“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “E.T.” were just some of the films recognized at the 16th Krakow Film Music Festival in Krakow, Poland. The festival concluded on Monday, wrapping up the celebration of this year’s celestial lineup.
“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,” said Carolina Pietyra, director of the Krakow Festival office, in a statement. “The headline of this year’s edition of the Krakow Film Music Festival – Out of Space – stands for everything that takes us to other spaces and responds to our longing to explore realms unknown.”
The festival’s Space Gala featured otherworldly film scores including Jóhann Jóhannsson’s “Arrival,” Cliff Martinez’s “Solaris,” Steven Price’s “Gravity” and Benjamin Wallfisch’s “Hidden Figures.”
The gala ended with the world premiere of Simon Franglen’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” suite. Franglen also presented his experimental work “Sunrise I Sunset,” a project commissioned by the Shanghai Tower.
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Suite Performance
Robert Sluszniak
Steven Spielberg’s 1982 classic “E.T.” was also screened at the festival with live music. “We wanted to remind older members of the audience what it made them feel and share these emotions with children and youth. We believe that ‘E.T.’ is not a closed chapter in the history of cinema,” said Robert Piaskowski, the artistic director of KFMF.
Closing out the festival was composer Patrick Doyle’s 70th birthday concert. His work includes scores for “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” “Donnie Brasco,” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
“Patrick Doyle is one of the most prolific and diverse artists of our time – a composer who can masterfully wrangle melodies and paint detailed pictures of intimate worlds to highlight the psychological dilemmas of film characters. The brilliant performance left us longing for the next year’s festival,” said Piaskowski.
The festival was set to end on Tuesday with a concert from renowned composer Hans Zimmer, but was canceled due to illness.
