Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

The documentary explores the Labor Day at the Exhibition Industry in Lodz in 1912.

A five-part documentary travelogue exploring Namibia.

A stroll through a virtual edifice. Norman Leto develops here his interest in the computer-based construction of virtual worlds, blending the real and the imaginary. The interiors of the building merge hotel, exhibition and residential functions and have been modelled on those which exist in reality. However, among real objects there are some that belong exclusively to the virtual world. Sterile hotel lavatories host small shapes – the so-called “delegates”, i.e. units of artificial intelligence whose computer-controlled movements correspond to social processes translated to the language of mathematics. Some of the individuals in the group of “delegates”, however, are not fit to live in society – they function against the mathematical rules and generate chaos within the community.

A documentary on Zbigniew Rybczynski, spanning his entire career, from Kwadrat to his most recent Hi-Def works. Zbigniew is one of the great pioneers of the moving image; a true visionary whose influence and ideas can be found everywhere in contemporary filmmaking and advertising. Fascinating and moving in equal parts, Zbigniew discusses his life and experiences and how they have shaped his work. An incredibly eloquent and engaging narrator and storyteller, the man is as interesting as his creations— a beautiful mind, an extraordinary artist, and a remarkable man.

The documentary is composed of speeches and scenes from the Gdansk Club of the German Minority Association in Gdansk. The film's protagonists talk about how and why they joined the club and remember the days after the war when they had to decide on their national identity and where they wanted to belong. Those who decided to stay in Gdansk were not always welcome by Polish neighbors.

The last of Kolski's four travelogue documentary series, exploring French Polynesia.

A documentary history of the inhabitants of a Warsaw tenement house at 83 Złota Street, the so-called Bermuda Triangle, or Pekin if you prefer. Most of these people have lived in the tenement house for several decades. Now, however, they have all received eviction orders. Due to its poor technical condition, the building is to be demolished and replaced by a hotel or a huge shopping centre.

The film shows an attempt to persuade a young illusionist to join the party. In the film, these attempts are compared to the tricks of an illusionist who repels the party's attacks with its own weapon - slogan propaganda.

An in-depth interview with Grzegorz Królikiewicz, one of the great cinematic innovators of the 20th century (anyone who thinks this is excessive hyperbole need only seek out his Na wylot or Dancing Hawk).

Abstract, geometric forms, became the basis for the most outstanding works of the avant-garde sculptor Katarzyna Kobro. With her 'Spatial Compositions', she created her own artistic language, with which she aroused a lot of criticism, which was based on the traditional assumption that a sculpture should be a compact, modelled mass. However, the task of "Composition" was to shape forms that were to come into being. Kobro, however, still wanted to change the space surrounding people with her own art.

In the 1960s, the famous Icelandic film director Thrandur Thoroddsen, "a friend of all Poles visiting the island", as Tomasz Walat described him in his article, took up studies at the Łódź Film School.

The documentary presents the flora and fauna of Spitsbergen.

The report shows places connected with the life of the writer Stefan Żeromski: the cemetery where his parents are buried, the ruins of his family estate. Views from the village of Leszczyny in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains are interspersed with panels featuring quotations from "Puszcza jodłowa".

A reportage of the jubilee rally of Polish scouting in Spala. We watch the arrival of the participants, the setting up of the camp, the preparation of the meal and the prayer.

A short documentary about the life and work of Polish fishermen. In the background the port of Gdynia, by which before the war, Poland had access to the sea.

In the midst of picturesque rural settings, a troupe of dancers in regional costumes dance the kujawiak. The filmmaker, Eugeniusz Cękalski, was associated with the environment of the film avant-garde, hence the use of treatments unusual for a documentary film. "Kujawiak" is not only a recording of a folk dance, but above all an artistic reportage, showing the dancers from different perspectives in a rural setting, using close-ups and slow-motion shots. The film featured the Folk Theater Association's Dance Ensemble. "Kujawiak" is one of the films comprising the famous "Polish Dances" series (along with "Highland Dances," "Cracow Dances" and "Silesian Dances"). The entire series made its way to Great Britain before the war (for foreign distribution it was prepared in an English-language version), thanks to which it has been preserved until our times.

An actor tells and demonstrates what it was like to work on a film set in the silent era, while a sound recordist shows how much things have changed with the advent of sound cinema, demonstrating what sound recording is and what it looks like on film. The reportage is a unique opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of a pre-war film studio.

Documentary photographs of Warsaw by an unknown author, probably dating from the late 1930s or early 1940s. The film begins with a map indicating where the material was shot. We see, among others, a panorama of the Old Town from the side of the Vistula River and the Market Square and people walking around it. The shots are juxtaposed with photographs of the same locations, but after the war damage. We see, for example, ruined tenements, bullet and shrapnel holes in the façade details, tape stuck to the windowpanes at the time of the bombings, tons of rubble and devastated churches - the Archcathedral Basilica of St John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The film is a reportage, until recently unknown, found in 2015, showing the beauty of the mountains bathed in snow and the tourist attractions of Zakopane and its surroundings, including the Gubałówka cable car and the cable car to Kasprowy Wierch. Currently (2023), this is the only surviving pre-war reportage by Zbigniew Jaszcz, a cameraman who made documentaries in England and Scotland during the Second World War.

Wilno was one of the most important Polish cities, especially in culture. Here, a university where noblists like Czesław Miłosz learned is located.

