Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

Colorful Polish avant-garde animation that follows liquid cats through an explosive background of color including an aquarium.

There is a classical music festival going on. The camera takes a look at the backstage, captures the last rehearsals, follows the work of the technical crew, costume preparations and the banter between the signer and the pianist. Backstage, fans are collecting autographs and take photographs with artists. This is the festival microcosm as seen from all possible perspectives. The stage seems to be somewhere far away as the process of music creation and the commotion that accompanies it is more important.

Portait of a couple in the city of the title who have been married for fifty years.

A lonely man wanders the streets of contemporary Warsaw. He reads the daily press, observes women in a beauty salon and follows the action on a film set. In each of the places he is just an observer, not a protagonist.

For years, they functioned on the Polish music market as "those who appear in the label Ninja Tune." Today Wroclaw duo refers to the tags of humor. "Oh look! Good Polish and appreciated abroad "- he laughs Igor Box and adds:" Our success has had a national character. We drew on the tradition of Polish jazz, and drew from it [...] our Polish vanity was met by [our] team. " During the concert, we will hear the following songs: 1. Intro 2. Test Drive 3. Konfusion 4. Break in 5. If Music Was that Easy 6. Simple Version 7. Sigma 8. Sea 9. Flying Officer 10. Sculpture 11. So Far 12. High 13. Not to Bad 14. Break out

An amateur recording of George Polednik's 60th birthday party that took place on February 14, 2009.

A purge in the style of those of March 1968 is to take place at a party meeting. Instead, it turns into a psychodrama.

Kucia's most recent film, Across the Field (1992), is his longest and arguably his most complex film in terms of imagery. In it, he applies many of the various techniques he has developed for his films over the years, the result being a rich collage of drawing, photographic images, and live-action film footage whose individual frames he has manipulated. This complex technique exists, according to Kucia, only as a vehicle to evoke the mood and emotion he wishes the audience to experience. This Impressionist approach to filmmaking is no doubt what inspired Marcin Gizycki to dub Kucia the "Bresson of Polish animated film."

Directed by Jonas Turkow.

Dederko takes a look at a daring idea that Jerzy Czapla, head of the Lodz homeless shelter on Szczytowa Street, came up with. His facility was in urgent need of renovation. To raise funds, he decided to organize an "urban survival" event. Homeless people from the shelter were to show "ordinary" people what their lives were like. They were to be guides who show their "charges" how they struggle to survive on the city streets. The participants of the project had a chance to see what it's like to function in a big city without a roof over their heads, meeting human contempt at every turn.

Jan Jakub Kolski sets out on a quest for the lost city of Eldorado, a place where the Incas took refuge before the Spanish conquistadors, where fabulous treasures were hidden. The film, which is testimony to the efforts and struggles faced by the exploration team, forms a kind of diary of the expedition, chronologically recording the daily events.

Two sisters from the Polish countryside travel to the south of France and compete for the attention of a wealthy woman.

Shot in late August 2024 in Warsaw, Poland; Waning articulates the very essence of fleeting moments of Vadim Kostrov’s life captured in fading late summer light. By using the dispositif of miniDV, the film preserves glimpses of beauty and melancholy of finitude, reflected in fading and almost violent light. As a result, this silent construction of light and shadow—abstract and concrete at the same time—brings us to another realm, proposing the projection of pure impressions and fleeting moments, helping us to feel what the waning really is.

Ludwik Hirszfeld could share his life story with several heroes. In his fate is reflected the history of the first half of the 20th century. The hero of the film was reborn despite the fact that the events in which he lived destroyed his life and achievements. Doctor, scientist, idealist. A forgotten hero. Known in the world more widely than in Poland. A scientist "from blood", which the world divided into "better" and "worse". He made difficult choices, went against the grain, believed that the world could be better. A cosmopolitan who could have continued his scientific career in Switzerland, but chose Poland. He could have lectured in America right after the war, but returned to Poland. His fate in the Warsaw ghetto is heartbreaking. Ludwik Hirszfeld's marriage to his wife Hanna is perhaps the most important choice he made in his life.

