Reflections
It's been two days since I got back and I am still suffering some jet lag. No doubt I will be up and perky very early tomorrow again (like prior to sunrise) but that's ok. Small price to pay for a good and productive trip.
While the CIDF is a young festival, it is headed by a committed individual, Christopher Kamyszew. he founded Chicago's Polish Film Festival in 1989. which is now the world's largest festival of Polish cinema. It was here that he recognzied that there was a strong demand for documentary films. In 1993 after a stint as the director of the Polish Museum of America, Kamyszew took over The Society for Arts, a nonprofit that promotes artistic and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Europe, organizing exhibitions, concerts, cinema events and so forth, and also offering various scholarships and artists-in-residence programs. He's since relinquished directing duties for the Polish Film Festival to his wife Ewa. He estimates that in 2007, he has received over 2000 submissions and he personally views all the films and helps with curating the programme. Through him, CIDF gives USD $ 100,000 in prizes to the winners of the CIDF competition.
Christopher personally believes that he wants CIDF to look after the film-makers and to encourage them to make more and better films. Certainly, the hospitality offered by Christopher and his team, lends testimony to this. All kudos to Christopher and his team.
As a festival organizer, I am acutely aware of the difficulty in securing funding for a festival let alson to be able to achieve getting USD $100,000 in prizes together with being able to help film-makers get to the festival and the associated hospitality. I understand that Chrisopher has also been philantrophic and has personally helped to fund the festival in part.
The CIDF programme is an ambitious programme. With well over 2000 submissions, the programme comprises about 100 odd films. These films have strong pedigrees and represent some of the best available this year.
It is not easy having 8 venues. However, Chicago does not easily lend itself to having a mulitplex venue and due to its wide spread nature, having the festival screen in the suburbs makes sense as quite often the audiences do not return to the city to catch a movie in the evening or weekends if they reside in outer suburbs. For visitors who are documentary lovers, it can be somewhat frustrating by reason of geographical distances between the venues. However, the organizers work hard in ensuring multiple screenings of the one film at different venues to ensure that the films are acessible by as many people as possible.
CIDF has a lovely coffee-table programme, which can become collector's items.
Overall, it is a festival which will continue to grow from strength to strength. Certainly from my point of view, it is a festival worth watching and work cooperatively together. It is remarkable how universal many of the issues confronting CIDF is and are common to both our organizations.
While the CIDF is a young festival, it is headed by a committed individual, Christopher Kamyszew. he founded Chicago's Polish Film Festival in 1989. which is now the world's largest festival of Polish cinema. It was here that he recognzied that there was a strong demand for documentary films. In 1993 after a stint as the director of the Polish Museum of America, Kamyszew took over The Society for Arts, a nonprofit that promotes artistic and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Europe, organizing exhibitions, concerts, cinema events and so forth, and also offering various scholarships and artists-in-residence programs. He's since relinquished directing duties for the Polish Film Festival to his wife Ewa. He estimates that in 2007, he has received over 2000 submissions and he personally views all the films and helps with curating the programme. Through him, CIDF gives USD $ 100,000 in prizes to the winners of the CIDF competition.
Christopher personally believes that he wants CIDF to look after the film-makers and to encourage them to make more and better films. Certainly, the hospitality offered by Christopher and his team, lends testimony to this. All kudos to Christopher and his team.
As a festival organizer, I am acutely aware of the difficulty in securing funding for a festival let alson to be able to achieve getting USD $100,000 in prizes together with being able to help film-makers get to the festival and the associated hospitality. I understand that Chrisopher has also been philantrophic and has personally helped to fund the festival in part.
The CIDF programme is an ambitious programme. With well over 2000 submissions, the programme comprises about 100 odd films. These films have strong pedigrees and represent some of the best available this year.
It is not easy having 8 venues. However, Chicago does not easily lend itself to having a mulitplex venue and due to its wide spread nature, having the festival screen in the suburbs makes sense as quite often the audiences do not return to the city to catch a movie in the evening or weekends if they reside in outer suburbs. For visitors who are documentary lovers, it can be somewhat frustrating by reason of geographical distances between the venues. However, the organizers work hard in ensuring multiple screenings of the one film at different venues to ensure that the films are acessible by as many people as possible.
CIDF has a lovely coffee-table programme, which can become collector's items.
Overall, it is a festival which will continue to grow from strength to strength. Certainly from my point of view, it is a festival worth watching and work cooperatively together. It is remarkable how universal many of the issues confronting CIDF is and are common to both our organizations.
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