As the world shows overwhelming solidarity with Ukraine in the wake of Russian invasion of this country, the situation on the ground becomes increasingly dire. Over 2 million refugees crossed Polish border, with hundreds of thousands more reaching Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and other European countries. While the response in Poland has been overwhelmingly positive and open to people seeking refuge from war tearing up their country, there is an enormous need for humanitarian help from all around the world.
We understand that every donation counts and helps in such a desperate times, therefore decided to answer this call by donating all of the festival proceeds to SOS Children’s Villages Ukraine emergency appeal. Each ticket purchased for the Polish film showcased at the Kinoteka will result in a direct donation to the cause of supporting children and their families in Ukraine.
This call has been met with an immense support from our partner cinemas in London: ICA, the Prince Charles Museum, Riverside Studios, BFI Southbank and JW3.
The Price Charles Cinema director Gregory Lynn decided to match Kinoteka’s pledge and said: “We will donate all net receipts, Kinoteka’s and ours, to the charity supporting Ukrainian refugee children. Sounds like a good cause and we were already looking for a way to do something in support of Ukraine.”
SOS Children’s Villages provide urgent support to Ukraine: helping to evacuate children and families to safety, providing those still in Ukraine with food and other supplies so they can stay in lockdown and providing constant trauma support for staff, families and children whose lives have been thrown into chaos. The need for support is growing by the hour. Millions of people are expected to flee the war in the next weeks. As well as the children and families already cared for by SOS Children’s Village prior to the invasion, large numbers are expected to need help as a direct result of the war.
The Polish Cultural Institute in London is a proud organiser of the 20th Anniversary Kinoteka Polish Film Festival 2022, supported by the Polish Film Institute and IKH Productions. The Festival is opening on the 9th March and will last until 3rd April 2022. It will not only screen in some of London’s premier and most popular venues including the ICA, Prince Charles Cinema, Riverside Studios, JW3 and BFI Southbank but this year a select number of titles will play at Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema. As always, Kinoteka brings an eclectic mix of films across all genres from drama, comedy, social issues and documentary through to classics and will showcase the very best that Polish cinema has to offer. In addition to screenings there will also be special events such as Q&As and panel discussions. You can explore the full programme and book tickets online on Kinoteka website.
