Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

A young cinematographer is hired to work on a puppet film. Soon a tragic accident occurs on the set of production.

A parody of early cinematic conventions and a mockery of the movie audience, which gets excited about a bloody melodrama featuring a love triangle and a revolver, and protests when the animator, at the request of some commission, changes the finale into one deprived of blood.

Two friends enjoy a balloon ride.

The film tells four personal stories of one Crimean Tatar family. Their story concentrates, as in a lens, the extensive experience of people living under occupation. The difficulties, which affect this family, are experienced by the larger community and evolve extreme emotions. The main motive of the film is not the regime and the occupation itself, but its consequences, how it affects the lives of ordinary people who simply want to live, to love and to have a family.

Reportage from Singapur.

A short film from Barbara Bialowąs.

KSW 97: Bajor vs. Scheffel was a mixed martial arts event that took place on Saturday August 24, 2024 at the Jaskolka Arena in Tarnow, Poland.

The history of the "multi-generational house" community and its founder. DOM WISŁA is more of a squat, an enclave of normality, values ​​and local folklore, a lonely and wild island on the map of a hostile district of a large city. And Kuba, who runs it, is the same. This house is his whole world, his only family. He built it on secrecy and now it's all falling apart.

A pandemic, a time of hard lockdown, when contact with other people is severely limited. The most common means of communication are online conversations, which the director uses to talk to people who, like him, are stuck alone in their apartments.

Thirty-year-old Marta desires to break free from the influence of her domineering mother and leave the family home.

2-3 minute short films on 7 deadly sins by 7 amateur directors from 7 different countries.

An edited film composed of excerpts from television recordings that, for various reasons, did not make it on the air.

A young raspberry ice cream vendor named Gyom lives with his wife Mek-Mek in Lailonia, in the city of Batum. Since he believes that only older men can get good jobs in Lailonia, he decides to change his appearance. He grows a beard and a mustache, but it turns out that this is not enough to be considered an old gentleman. So he buys a bowler hat, glasses, an umbrella and wellingtons. He becomes an old gentleman and thanks to this he gets a job in a hotel as a "removalist" of flowers from vases.

A document by Wajda studio

The film title alludes to a traditional Polish mourning song, which was included on the album ‘Rzeczy ostatnie’ recorded by the band Polskie Znaki. The project aimed to dust off folk music, which for centuries had put people at ease with regard to death before it became a taboo in modern culture. The story of the album is at the same time an essay on passing away.

Bianka spends her days alone in a large house, lives in the rhythm of repetitive activities and tries to get at least a little warmth from her mother.

A man doing the ironing on the ground floor of a tenement house observes the yard.

An elderly man, Vakho, lives alone in a deserted village high in the Kazbegi mountains. He leads a humble life, his only company are his goats, and grazing them has become his daily ritual. The man is haunted by the memory of a prophetic dream, foreshadowing the tragic events for which he punishes himself with seclusion.

A report from a student’s festival in Kraków. The history of this event dates back to the 15th century in Poland. Statues and knights at Wawel remain unmoved until they fall into the rhythm of joyful fun.

A new boy goes to a boarding school for deaf children. He does not speak, he cannot sign, there is no contact with him. A deaf girl helps him find himself in the new world but it soon turns out that the boy doesn't fit in here either.

A story about two girls who meet during the holidays, get to know each other well and become inseparable friends.

How'd you find me / I've tried to stay hid? / As that underground kid / In crimson tight fits...

Free admission, limited number of seats. There are no real musicians anymore today. What is left is a handful of buffs cultivating folk sounds. Adam Strug, a performer and promoter of traditional music, is our film guide to this world.

Every third woman in the world married as a child comes from India. From an early age, they are taught meekness and obedience. This is to prepare them for marriage. They often become wives long before they reach the age of puberty. They become pregnant almost immediately after they get married, which poses a serious threat to their health and life. Also, underage wives have no chance to continue their education. They remain completely dependent on their husbands and in-laws for the rest of their lives. About 23% of girls from India experience this fate every year.

Archimandrite Gabriel -- an Orthodox monk from the Podlasie province in Poland -- is the founder and sole inhabitant of the Kudak grove hermitage by river Narew. During his first few years there, he lived and prayed in a wagon house, without electricity, running water, or contact with the outside world. After five years, thanks to the help of people of Orthodox faith from local villages, the grove saw the rise of a wooden church, a dormitory for monks, and outbuildings. Pilgrims are drawn to the place by archimandrite Gabriel's personality: he can find common ground with anyone, he grants spiritual advice, heals with herbs, and keeps bees. When necessary, he rolls up his sleeves and works on building the hermitage right alongside everyone else. The archimandrite's biggest concern is finding a successor. Prospective monks don't last long in the hermitage, however. They can't stand the lack of access to civilization, common comforts, and contact with their peers.

