the airline or the Festival.
The Festival organizers provide guests with complimentary accreditation, which allows entry to all competition and special screenings, and can also help in booking a hotel and managing travel arrangements.
HISTORY AND TRADITION
The Koszalin Debut Film Festival is one of the oldest film events in Poland. It is running since the early 70's. The most famous Polish directors of the 70's and 80's made their debuts in Koszalin, including Agnieszka Holland, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Zanussi, Filip Bajon. In recent years, the Koszalin audience has had an opportunity to watch the best debuts, including those of Magdalena Piekorz, Andrzej Jakimowski, Katarzyna Rosłaniec, Marcin Wrona, Xawery Żuławski,
During the past 30 years, the Festival has changed the formula several times. Since 2007, the event is a competition reviewing Polish film debuts, but including also a non-competitive international programme.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Last year was a period of rapid growth in the popularity and significance of the Festival. The responsibility for the shape of the programme was taken over by the Polish Filmmakers Association, while the Cultural Centre 105 in Koszalin is responsible for entire organization, which acts on behalf of the City of Koszalin. The association and the city of Koszalin are the main organizers of the event, supported by The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Marshal of the West Pomeranian Province.
The growing importance of the Festival has been confirmed by numerous awards and nominations in recent years. The festival has received the 2007 award in the competition for the tourist product of the West Pomeranian Province and was nominated twice in the Polish Film Institute awards. In 2010, at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, it received the Polish Film Institute award for the best national film event in 2009.
