Jacek Bromski
Ladies and gentlemen,
Poland produces definitely too few films directed at the young audience. There was a time when the Polish cinema for children was a major player, though! We used to win accolades at international film festivals in Cannes, Venice, Moscow or even in such culturally different places as Tehran. We made such fantastic films as The Hour of Crimson Rose by Halina Bielińska, The Two who Stole the Moon by Jan Batory or Argument about Basia by Maria Kaniewska. It is with great fondness that we bring back memories of the adventures of Bolek and Lolek that, by the way, are still popular in Cuba or Ethiopia.
The Anthology of the Polish Animation was released on DVD a few years ago and its first edition was immediately sold out. In 2008, Andrzej Maleszka made The Magic Tree and proved once again that we are capable of stealing young cinema lovers' hearts anywhere in the world.
Since 2004, the Polish Filmmakers Association has been presenting Polish films around the country and all over the world in the project called Polish Young Audience Cinema. We organise screenings and film workshops at a number of film festivals every year. Polish films are always met with young people's interest and warm reception.
I am happy that the films at the International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino! come from so many different countries. Thanks to their diversity, children enrich their imagination and get to know other cultures.
I wish all viewers only great screenings and all Polish filmmakers more films for the young audience that they could bring to Poznań next year.
Jacek Bromski
President of the Polish Filmmakers Association