Bolek and Lolek repeat the legendary shot to an apple. Bolek places an apple on Lolek's head and shoots a crossbow.

Former Miss, a retired hairdresser – Elżbieta, with an encouragement from her son, decides to take part in a mature beauty contest. She is scared that she won't be able to go through with it. Especially when she finds out that she will be competing against a rival from the past... The potential title is supposed to give Elisabeth a chance to rebuild her self-esteem and start a new chapter of her life. During the contest Elisabeth discovers her son's secret.

A supporter of Legia Warsaw, a member of the subculture of skinheads, discovers his Jewish origin. After several months, he lives like an orthodox Jew. How was his enlightenment and how were people’s reactions?

Short documentary depicting Arabian horses in the Polish countryside.

Over a series of still photographs the director asks ordinary people about their lives, hopes and fears.

A film about the international community of people fascinated with World War II, who fulfill their ambitions in computer games. They take the role of pilots of flying machines during WWII and participate in air battles in real time. Some of them treat it as a hobby, but for many of them the game has become their life. Has a new human species been born - Homo Virtualis?

Film by Victor Asliuk featuring the artist Viktar Kabac, shot in Poland.

Lady Death is dying of boredom at work. After accidentally turning Grandfather George into a “Stuck Soul,” she must stay on Earth to help him finish his life mission. Living with his eccentric family — a spiritual dog, gothic teen Nikoleta, and fitness-obsessed Vita — she decides to explore human life and experience summer love. Instead of romance, she finds ghosting, sunburns, and beach days. But through it all, she discovers something greater: a deep love for living. She gives up immortality to live as a human — short, messy, but real.

Nadia, an arrogant girl with cerebral palsy, and her tough mother Iwona, attend a lavish wedding. While the two are staying in a guest hotel room, Iwona loses consciousness. Half paralyzed, Nadia must rise above her limitations, urgently call for help and learn to care for others.

The film enters into a dialogue with biographism as a method of interpreting art, while also showing that it is impossible to escape biographism entirely. Its creators recognize the value in the attitude of avant-garde artists, which lay in overcoming life’s adversities and pushing their imagination beyond what others consider an insurmountable horizon. In this film, nothing is as it actually happened—and this not-happening is intentional. By watching situations that never took place, we can draw conclusions about the things that did. The viewer steps into the role of a detective, because a crime has been committed in this story. Among the suspects are: Fanny Kaplan, who attempted to take Lenin’s life; Fritz Haber, the father of chemical warfare, and his wife, who took her own life in despair; as well as the cities Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Łódź.

A portrayal of a woman from a Caucasian village in Dagestan who adopts a nonconformist attitude in the patriarchal world. Her decision is very brave because strict social rules based on conservative Islam are not favorable to women. The protagonist has a secret weapon at her disposal: persistence, steadfastness and determination gained under the Soviet Union, when she was a wrestling champion.

A figure walks through empty space until it comes across walls that leave a permanent mark in it. It is possible to get rid of the mark with the help of another person, but passages through other walls will be more and more difficult. Instead of leaving traces, they will take over the figure’s individuality.

Lea is preparing for her big Jewish wedding, which she doesn't really want to attend. She prefers meeting random guys on dating apps. Her latest tryst ends in disaster, and she, possessed by the ghost of her lover, must fight to regain control of her life.

A tale of love in a world you can't see.

A family lives in a small village in the middle of nowhere. The father (Maniek) runs away from growing financial problems. He believes that trying to break the absurd world record could solve them. His wife (Miłka) carries the burden of everyday life on her shoulders. Maniek, who cannot express his feelings in words, focuses his attention on beloved pig. The increasing stress overwhelms parents, and this affects the children. Only a strong event can bring about change. When the illusion bursts like a balloon, it turns out that beyond male ambitions there is something much more important: the need for feelings and true closeness.

A music and dance story about the phenomenon of the popular and adored by teenage girls Julia Zugaj. The influencer, youtuber and singer has built one of the largest and most devoted online communities in just a few years.

In the oldest forest in Europe, the border between Poland and Belarus is marked by a large fence. Its purpose is to make it harder for refugees to enter the European Union. But what kind of collateral damage does it cause? The short film Bloodline chooses a clever, thought-provoking perspective, focusing not on humans, but on a bison.

The history and present of the painting of Our Lady of the Dawn Gate. The cult of the painting was local for a long time, which changed in 1834 with the publication of "Pan Tadeusz".

Throughout the 60s and 70s, rumors persisted about children being kidnapped by the KGB throughout Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Ukraine. This film details the terror that a small town in Poland experienced during a wave of abductions.