Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

Short tribute to Valie Export.

Behold! A new block is born. At its edge, on top, sits a youth - not to jump off but to experience the relentless, temporary bombardment of beauty from all directions. (Pronounced 'Nirvitz') Music used: Pepsipurgatory (ME) - 'Rymkom' The Gerogerigegege – 'ゲロゲリゲゲゲ (The Gerogerigegege)'

A great dose of humor during a celebration of one of the most popular groups. Roman Zurek, Radoslaw Bielecki and Michal Gawlinski have been entertaining audiences with jokes on a variety of topics for years. The concert "Neo-Nówka. Twentieth Anniversary" was full of improvisation and novelty, but there was no shortage of legendary figures. The Paciaciaks and Wandzia appeared on stage, and the artists also presented new versions of the famous skits "Christmas Eve" and "Heaven."

An animated essay on the color blue in 20th century art inspired by, among others, Eadweard Muybridge, Wassily Kandinsky, and Kazimir Malevich.

Polish Film Chronicle was famous for its style, resembling a report, and for its witty commentaries. This special edition is about dogs and the voiceover was recorded by Kazimierz Rudzki.

A film with Robakowski's characteristic single-shot structure, filmed from the perspective of a character who struggles to walk along a forest path, constantly complaining of nagging pain in his leg.

He was tall, athletic. He liked to swim, worked as a lifeguard on the beach, wanted to get married. A fictionalized documentary about 21-year-old Jan Stawisiński, who was fatally shot by ZOMO during the bloody pacification of the Wujek mine in Katowice on December 16, 1981.

The "Rockowisko" Rock Music Festival was one of the most popular festivals of the 1980s in Poland. The report documents the latest, sixth edition of the festival, which was held at the Sports Hall in Lodz. The review's organizers note with regret the declining interest in rock music in Poland, which has affected concert ticket sales. In 1986, despite high financial outlays on advertising the festival, only 2,000 tickets were sold (for comparison - sales in 1981 amounted to 30,000). In the eyes of the audience, the festival has become commercialized, the invited bands do not play for ideas, for people, but for money. In behind-the-scenes conversations between organizers and journalists, we hear that the whole culture is in crisis, due to the economic crisis in the country, but also point to the marasm on the Polish rock scene, the lack of an invigorating sound that would attract crowds of people to concerts.

A ballet impression with the participation of pantomime artists, recorded during a rehearsal in the studio and outdoor locations.

Few things make people as happy as an empty compartment on an overnight train. Then you know that you can spend all night only with your own thoughts in the transient neon light that pierces the darkness violently. A rhythmic clatter helps to enter a trance. Time melts away. The darkness of the night floods the compartment. Let no one sit down.

In August 2020, people gathered on the steps of the Belarusian State Philharmonic in Minsk to protest against the fraudulent presidential election. Holding signs that read "Our voice has been stolen", they stood up to the violence by singing together. Although the authorities pacified this spontaneous gathering, musicians soon began to appear on protest marches in shopping centers and subways, each time inspiring people with songs about the dignity, courage, fate and faith of Belarusians. This is how one of the symbols of the Belarusian resistance movement - the "Free Choir" - was born .

The story of an American of Polish origin - Julian Kulski, who as a 15-year-old fought in the World War II and the Warsaw Uprising. Son of the president of Warsaw, who saved hundreds of Jews and members of the Polish resistance movement from death.

Young Polish comedians Rafał Banaś and Michał Leja present a high-energy stand-up show at Warsaw's Klub Hybrydy

A visit in the painting studio of Teofil Ociepka, a Silesian naive painter. The raw landscape of Silesia contrasts with the colorful, fantastic world of his imagination.

The protagonists of the film, the patients of the hospice, teach us what life really is and what it could be if we just stopped for a moment to look, talk, hug and breathe.

Visual representation of various dream themes that explore the human subconscious explained using animations, colors and sounds.

An angel and devil fight for the soul of a drunkard who cannot resist just one more drink.

