ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Since its inaugural edition, the Two Riversides Festival has been noted for its unconventional approach to cinematic art. The event’s core objective is to bridge the gap between creators and audiences, integrating film with literature, music, and visual arts — the various domains that the Seventh Art draws from. This artistic project deviates from mainstream cinema, targeting connoisseurs and enthusiasts of film and other arts. The Festival’s strength lies in its daily opportunities to engage with renowned artists and emerging talents.

BNP Paribas Two Riversides is an interdisciplinary cultural event showcasing valuable Polish and international films: premieres, significant films from the past year, and works crucial to the development of global cinema, alongside theatrical performances, exhibitions, concerts, and other events. Previous editions of the Festival have garnered significant interest from the public and media, receiving enthusiastic reviews. Building on past experiences, we aim to continue the concept of integrating various art forms, with film serving as a focal point for the other presentations.

What sets the Festival apart is its fusion of different art forms and its facilitation of informal interactions between audiences and artists: we’ve replaced the red carpet with a festival café where everyone can meet their favorite creators. The Festival targets those who use culture to escape the commercial world. For them, we create a program emphasizing direct engagement with cinema: meetings with directors, actresses, leisurely conversations, and reflections inspired by screenings.

The film program includes auteur, artistic, independent, socially engaged cinema, innovative new cinema forms, and emerging European cinema. The Festival spans Kazimierz Dolny, Janowiec nad Wisłą, and nearby areas, such as the village of Mięćmierz. This approach extends the program to the local community and culture. A significant aspect of the program is the presentation of works by local artists and creators, allowing them to showcase their work to audiences from across Poland. At our Festival, a regionally popular artist is presented alongside a globally renowned creator, illustrating art as an interconnected flow of ideas and artifacts.

The Festival’s goal is to broaden the Polish film offer. With years of experience collaborating with other festivals, it features films awarded at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary, San Sebastián, and Rotterdam. The Festival also presents productions that do not make it to Polish cinemas. In collaboration with film schools from Poland and abroad, a short film competition is held, aimed at creating a debut platform for young creators and directors.

The Festival seeks to expand public knowledge about cinematic art, highlighting the creative areas that contribute to a film: literature, visual arts, music, and photography. The program is designed to give viewers a chance to learn more about a film’s historical, cultural, literary, and artistic context.

Festival events are accompanied by a Polish-English catalog that provides information on all activities and serves as a promotional material for the Festival abroad. Additionally, a free daily festival newspaper, “Głos Dwubrzeża,” is published.

The Artistic Director of BNP Paribas Dwa Brzegi is Grażyna Torbicka — a renowned TV presenter and reporter on film topics, member of the International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI, and recipient of the Silver Medal Gloria Artis for contributions to Polish culture. From 1996 to 2016, she hosted the film magazine “Kocham Kino” on TVP2, focusing on cinematic art, promoting, and educating in the field of auteur and artistic cinema. The program featured major figures in Polish and global cinema and earned her the Polish Film Institute Award in 2009. She has been associated with the Festival since its first edition.

Wstęp tylko po odebraniu zaproszeń:

Biuro Festiwalu (ul. Szkolna 1).

Odbiór będzie możliwy na 2 dni przed wydarzeniem.

(do wyczerpania miejsc)

w godzinach:
09:00-14:00 i 16:00-20:00.

Jedna osoba może odebrać maksymalnie 2 zaproszenia.

Liczba miejsc ograniczona.