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ROSE McGOWAN (president of the Jury of the Polish Dramatic Competition), RICHARD JENKINS (special guest) and AMERICA FERRERA (actress and producer of the film “The Dry Land” in the Sundance section).

 Rose McGowan is in possession of a very unique and characteristic looks recognisable in the cinema world. She is best known for her roles in TV series “Charmed” and “Nip/Tuck”, for her relationship with an eccentric musician Marilyn Manson and for her double role in Robert Rodriguez' and Quentin Tarantino's project “Grindhouse”. Thanks to the latter she got the opportunity to act in the newest “Conan the Barbarian” and the remake of the “Red Sonja”.

Although nowadays Rose McGowan is extremely popular with mass audiences, she is inseparably connected to the American indie cinema, where she was making her first steps and which she constantly supports. She was born in Italy, had some episodes of conflict with the law as a teenager, but finally found her safe haven in the cinema. First, she was working with Gregg Araki in the cult rebellious “The Doom Generation”, then with Mark Pellington in “Going All the Way”, John Shea in “Southie”, Darren Stein in “Jawbreaker”. The 1990's decade, however, she finished being famous as Marilyn Manson's girlfriend instead of a serious actress which she always had been. Only at the beginning of the 21st century did her name begin to get heard of in the industry. Starting with politically involved “The Killing Yard”, onto TV series “Charmed” through to “Grindhouse” where all the scenes belonged to her – a woman with a rifle in place of one leg. And though she had a few dates with Hollywood (Wes Craven's “Scream” prologue, Brian De Palma's “The Black Dahlia), deep inside she always remained faithful to the indie cinema.

 Richard Jenkins is an actor who played in almost 100 films, often stealing the thunder from the lead players in his supporting roles, at which he perfected. In the section devoted to his achievements entitled “Focus on: Richard Jenkins”, the Polish audience will be able to get acquainted with the richness of his acting skills. The films screened were carefully selected by the actor himself and include those projects he worked on. The screenings will be introduced by our guest and followed by Q&A's. Also a separate event is planned for meeting the festival audience devoted to acting craft of Richard Jenkins.

The cinema debut of Richard Jenkins, who was previously mainly a theatre actor, took place in 1974 when he played one of the roles in a TV production “Great Performances” in the episode “Feasting with Panthers”. His first silver screen role happened 10 years later, when alongside Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, Kevin Kline and John Cleese he played in Lawrence Kasdan's “Silverado”. The second half of 1980's and the 1990's meant for him strengthening his position as a characteristic supporting actor (“Hannah and Her Sisters”, “The Witches of Eastwick”, “Sea of Love” and many more). An important step in his career was a role in the cult HBO series “Six Feet Under”, where he was the senior of the family – Nathaniel Fisher. Another breakthrough was Thomas McCarthy's “The Visitor” (2007), where he played the main character for the first time; he was a college economics professor Walter Vale. This role brought him Satellite Award, nominations for the Independent Spirit Award and for the Oscar.

 America Ferrera first entered public consciousness as Betty Suarez, the main protagonist of the hit American TV series “Ugly Betty”. For her role she was awarded with an Emmy (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series), a Golden Globe (Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy). As is often the case, she was able to present her acting skills earlier – already in “Real Women Have Curves” for which she received a Special Jury Prize in Dramatic competition at Sundance, and was nominated for Best Debut Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards. For “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants“ she was also nominated for the Teen Choice Award. Ferrera comes to OFF PLUS CAMERA with her newest project “The Dry Land” in which she not only acts, but she also produced.

“The Dry Land” discusses a topic which until recently was totally unmentionable. It is the Post-traumatic stress disorder from which many American veterans suffer. James comes back home to a little town in Texas, having served a few years in Iraq and cannot find his place in reality. Despite having full support from this closest family with his lovely wife Sarah and his mother, he cannot deal with anyone and cannot forget his combat past. James' father-in-law hires him in his slaughterhouse, which only makes their relationship worse. The protagonist sinks deeper into his war memories, suffers from insomnia, and what's worse, cannot cope with the trauma following him from his past. Counting on two army mates to help him figure out the riddle of one of his actions in combat, James sets on a journey to seek them. When he finds them, both Raymond and Henry, it appears that neither of them can help given they both suffer from the same issue.