For seven minutes Waśko filmed the wall of the Film School in Łódź; he then cut up the film stock, mixed up the fragments and edited them together randomly. In effect, the only stable element of the film is the flat, unchanging wall. Because of the editing method, what is happening in front of the wall (people walking, electric carts passing by) can never be finally established. The artist thus prevents the illusion of three dimensions from materializing. He draws attention to the flat wall, which in turn recalls the flatness of the film stock. Therefore, like The Straight Curve, Wall features an attempt at reducing the 3D illusion of the film to two-dimensionality, more adequate to its physical properties.

Taking you to the space of the subconscious and give you the impression that – just as with dreaming – you’ve generated the images yourself, though you don’t know how or why.

Short documentary about the life of foreign students studying at the University of Lodz and living in a dormitory for foreigners.

Short Animation.

A two-wave, intimate drama; psychological study of single women.

The everyday life of a lonely pensioner revolves around a dog and a TV set. The failure of the receiver forces him to contact his neighbor.

Jerzy loses his job and falls into alcoholism. However, his life changes when he wins a televised contest.

A crisis of feelings, mutual misunderstandings. The man leaves his partner and drives the car along a forest road skidding. The drivers manage to avoid an accident, but when, after a short walk to calm his nerves, he tries to return to the car, he does not find the way back. He does not know yet that he has entered a dangerous area - into the thicket of his shaky self. Will he find relief and reconciliation thanks to his wandering through this mysterious, disturbing "inner" world of memories, desires, dreams and dreams with your partner and yourself ?

After years spent in the city, Król returns to the countryside, where he meets Gypsy Iwo Pikor.

Eleanor is staying in a sanatorium for the nerve-wise. She claims to be the daughter of the owners of the manor house in which the hospital is located. Nobody, except the old watchman, believes her stories. One of the nurses, along with a young apprentice, steals food parcels sent to Eleonora. He also tries to counteract the awakening of sympathy from Dr. Majerad, who runs the sanatorium, to Eleonora.

Two strangers meet in a broken elevator.

The film tells the story of a violin belonging to a man, Rothschild.

Mother & son--lonely woman & coming-of-age man. Entangled in a claustrophobic love-hate relationship, power struggle with sexual overtones, psychological MATCH--they spar with one an other round-by-round, scoring points and taking losses, as they move through the mundane routines of life, until one day one of them delivers a knockout blow.

Zygmunt Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general who fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century.

A zoo employee learns about the criminal intentions of his neighbor and her partner. The man follows the couple.

The Maritime Chamber investigates the case of a ship that crashed and sank while entering port.

A young scientist earning extra money as a salesman gets involved in the death of a drug addict.

A lecturer is beaten. The attacker seeks help from a well-known lawyer supporting criminals.

A forester living far from civilization looks after a Jewish boy - a fugitive from a Gestapo transport.

Seniors living in the town of Laski protest against the iniquities of current local celebrities.

The film shows life in a dormitory, a world of indifference and apathy in which some eat, sleep, heal a hangover, others make love, and still others have fun at the expense of others. One of the students is assumed to climb the lightning rod to the top of the building. During its 'ascent' we look into the apartments on the next floors and observe the lives of their inhabitants. At some point, our hero falls and dies. Will this unnecessary death move life in the 'desert'?

The sons sell their father's farm and take him to the city.

A group of young architects have a chance to take part in an ambitious project. Will they have enough resilience to face the problems which await them?

A married couple are involved in a fatal car crash. The man dies and the television prepares material about him.

After the death of his wife, Karol Kryszak prepares to commit suicide.

A young philosopher is looking for inner peace, getting disturbed by a monk's apparition.

Children gifted with a carrier pigeon forget about Adik the dog.

Docent Śliwiński receives a phone call from a woman announcing her suicide. The man decides to find her.

Pawełek spends his holidays in the countryside where he meets Wisia. Meanwhile, somebody is stealing fruit from the boy's grandfather's orchard.

An older man comes from the provinces to meet his son, who is a famous actor.

After having a child, a runner decides to return to active sports.

A professor at the Jagiellonian University sets up a playground for children in the meadows near Krakow.

Biographical television film about Małgorzata Fornalska, a Polish communist activist and anti-Nazi resistance fighter who was executed by the Gestapo in 1944, in the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto.

Lonely Ignacy is visited by his niece and her lover. The arrival of the guests destroys the orderly world of the old captain.

Iwona goes to a small town, where she sets up a youth recitation club at the Cultural Center.