The International Film Festival TOFIFEST is a festival that stands out from others, because of its originality and rebellious nature. 

The trends in the development of the festival are shaped not only by the frantic rush of cinematography, but also by the creative chaos raging in the heads of artists, their creativity and the joy of creation. Yet one aspect has remained unchanged for so many years: the “innate” lack of any pomposity.

And how does TOFIFEST manifest its rebellious nature? Well, it is seen in each element of its functioning. It is a keyword that opens (and contains) the entire diversity of the festival’s programme, the functioning of the event in space, and even its visual identification.

This rebellious nature is the ideological backbone of the Festival. It is also the courage to present the work of unconventional authors, still unknown cinematographies, as well as a surprising combining of various essences of cinematography, in the festival’s programme. It is precisely this magnetising and creative unrest that we owe the uniqueness of our festival to.

We also say: “No” to the machine-made festivals. We want to “touch” the cinema with our own hands. That’s why TOFIFEST is a “handmade festival” — from A to Z. It is a festival without red carpets and an avalanche of camera flashes. It can charmingly and professionally measure doses of the cinema’s aroma, and can also be naturally nonchalant, providing unforgettable thrills, both for the notable guests and the audience themselves, among the scent of fresh oranges.

TOFIFEST is a festival of fascinating films, long discussions, making friends and unconventional education. It is a festival that opens the horizons of cinema to all — not just to the chosen few.

It is a festival of cinema eaters who take part in our festival feast. So chew Tofi!

I invite all of you!
Kafka Jaworska
Director of IFF TOFIFEST

Here we go. Eight days with cinema and at the cinema. 150 films, many magnificent guests, and controversial topics to discuss. Four competitions, Club 27, a problem with Islam and the future of cinema. There will be a lot to see and to talk about. We invite you to Tofifest in Torun, from 18th OCtober to 25th October, 2015.

This year, Special Golden Angel Awards for artistic insolence will go to Jan Peszek and Anna Dymna. Festival jury will include, among others, actor Joe Pantoliano from Matrix, and film director Anne Fontaine, author of Coco Chanel. British star Julian Sands will give a stage performance with a monodrama directed by John Malkovich, and the main thematic axis of the festival will be the mythical 'Club 27' and its cinema reception.

According to festival guests, the Tofifest Film Festival in Torun is the coolest film event in Poland. The success of the festival has been produced by combining film programme based on premières, recognisable cinema stars, and the beauty of old Torun, which provides perfect scenery. And all that may be the reason why it was possible to meet such great celebrities, as Geraldine Chaplin, Emanuelle Seigner, Jim Sheridan, Jiri Menzel, Krystyna Janda, Jerzy Stuhr, Janusz Gajos, or Wojciech Smarzowski, at Tofifest.

The leading phenomenon of Tofifest 2015 is the mythical Club 27. Enthusiasts of conspiracy theories classify all musicians, who died before their time, at 27, as members of the club, including Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, or Jimi Hendrix, the latter of which is featured on the official poster for Tofifest 2015. There will be an entire section dedicated to films presenting their lives. That will include two films made in 2015, i.e. 'Janis: Little Blue Girl' and 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'.

The ON AIR (full-feature films) and SHORTCUT (short films) main competitions are based on excellent debuts that have been awarded at prestigious film festivals, for example in Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, and Venice, but also on films that have been discovered and appreciated by the decision-makers that select films for Tofifest. Those discovered jewels include the Mexican candidate for Academy Awards 600 Miles and Icelandic Rams, as well as Sleeping Giant that has won awards at the TIFF, and Polish-Swedish co-production The Here After. Nearly all the films that to be screened as part of international competitions will have their POLISH PREMIERES.

Tofifest is referred to as 'a rebellious festival', since it has always reacted to the situation in the world. Therefore, we have included the 'Islam. The Near and Far East' section that will feature the Iranian New Wave and films by Muslim women directors about women living in Muslim countries. This will be the only section of this type, among all film festivals in Poland. The programme of this section includes The Cow, which was a milestone for Iranian cinema and won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice IFF in 1971, but also Nahid that has won an award in the Un Certain Regard section at this year's festival in Cannes.

Tofifest will also be the first film festival in Poland to show premières of many great films that have their international premières this year. The festival in Torun will see the première of From Afar / Desde Alla, which won the Golden Lion Award in Venice 2015. Similarly, Son of Saul by László Nemes, winner of the Palme d'Or award at Cannes 2015, will have one of its few Polish screenings at Tofifest. And to top it all off, there will also be a screening of Waves'98, a short film from Lebanon that has won the Palme d'Or award for short films at Cannes 2015, as well.

This year, Special Golden Angels awarded to people of cinema for their artistic insolence will go to two outstanding Polish actors – Jan Peszek and Anna Dymna – and to French director Anne Fontaine, who is the author of Coco Chanel with Audrey Tatou and Agnus Dei with Agata Kulesza (it will be released in 2016). The Angel for the Rising Talent of European Cinema will go to Umut Dag. 5 years ago, this Turkish director, who lives and works in Austria, won Tofifest with his debut film Kuma. Flisak Tofifest Film Awards, i.e. special awards given to filmmakers connected with the region of Kujawsko-Pomorskie, will go to actor Pawel Tchorzelski and German TV star Anna (Anja) Antonowicz.

Juries for each of the competitions will include, among others, Stefan Kitanov, director of Sofia International Film Festival, writer Wojciech Kuczok, or film director Agnieszka Smoczynska.

Summing it all up, the programme will feature the total of 150 films, divided into several sections, as well as concerts, fiery debates, and... night parties at a festival club, which this year is the legendary underground club Enerde.

Find more at www.tofifest.pl, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.