Experts in body language, linguistics and forensic psychology examine the words and actions of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew.

Mariusz and Monika are neighbors whose acquaintance began with a turbulent conflict. Mariusz, a musician, was notorious for hosting loud parties and jam sessions until dawn. For Monika, who lived on the fourth floor, the sleepless nights became torture, and her aversion to her noisy neighbor grew with each party. Everything changes abruptly when they are united by the loss of a mutual friend and a shared dream: the construction of a rehabilitation clinic for children with disabilities.

Rainbow is a 12-year-old exuberant vlogger who embarks on a journey to Hell City, a tourist resort owned by the Devil’s son, in search of her long-lost father. The voyage takes place in an old ice-cream truck driven by the girl’s brother, Alek. Contrasting with his adventurous sister, Alek is a melancholic spirit who finds solace in making music. During their journey, the siblings discover that their father, Klaus, traded his soul to the Devil to become a successful musician and a father capable of supporting a family (though it didn’t turn out as planned). Returning home won’t be easy, especially when Hell City proves to be alluring and Rainbow befriends the Devil, while Alek confronts his father. Despite the apparent pleasantness, there will be a price to pay. The greatest challenge for Rainbow’s family won’t be facing the Devil, but rather confronting the demons of their past and their own vulnerabilities to temptation.

A poetic, fictionalized documentary about the life and dangerous work of fishermen in a fishing village on the Baltic Sea.

Daria lives in Mexico with her five‑year‑old daughter Daphne and her husband Dave. Her peaceful life is shaken when she discovers that she is not the only child of her mother and that her biological siblings are located in Poland. Daria goes to her hometown of Toruń to explain the mystery.

300 years after the nuclear disaster in Eastern Europe, a new order has emerged. In eastern Poland, which is plagued by cannibals, mutants, and degenerates of all kinds, a demonic sect has come to power, and its high priest is obsessed with virgins and world domination. The sinister Confederation has laid its hands on Podlasie and seems determined never to let go. Fortunately for Białystok and humanity, three gunslingers arrive in the city, determined to end the new dark ages.

In a certain house in the kingdom of Lailonia live brothers and sisters. Each of them has different habits: Gia likes to smoke a cigar with a plume on his head in an armchair, Pepi has to hunt a few toucans before every breakfast, Kaku swallows barrel hoops, Heja wears ordinances on his back, and Hipa lassoes chimpanzees.

Crates fall onto the road from a moving truck, attracting the attention of two boys. One of the crates has a butterfly painted on it, which suddenly begins to fly. The boys run after it and end up in a shed where an old locomotive is parked. The younger boy climbs aboard and drives away. The older boy sets off after him on a handcar. They meet a stationmaster who informs them that another train is about to arrive on the same track as the locomotive. To avoid a disaster, he switches the points. The train is stopped. The boys say goodbye to the stationmaster and drive off towards the shed.

An anti-war poster. The words WAR, WAR flash across the screen. Meanwhile, in PEACE, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. It is decided by diplomats dressed in immaculately tailored suits, each of their gestures carefully considered. The moment the dignitaries turn and leave the room, they are equipped with military gear.

Professor Jerzy Węgierski, a Home Army officer and Siberian exile, recounts in the film the fate of soldiers from the Lviv District of the Home Army during the Soviet and then German occupation, during Operation Tempest and after its conclusion. The story is illustrated with unique photographs from the professor's collection. The film was made thanks to the cooperation of the Documentary Department of TVP 2 with the Home Army Film Foundation.

"Dream about Poznań" is a computer-reconstructed film showing the streets of Poznań from a hundred years ago. Five parts of the film have been released so far. We can see the most important places in Poznań - including the fairgrounds, Chwaliszewo, the railway station, the neo-baroque cathedral, Garbary, Święty Marcin street, the Old Market Square and its surroundings, Plac Wolności, Aleje Marcinkowskiego...

