Polish Feature Film Competition Jury

An Oscar-winner for her role in ‘Pollock’, Sundance Festival Program Director, casting director of ‘Chicago’ and ‘Young Pope’, and one of Europe’s most prominent film critics will judge 10 films in the Polish Feature Film Competition at the 12th Mastercard OFF CAMERA.

Marcia Gay Harden has been appointed Head of Jury. The actress starred in over 60 films alongside such stars as: Robin Williams, Diane Keaton, Brad Pitt, or Anthony Hopkins. Academy Award Winner for her supporting role in ‘Pollock’ by Ed Harris. She became famous and won critical acclaim thanks to productions such as ‘Miller’s Crossing’ by the Brothers Coen, ‘Mystery River’ by Clint Eastwood, or ‘Irena Sendlerowa’s Children’. She starred in the film adaptation of the worldwide bestseller ’50 Shades Of Grey’.

Laura Rosenthal is a multiple award-winning casting director. For the last 25 years, she has colaborated with such renowned film directors and visual artists as Todd Haynes, Lisa Cholodenko, Paolo Sorrentino, Woody Allen, Jim Jarmusch, Joachim Trier, Doug Aitken, and Francesco Vezzoli. Emmy award winner for ‘Olive Kitteridge’ and ‘Mildred Pierce’. Thanks to her decision, Catherine Zeta-Jones amazed us in ‘Chicago’, while Jude Law became… ‘The Young Pope’. She chose the entire cast of films such as ‘Carol’ with the outstanding part by Cate Blanchette, ‘The Kids Are Alright’ with Julianne Moore, Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo, and the award-winning ‘Far from Heaven’ directed by Todd Haynes.

Kim Yutani oversees the selection of films which appear at the annual feast of independent cinema – the Sundance Film Festival. Last year, she took on the role of Program Director. Prior to that, she spent many years building the prestige and brand of the event. She represented the Sundance Institute by sitting in the juries of international competitions and building relations with the greatest personas of independent cinema. She was included in the list of 100 most influential people of Asian descent in culture.

Jonathan Romney is one of the most brilliant and insightful film critics in Great Britain. His reviews regularly appear in ‘The Independent’, ‘The Observer’ or in the international industry magazine ‘Sight & Sound’.

Who will win the PLN 300,000 Kulczyk Foundation award? We will know on May 4th. The Polish Feature Film Competition is part of the ‘The Image of the World / A World of Images’ project completed during the 12th International Festival of Independent Cinema Mastercard OFF CAMERA. You will find more details on the website www.offcamera.pl

Mastercard OFF CAMERA Main Competition Juror

Allan Starski, Oscar-winner for scenography in the ‘Schidler’s List’, will preside the ‘Trailblazers’ Main Competition Jury during the 12th Mastercard OFF CAMERA. The decision whom to award the USD 100,000 Cracow Film Prize will belong to Anna B. Sheppard, Ellen Kuras and Roger Mitchell.

Allan Starski is one of the world-famous scenographers from Poland, active both in film and theater. He was awarded the Oscar and the Los Angeles Film Critics Prize for his scenography to Steven Spielberg’s ‘Schindler’s List’. Author of scenography to 14 films by Andrzej Wajda (i.a. ‘Man of Marble’, ‘Panny z Wilka’, ‘Danton’, ‘Pan Tadeusz’). He collaborates with the best Polish and foreign directors i.a. Agnieszka Holland (‘Europe, Europe’, ‘Washington Square’), Roman Polanski (‘The Pianist’, ‘Oliver Twist’) and Peter Webber (‘Hannibal Rising’). A laureate of numerous film awards including the French CESAR for ‘The Pianist’.

Anna B. Sheppard has worked on five continents with the most acknowledged film directors of our time. She completed over 40 major film projects. Her work was acknowledged with three Oscar nominations (‘Schindler’s List’, ‘The Pianist’, ‘Maleficent’), a nomination to the BAFTA commission and the CESAR award. A multiple collaborator of Krzysztof Zanussi, she created costumes to his films in the 1970’s and 1980’s. She was responsible for costumes to productions such as i.a. ‘Band of Brothers’, ‘The Insider’ (dir. Michael Mann), ‘Oliver Twist’ (dir. Roman Polanski), ‘Shanghai Knights and Fred Claus’ (dir. David Dobkin), ‘Inglorious Basterds’ (dir. Quentin Tarantino). Her latest work is ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’.

Roger Mitchell is a theatre and film director. He gained worldwide popularity in 1999, when he directed the comedy ‘Notting Hill’. He is the maker of such titles as ‘Morning Glory’ with Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams, ‘Enduring Love’ with Daniel Craig, or ‘Changing Lanes’ with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. He is currently working on his new film, ‘Blackbird’ with Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet.

Ellen Kuras is an experienced film and photography director. She won an Oscar for the feature-length documentary ‘Betrayal’. A two-time Emmy laureate. She was the director of photography in cult films as ‘Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, ‘Rolling Stones: Shine a Light’ directed by Martin Scorsese, or ‘Blow’ with Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz. Recently, she directed new episodes of the series ‘Ozark’ and ‘Catch 22’, George Clooney’s newest production. She is the fifth woman to be invited to the American Association of Photography Directors, and one of the youngest members, who were invited to join the Academy in 1997.