From July 4 to 12, Sopot will once again become the cinematic capital of Polish summer. The 26th Sopot Film Festival will take place here — one of the largest film festivals in the country. The program includes over 100 films from around the world, three international competitions, prominent Polish premieres, and meetings with directors. Tickets and passes are already on sale
The festival will be held at several venues in the city: at Centrum Promenada (formerly Multikino), Scena Kameralna Teatru Wybrzeże, Teatr Boto, Goyki 3 Art Inkubator, as well as outdoors — on the beach and at the racetrack in Sopot
The main event of the program will be a complete retrospective of Joachim Trier. Audiences will be able to see all of the director's key works — from his debut film "Reprise" to "Oslo, August 31st," "Thelma," and the Oscar-nominated "The Worst Person in the World." His new film "The Sentimental Value," which won the Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival, will also be shown.
The festival program also features new films by Andrei Zvyagintsev, Paolo Sorrentino, Jim Jarmusch, François Ozon, Park Chan-wook, Naomi Kawase, Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Carla Simón. One of the most anticipated premieres will be Andrei Zvyagintsev's "Minotaur" — another Grand Prix winner at the Cannes Film Festival. Among the main Polish premieres is Paweł Pawlikowski's film "Home."
A special place in the program is reserved for a retrospective of director Agnieszka Smoczyńska. The festival will showcase her films "Córki Dancingu," "Fuga," and "The Silent Twins," with meetings with the author after each screening
Another important event will be the premiere of the film «Spiritus Sanctus» by Gdańsk director Michał Toczko, previously presented in the Cannes Film Festival program. After the screening, audiences will have the opportunity to meet the creators of the film and actor Sebastian Stankiewicz.
Audiences can look forward to thematic programs: "Kino Dalekiej Północy," dedicated to Scandinavian cinema, the "Bez Tabu" section featuring films on pressing social issues, and the largest program "Spectrum," which brings together the most prominent premieres from the Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto film festivals. A separate section "Spectrum Pomorze" will introduce viewers to regional cinema
Some screenings will take place outdoors. On the beach, the director’s cut of Luc Besson’s film «The Big Blue» will be shown in a silent cinema format, where sound is transmitted through wireless headphones. At the racetrack in Sopot, cult films such as Peter Weir’s «Picnic at Hanging Rock,» Sofia Coppola’s «The Virgin Suicides,» and David Lynch’s «Lost Highway» will be screened. The program will be complemented by the concert «Can You Hear the Music?» dedicated to music from films like «Oppenheimer,» «Gladiator,» and other well-known works.
The full festival program is available on the official website.
Competition Program
The competition program traditionally includes three sections: the international debut competition 1-2-3 GO!, the Polish documentary film competition DOK.PL, and the short film competition — the oldest section of the festival. This year, the organizers received over 2,000 applications, from which more than 40 short films were included in the program.
Ticket Prices
The price of a ticket for one screening is 26 zlotys, with a discounted price of 22 zlotys.
A named pass for five screenings costs 110 zlotys, and a unlimited festival pass is 200 zlotys.
Tickets for the concert will cost between 110 and 135 zlotys, for the beach screening of «The Big Blue» — 26 zlotys, and for the closing film «Minotaur» — 35 zlotys.
The organizers emphasize that this year tickets are sold only online — there will be no box offices at the festival venues.