Bolek and Lolek go to an old castle. At night, they are frightened by a white mouse and an owl. As a result of their trip, the boys bring an old suit of knight's armor to the museum.

Propaganda encouraging people to vote "yes" three times in the (falsified by the communists) June 1946 referendum.

The film encourages people to support the referendum of June 30, 1946. It presents the referendum questions and precedes them with selected images that justify a positive answer. Are you in favor of abolishing the Senate? Are you in favor of the agrarian reform? Are you in favor of the new western borders of the country?

A documentary devoted to the Central Industrial Region.

Subtle observation of an everyday life of two refugees from Chechnya living in Warsaw, Poland, 10-year-old Magomed and his father Vakha, which becomes a story about human's love and dignity.

A tiny community lives quietly in the mountains of Oregon, seeking comfort in nature and one another while struggling with life's challenges. The hauntingly beautiful farmland, hidden and isolated, is home to horses and dogs, ex-cons and ex-addicts, drummers, dreamers and Bigfoot hunters.

A swing imposes its rhythm, independent of the commentator; it forms the rhythmic score for the filmmaker's singing.

These striking observations of a skiing competition for children in Zakopane make, at the same time, a little treaty about growing up. Innocent play in snow soon changes into a true competition where only the best can win. Adults get involved in the rivalry between children forcing them to continue gruelling efforts. The sound of a ticking stopwatch is a perfect complement to the story. At the end of the film, one of the boys rebels and leaves the run. He is not interested in the world of adults yet.

Michał ‘Gier’ Giercuszkiewicz is a master of percussion, primarily known for his membership in the legendary band Dżem. Soon after the front man’s death, he isolated himself in the mountains of Bieszczady to live on a raft. Despite the passage of time, his drums and plates did not become covered with dust and the artist is planning to record an album.

The short musical All my life is a love story that takes place over many years. After 50 years, Maria arrives with her husband at the 50th-anniversary celebration of the choir she belonged to. It turns out that Jan, an old love from her 20s still has strong feelings towards her. Can true love survive all this time?

A reflection on the general concept of creating a character – stage and social; it’s a story about a way to self-knowledge. The movie is a borderline between documentary and performance; during preparations for the evening drag show performers talk about the need for auto-expression, what “drag” means to them, and stereotypes rumored about them. As a definition “drag” is an exaggeration of feminity or masculinity, emotions, features, or behaviors not appearing in daily life but there is no one definition of what drag really is. During the intimate conversations they share their struggles, doubts and stories told completely with “no make-up”, through the prism of which we think we know them.

Polish war film.

Paid enforcer Roman R. is expected to kill at four in the morning. We observe the last moments of the executor and the victim up to their "direct contact". What the executor swallows before the action to gain an advantage, and then what happens in his brain? Why does he kill once and release a hostage once?

Once upon a time in America... Two friends - Anka and Dzastina - dream of a better life. When they decide to hitch-hike, an innocent adventure irreversibly changes their mutual relations.

The last six months of the life of a great athlete, gold medalist of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Janusz Kusociński, arrested by the Gestapo and shot on June 21, 1940.

The man drinks a cup of tea and taps the rhythm with his fingers. The insight into his thoughts shows the image of an airplane pilot who parachutes to tropical islands. He spends his life on fantasizing.

At sunrise, a peasant begins plowing. This iconographic motif becomes a caricature in the animation. The problem is that the peasant gropes, he plows through the legs of a resting peasant woman, railway tracks, a dining carriage, double bedrooms, office corridors, palace interiors, and meetings of diplomats. His march through the country is shown on TV. The peasant is really surprised to see a TV set in the rump of a horse. He crosses a crowded beach and disappears in the depths of the water together with the setting sun.

A reportage about a summer camp for art students, in which carefree youth in red ties break into song at solemn flag ceremonies and meetings. Commissioned by the Socialist Youth Association Board and a surprise for Wiszniewski fans, particularly those who are convicted about the director's aversion to contemporary political system, since it appears blantantly propagandist.