Just a bit shorter…
Andrzej Zulawski is a film director, writer, screenwriter and actor. He was born in 1940 in Lviv, Ukraine (formerly Poland). At the age of 5, he went with his family to France where from 1959 he studied at the Film Directing Department of IDHEC in Paris. After coming back to Poland, he published articles in culture magazines. Zulawski was an assistant to Andrzej Wajda, the famous Polish film director. His debut ?The Third Part of the Night? was a great success. When his second film ?The Devil? was banned in Poland he went to France, where he made ?L?Important c?est d?aimer? (1975) with Viennese actress Romy Schneider (1938 ?1982). He then returned to Poland and for two years he worked on a film, ?The Silver Globe,? which was based on a book written by his great-uncle Jerzy Zulawski. The authorities did not allow him to finish it. Since then he has lived and worked mostly in France, making successful art films. He found his muse in French actress Sophie Marceau and made ?Fidelity? with her in 2000. He has been awarded the Commander?s Cross of Polonia Restituta and the Legion of Honor. His son ? Xavery ? is also a director. He has cooperated with Zulawski in several films. Last year, he made his debut ? the film ?Chaos,? a grotesque but also very moving story about youth.
The Krakow Post: Does watching short films differ from watching feature length?
Andrzej Zulawski: Yes, they?re shorter. (laugh)
Q. Does it need different categories when it is evaluated?
A. Everything mixes very much today. What in fact does ?short length? mean? There are films in the competition that last an hour, and there are also those that are only three minutes long. It seems to me that the most important point is whether or not there is anything to look at in a film. A film may sometimes be an hour long, and you get crazy because it is about 40 minutes too long. Of course, I can not say anything now, because the festival is still going on, but I have noticed some tendencies this year. Many films could be very interesting, (the first selection at this festival was really good), but they are generally too long. Maybe the associate who could have told the director what he should throw out or abbreviate just missed something there. Anyway, some of these films crawl? These short films sometimes just need to be shorter.
Q. How do you see Polish cinema as a man who lived abroad so long?
A. I don?t see it. And that?s no spiteful remark. When I read about Polish films, what they offer me just doesn?t interest me. I am not the sort of man who likes going to the cinema to grieve, be put through pain and torture myself, and what?s more ? pay for it! I think they miss this simple point: that the cinema is not an artistic means of somebody ?bothering? somebody. That?s a problem today. Sure, the cinema is to say something important, but at the same time, it has to be the cinema?the ?moving pictures.? And I mean really moving! I think we are being treated to boredom, and that?s the reason Polish cinematography cannot push its way through worldwide festivals.
Q. Your son?s debut was called a fresh breath in the young Polish cinema by some film critics.
A. An opinion like that makes me happy, mostly because I feel the same. First of all, this film was made under really hard conditions. Nobody helped the boy. He shot it over three years with enormous difficulties. In fact, he was lucky that the actors didn?t die in the meanwhile. I didn?t know anything about the film ? that was our unwritten agreement. I didn?t see or read anything. That?s why I was so touched when I watched it for the first time. For me, it is a film with great young energy, not young boredom. It is not an arrogant or pretentious film, and at the same time it touches what is important in youngsters? lives. I just like it.
Pearl Jam, Linkin Park head to Poland
Krzysztof Skonieczny
Staff Journalist
Rock music legend, Pearl Jam, will play along with the nu-metal band, Linkin Park, on Wednesday, June 13, at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow. The event seems more like a little festival than a single concert, as the Polish bands Coma and Gutierez will also perform. The concerts promise a minimum of 5 hours of open-air rock.
Avocado Jam
Pearl Jam needs no introduction. As one of four of the most important grunge rock bands of the early 1990s, they have outlasted the other three ? Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains ? and become perhaps the most successful alternative rock group in history.
Since their first album, ?Ten,? in 1991, their style has exhibited influences from 1970s rock music, beyond the borders of grunge. Among their inspirations, they mention Neil Young, The Ramones and The Who.
The band?s key members are lead singer, Eddie Vedder, whose voice has often been compared to Jim Morrison, and guitarists Mike McCready (lead) and Stone Gossard (rhythm), one of the most powerful guitar duos on the planet.
The line-up culminates in the spectacular bass player, Jeff Ament, and drummer, Matt Cameron — a former member of Soundgarden who joined the band in 1998.
This concert is part of Pearl Jam?s European tour, which follows the release of their self-titled eighth studio album in 2006, often referred to as ?Avocado,? as its cover picture depicts a cross section of the fruit. In comparison to the group?s previous album in 2002, ?Riot Act,? their newest effort seems an energetic retreat to the band?s rock roots. The lyrics address themes such as poverty, the U.S. socio-political situation and other more personal issues.
Vedder and his band have already visited Poland twice. In 1996, they performed in Warsaw, and in 2000 in Katowice, where they gave two concerts.
Minutes to Midnight
This is the title of Linkin Park?s third and latest album, released on May 15, 2007.
The album has received mixed reviews; either that rap metal is dead and so is Linkin Park, or, that rap metal is dead, but Linkin Park is not.
The band members consider their music incorporates many genres, including hip hop, nu-metal, alternative rock and drum and bass.
This diversity is the reason for the name of their first album, ?Hybrid Theory,? released in 2000, which was initially the name of the band itself.
Linkin Park consists of 6 members, including vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave ?Phoenix? Farrell and drummer Rob Bourdon, and Joe Hahn, who handles the samplers, turntables and programming.
This is the band?s first visit to Poland.
Polish Support ? Coma and Gutierez
Founded in 1998, Coma is one of the most important young Polish rock bands.
The group has recorded two successful albums, ?Pierwsze wyjście z mroku? (?First Step Out of Darkness?) in 2004, and ?Zaprzepaszczone siły wielkiej armii świętych znaków? (?Squandered Forces of the Great Army of Sacred Signs?) in 2006. Both of the albums are filled with heavy guitar riffs and the deep, emotional lyrics of vocalist Piotr Rogucki. Their second album was certified ?Gold? and received the ?Fryderyk? Polish Phonographic Industry Award in 2006 for Best Rock/Metal Album.
Gutierez was chosen to support the bands after a contest established by the event organizers ? Live Nation. A professional jury, comprised of journalists and media representatives, chose 10 bands based on listening to one-song samples that had been sent in for the competition.
The Venue and Information
The Silesian Stadium is the biggest football stadium in Poland, often used for organizing large concerts. To get there from Krakow, you must first go to Katowice, either by car or train.
If arriving by train, take a taxi or use the streetcar line 11, heading for ?Chebzie Pętla.?
The whole journey by train and bus shouldn?t take longer than two hours, while the trip should be even shorter by car.
The tickets, costing 110-165 zloty, can be bought via the Internet at: www.livenation.pl, or www.ticketpro.pl. Ticketpro also sells tickets in person at cooperating stores, such as Media Markt on al. Pokoju 67, Saturn in Galeria Krakowska or Music Corner on Rynek Glowny 13.
The gates will open at 15:00, and the event will start at 17:00 with a performance by Gutierez. Coma will start at 18:00, and the main stars, Linkin Park and Pearl Jam, will commence at 19:15 and 21:00.