A newsreel of the Chopin International Piano Competitions held in the Polish capital from 1927 onwards. The filmmakers sketched a history of Chopin’s relationship with Warsaw, and next made an attempt to sum up the story of the very competition, starting with its source and ending with its 13th edition held in 1995. The film has high documentary values, since the filmmakers collected rich iconographic and source materials. They tell the viewers how the competition evolved by showing the reality and artefacts changing with time. Thanks to fragments of newsreels, the coverage of the concert halls was completed with scenes played out in the wings, lobbies, hotels and on the streets of Warsaw.

The centennial of Frederic Chopin’s death was celebrated in 1949. The International Chopin Year was held under the auspice of UNESCO. Tadeusz Makarczyński’s film records renditions of Chopin’s mazurkas by entrants of the 4th Chopin International Piano Competition held in Warsaw in 1949. You can hear the performances of representatives from America and different countries in Europe: Halina Czerny-Stefańska and Bella Davidovich of the Soviet Union, the ex aequo winners of the 1st Prize; Carlos Rivero of Mexico, Yevgeniy Malinin of the Soviet Union, and Mireille Auxietre of France. Mazurkas are the essence of Chopin’s music and a symbol of Polishness; they are pieces which integrate young pianists from all over the world into one big “Chopin family”.

This short film depicting Bolesław Bierut and Michał Rol-Żymierski visiting the troops of the 1st Polish Army was produced by the Polish Army Film Studio.

An obese, naked man wanders through empty space. He hunts for emerging shapes. He sees tempting Venus of Willendorf, but her figure turns into a concrete block. He manages to knock her over. Satisfied, he doesn't predict that this is the first piece of the domino and it will eventually crush him.

The titular "panopticum" means "a set of personalities", the filmmakers focus on human cruelty. People are vengeful towards animals, they are cruel to each other. Finally, people themselves fall victim to a stronger creature.

Katowice is flooded, and a boy, actually a child, survived only on the roof of Superjednostka.

The Roma* in Poland are the largest and the most marginalised ethnic minority. Roksana identifies as both Roma (Gypsy) and Polish (Gadji). Employed as a teaching assistant, she works to keep Roma children in school as more than half leave education before the age of sixteen. She could be the perfect bridge, but each culture wants her to reject the other. Roksana, however, desires to belong.

After their home is destroyed by a disaster caused by the climate crisis in 2043, a family from the Island of Grain embarks on a perilous journey to find a better life.

An elderly woman no longer gets out of bed. She lives with her dog. Her memories blend with reality, and reality with dreams.

This captivating short animation film explores the parallels between a woman’s mental state and the life cycles of a river. The film delves into humanity’s connection with nature, reflecting on its wisdom, cyclical rhythms, and the wild instincts we all carry within.

In the silence of her home library, a woman discovers a book that opens the door to a world of hidden desires—but the night ends in the shadow of daily rituals, where silence speaks louder than words.

A black silhouette wanders across some empty white space. In the background, we could see shapes of different equipment items. The routine of everyday life emerges from the play of black and white forms. The contrast between black and white (privacy) turns into grey reality outside the building. Loneliness changes into the indifference of passers-by.

Swift is the smallest boy in school. No matter how he tries, he always gets it. This time he got beets. In his eyes, in his hair, under his fingernails and even behind his collar. This is what happens when a child doesn't listen to the cook. The beets must be eaten and period. Otherwise, one does not leave the cafeteria. All the children munch and fly to the break, and Swift is left alone with a portion of liquid evil. During such an encounter, only one thing arises in the boy's head - a plan of escape. Swift implements successive strategies, hoping to outwit the cook, but to no avail. Each failure is bought with more and more severe humiliation. The cook runs out of patience, and the boy runs out of ideas. How much will Swift have to sacrifice to preserve his dignity?

Intimate portrait of an artist Tadeusz Majda whose personality and work, despite the passage of time, still make themselves felt.

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

Past, Present, Future – Three orders determining the space of life. Distant, but without each other they do not constitute truth. They coexist as a sum, a stream of experience. The past stores memories, evokes sentiments, but also hides demons. There is no future, it may be dangerous. The present forces you to decide in what direction to go “here and now”.

Based on interesting photographic materials, a story about the man who stoked the furnaces in Adolf Hitler's Headquarters - Hermann S.

After a successful military career, the honored officer meets the spirits of his victims.

When Zachary visits his recent hookup, Adam, at his summer house, two visions of relationships collide and the summer atmosphere causes their deep yearnings to be exposed.

Two women, once united, now wander through life as shadows of their former selves. They could be sisters, friends, or represent two halves of the same soul separated by an inner conflict. Each has endured long periods of silence, absence of communication, support, and shared experiences.

A liberated grandma visits her grandson and tries to introduce him into the world of sexual relations with his own body.

A short story set near the local playground

A film version of a song about four paws that carry their owner, a friendly mutt, into the world.

​"Sceny ludowe w Polsce" (1898), directed by Bolesław Matuszewski, is a Polish documentary film that captures traditional folk scenes from various regions of Poland. The film was part of Matuszewski's efforts to document and preserve Polish cultural traditions at the turn of the 20th century.

"Wyścigi konne na Polu Mokotowskim" (1898) is a Polish documentary film directed by Bolesław Matuszewski. The film depicts a horse race that took place at Pole Mokotowskie, a large park located in Warsaw, Poland. This film is an early example of motion picture filmmaking in Poland and highlights Matuszewski's contributions to both documentary filmmaking and ethnographic cinema.