Scores from Avatar: The Way of Water, Solaris and E.T. accompanied by extensive visuals, as well as experiments with surround sound technology will take our audience on a long journey to distant realms. The programme of our Festival will feature some of the most interesting new releases from Poland, as well as Academy Award-winning works by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Hans Zimmer. The composer of the score for Dune will perform live on the stage of TAURON Arena Krakow on 30 May.

“Faced by the challenges posed by the pandemic, as well as the war that broke out at our doorstep, many of us have taken refuge in cinematic works – either trying to glimpse into the future or relive the amazing films from our childhood. The headline of this year’s edition of the Film Music Festival – Out of Space – stands for everything that takes us to other spaces and responds to our longing to explore realms unknown. We are going to transcend the predictable formats and give way to experiments, exploring and provocations. One thing is certain: FMF will continue to stir emotions by asking essential questions,” says Carolina Pietyra, Director of the Krakow Festival Office, which organises the event together with the City of Kraków and RMF Classic.

The festival will take place between 23 and 30 May and this year’s centrepiece of the programme is the FMF Space Gala on Saturday, 27 May. The ICE Kraków Congress Centre will resound with scores by some of the best composers worldwide, including Simon Franglen (Avatar: The Way of Water) and Cliff Martinez (Solaris). The repertoire will also feature sounds composed for 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible by one of Britain’s most outstanding composers – Nainita Desai.  

The innovative space of ICE Kraków will offer something for everybody – our FMF4Kids event featuring the screening of E.T. with live music will take place on Sunday, 28 May. Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece has captivated audiences worldwide and continues to inspire new films, even though it has been four decades since its original theatrical release. Part of its allure lies in the Academy Award-winning score by one of the greatest composers of our day – John Williams. “Even today, I consider E.T. to be the film of my childhood… I still remember how impressed I was by the music and the story, which was really moving, albeit simple. We want to remind older members of the audience what it made them feel and share these emotions with children and youth. It is because we believe that E.T. is not a closed chapter in the history of cinema – to this day, it can connect viewers across generations,” says Robert Piaskowski, Artistic Director of the Film Music Festival.

Electronic music aficionados and all the listeners interested in new technologies will be at home during the Echoes of Space concert, slated to take place on Friday, 26 May at the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre. Immersive visuals and an advanced surround soundsystem will be the focus of the evening. The invited artists, including Gary Marlowe, create their own language, blurring the boundaries between symphonic music, ambient and electro-pop.

“One of the aims of the Film Music Festival was to constantly change and evolve in order to bring about new ideas and evoke new emotions; however, one thing never really changed – we keep coming back to the scores we fell in love with long ago. It is only fitting that the programme features compositions by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, one of our greatest friends, who is celebrating his 70th birthday this year. We have been playing his music, which exudes extraordinary sensitivity in RMF Classic since its inception –and it has been twenty years,” says Magdalena Wojewoda-Mleczko, RMF Classic’s programming director. The Kaczmarek2Cinema concert, featuring some of his most beautiful themes, including the Academy Award-winning score from Finding Neverland, will take place on Thursday, 25 May at ICE Kraków. The first part of the concert will showcase some of the most interesting new film and video game soundtracks by Polish artists.

On Monday, 29 May the gates of the NOSPR building in Katowice will be waiting for symphonic music lovers hungry for the works of Patrick Doyle. The ersity of the works by Doyle, who is also celebrating his 70th birthday this year, is simply unparalleled. His oeuvre includes music for popular comedies (Bridget Jones’s Diary), thrillers (Donnie Brasco) and fantasy films (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), as well as adaptations of British classics (Hamlet, Sense and Sensibility, Gosford Park). “One would be hard-pressed to imagine an artist more prolific and erse than Patrick Doyle – a composer who can masterfully wrangle melodies and paint detailed pictures of intimate worlds to highlight the psychological dilemmas of film characters,” says Piaskowski. Patrick Doyle’s participation combined with a spirited performance by the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra will certainly offer an unforgettable experience.

The final chord of the film music festival will sound on Tuesday, 30 May, during the festival’s partner event – and it is going to be a special occasion, since Hans Zimmer himself is coming to TAURON Arena Kraków. The winner of two Oscars, three Golden Globes and four Grammy Awards will come to Poland with a nineteen-piece ensemble and extensive selection of instruments. Zimmer’s monumental spectacles have won critical acclaim and the hearts of audiences worldwide. The programme features twelve suites with scores from Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Batman, Interstellar and Dune.

