A small budget, as it turns out in Rybnik, does not have to be an obstacle to making an interesting and meaningful photo festival. However, you need to have a personality, without that nothing will succeed. Nina Giba, supported by her husband Marcin Giba, a very good photographer, has such a personality, such a "something" that she is not denied.
Her energy, love of photography, charm and enthusiasm are contagious, which is why successive editions of the RFF are, as regulars say, getting better and better. It is difficult for me to judge, because I was in Rybnik for the first time, as well as the Krzysztof Candrowicz, head of the Fotofestiwal in Lodz, and who was also impressed by what was happening in Rybnik the previous weekend. I will not discuss the entire program in detail here, as you can find it HERE. Let me just say that I liked the entire program, perfectly constructed and executed. Everything that was planned took place, and what's more, every participant was able to take part in everything, because the events happened one after another, nothing happened at the same time.
It started with the opening of an exhibition at the Public Library The joy of photography - Wisława Szymborska in the lens of Joanna Helander, and immediately afterwards there was a meeting with a photographer who hails from Silesia, but has lived in Sweden since 1971, as she managed to escape the communist regime. This is one of several RFF analog exhibitions, with black and white prints. The following also had their five minutes in the Library. Marta Szymanska and Gosia Slomska, girls from Fotofestiwal in Lodz, who talked about their activities related to the Fortepan Archive, which collects private photographs illustrating everyday and festive life.
The next shows of the day were purely audio-visual. It began with a screening of the photocasts that won the contest. Ten 5-minute slideshows were shown: Michael Konrad, Mariusz Śmiejek, Magdalena Topczewska, Ireneusz Kazmierczak, Ewa Kilańczyk, Agatha Ogierman, Marta Pogorzała, Rafal Wekier, Katerina Kouzmitcheva i Veronika Krainskaya.
Photocasts have lost a bit of their popularity in recent years, so I was pleased to see the photographs with soundtrack on the big screen. Friday, the first day of the festival, ended in the nearby Rybnik Land Theater with a presentation of the effects of the workshop participants' work My fyrtel Organized by the Poznan-based team centered around Pix House with the Mariusz Forecki in the lead.
Unfortunately, these were no longer photocasts, i.e., precisely edited and sound-illustrated mini-movies, but displayed photos in sequence with commentary by the author or authors. The audience could ask questions, and their photographs were presented: Konrad Bryczek, Wojciech Chrubasik, Marta Ejsmont, Oleg Knitter, Aleksandra Kossowska, Dominik Księżyk, Sara Majcher-Wojciechowska, Aleksandra Mrówczyńska, Dagmara Nikiel, Agnieszka Nowacka-Witczak, Kalina Szajbe, Amadeusz Świerk, Andrzej Trawiński, Agnieszka Wanat and Łukasz Zgrzebski.
Saturday is the Historic Ignatius Mine. A beautiful post-industrial site that has become a cultural facility. It was here that the Open Gallery, a kind of photographic Hide Park, was presented, in which anyone who sent photos could participate. This is an obvious reference to the Homeless Gallery Andrew Swietlik i Tom Sikora. Analog black-and-white photographs certainly stood out in this show Gregory Pachla.
New home project curators Julia Szablowska, a Belarusian documentary filmmaker, features photographs taken by children and young people from Ukraine and Belarus who found themselves in Poland after the Russian aggression (the project began even before the war). A very moving exhibition.
Curators: Pawel Bownik i Witek Orski from the Lodz Film School showed the works of their students in recent years: Maciej Bernaś, Justyna Chrobot, Paweł Gizy, Natalia Godek, Patrycja Gotszling, Michalina Kacperak, Monika Łuczak, Magdalena Michalak, Łukasz Pawłowski, Filip Preis, Monika Sałyga, Michał Siarka, Agata Wieczorek and Tomek Wysocki. The show is called #Now.
Very interesting were the meetings with already well-known and established photographers, illustrated by projections of their photos. Michal Siarek told about the project Alexander, which is about modern Macedonia, and about his residence in a lighthouse in a tiny village on the northernmost tip of Norway. Patrick Bulhak in turn, presented two series, both created in defense of women - in Iran and Sri Lanka. Also interesting was the description of the method of work used in exotic countries, namely - free solitary wandering into the unknown with eyes and camera wide open, without the support of local guides (so-called fixers). This block ended with a no less interesting meeting with Justyna Mielnikiewicz, who has been photographing the Russian-Ukrainian conflict since 2014.
Sunday began on a strong note - the opening of an exhibition at the Fr. Emil Drobny Museum Wounded birds are distrustful Dyby (texts) and Adam (photos) Lachs, which presented some of the photographs from its latest book Reviews Lach's marriage. As the superintendent emphasized in his short speech Michal Luczak, it is a book and an exhibition: about something very important - about Poland.
Later, the RFF moved again to the Historic Ignatius Mine, where the Anna Michalak-Pawlowska gave a lecture on how to write applications for funding for photographic and other activities. She also imparted a good dose of knowledge about what mistakes not to make when applying for money. The next lecture was Light in a portrait Michal Massa Mąsior, and concludes with presentations Anki Sielska, Tom Tyndyk i Diana Lelonek.
Rybnik Foto Festival also includes meetings with photographic publishers and books, as well as representatives of photographic equipment manufacturers.
The exhibitions are still open:
New home project - Park Couples area in ZKI, exhibition open from 8.09.-01.10.2023, 24 hours a day
The joy of photography Joanna Helander - District and Municipal Public Library, exhibition open from 8-30.09.2023 during the opening hours of the Library
Wounded birds are distrustful - Museum named after Fr. E. Drobny, exhibition open from 10-30.09.2023 during museum opening hours
#Now - Historic Ignacy Mine, exhibition open from 8.09.-26.09.2023, during ZKI opening hours
It was a very successful trip. I saw a lot of good photography and met a lot of new interesting photographers. See you next year.