“FMF is not only about the concerts – we also focus on industry meetings, educational activities and much more! One of the key highlights of the programme is the Audiovisual Forum – a place for discussions for professionals and music aficionados alike. What is more, finalists of our Young Talent Contest can take part in workshops and recording sessions at the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice. However, there is more – the awards presented during the Festival –   Polish Soundtrack of the Year, FMF Young Talent Award and the Kilar Award – are going to turn the heat up to 11. And there is even more than that!” says Michael Łyczek, KBF’s Programming Director.

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FMF Audiovisual Forum programme

All events at Potocki Palace unless noted otherwise.

THURSDAY

12.00 | Press Conference
Robert Piaskowski, Carolina Pietyra, Paweł Pawlik, Simon Franglen, Łukasz Targosz, Aleksandra Twardowska-Kaczmarek
Host: Xymena Plater-Zyberk

14.00 | Jan A.P. Composer and Friend
Aleksandra Twardowska-Kaczmarek, Michał Merczyński, Robert Piaskowski, Andrzej Szchowski
Host: Katarzyna Janowska

15.15 | How to promote Polish film music?
Anna Laskowska (Sony), Marek Hojda (Music Export Poland), Maciej Zieliński, Daniel Cichy (PWM), Tomasz Jakub Opałka (ZAiKS)
Host: Tamara Kamińska (Music Export Poland)
Partner of meeting: Stowarzyszenie Autorów ZAiKS.

18.00 | INSTALLATION OF THE STAR OF JOHN A.P. KACZMARK | Vistula Boulevards
String Quartet from the Krakow Philharmonic – Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - "Dancing with the Bear" from the film "Finding Neverland"

FRIDAY

11.00 |  Festivals for climate
Marco Patrignani (FMF Rome), Pedro Merida (Fimucité), Dirk Brossé (FilmFest Ghent), Małgorzata Płysa (Unsound Festival)
Host: Carolina Pietyra (KBF)

12.15 | Jan A.P. Ambassador of Polish cinema
Paweł Sztompke, Aneta Kopacz, Irena Strzałkowska
Host: Łukasz Maciejewski

13.00 | Master Class: How to make Trailer Music
Host: Roy Lidstone (A&GSync)
Partner of workshops is Music Export Poland
*Closed meeting for participants of FMF YTA 2023 Master Classes

13.30 | Why do we live in a golden era of video game music?
Arkadiusz Reikowski, Igor Gałkowski (Digital Dragons), Jan Sanejko, Mateusz Lenart (Game Director - Bloober Team)
Host: Mariusz Borkowski
Partner of meeting is Digital Dragons

15.00 | Album premiere Wojciech Urbanski - EVERDOME (Original Metaverse Soundtrack)
Wojciech Urbański, Łukasz Alwast
Host: Jarek Szubrycht
Co-organizer is Everdome

SATURDAY

11.15 | Echoes of Space - surround sound in concert form
Simon Franglen, Hans-Martin Buff, Gary Marlowe, Marcin Błachnio (Yamaha)
Host: Magdalena Piotrowska
Partner: Yamaha/NEXO

12.30 | Music of Space - soundtracks in mountain films
Nainita Desai, Łukasz Targosz, Piotr Turkot (Krakowski Festiwal Górski), Miriam Cutler Host: Paweł Piotrowicz

13.45 | Electronics versus score
Graham Foote, Wojtek Urbański, Jan Sanejko, Nikiforos Chrysoloras
Host: Gorka Oteiza

15.00 | Coffee&PR Mentoring
Ray Costa, Annette Gentz, George Christopoulos, Maggie Rodford, Francesco Berta, Darell Alexander
Host: John Konsolakis
Finalists FMF YTA
*meeting closed for participants of FMF YTA 2023 Master Classes

SUNDAY

10.00 | Steven Price – meet&greet
Host: Yati Durant

12.00 | Simon Franglen – meet&greet
Host: Jarek Szubrycht

14.00 | Jan A.P. Dreamer - meeting around the exhibition | Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology st. M. Konopnicka 26
Host: Michael Łyczek

15.15 | IMMSANE: Presenting the MSCN Film Music Festivals Academy
Mateusz Bień, Miriam Cutler, George Christopoulos, Halldor Krogh
Host: Yati Durant
*meeting closed for participants of FMF YTA 2023 Master Classes

16.00 | Screening of Judyta Fibiger's film The soul of a piano | Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology ul. M. Konopnicka 26

16.00 | Porta w Pałacu x FMF presents: between the director and the composer. Meeting with film music.

Source: press release