Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

The movie consists of two satirical novels based on the same idea: both the "gangsters" and "philanthropists" end up in the courtroom.

Initiated in 2016, this artistic endeavor brings together non-binary, transgender, and queer individuals to explore their experiences beyond external definitions, redefining identity and corporeality with their unique idioms. In Endless, these explorations unfold through various media—performance, music, and VR—culminating in a hypnotic film that resembles a narcotic vision.

Through various misunderstandings young Basia gets into the custody of several people after her mother's death.

Stefan, a middle-aged businessman, is looking for a partner for an illegal but very profitable business. To this end, he finds a certain Rysiu, an unemployed man who spends most of his day at a beer stand. There is a rumor that Rysiu has a stomach of steel. Stefan subjects his potential partner to harsh and merciless tests. After they are completed, he reveals the details of the deal of a lifetime. He wants to smuggle diamonds to Berlin in Rysiu's stomach.

Maintained in the convention of a daydream, or rather a psychedelic vision, an impression on the works of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. Individual sequences of the film depict fragments of Witkacy's works, and the whole seems to be a commentary on the sentence: "I remember that night, when boundless terror took over the innermost fibers of my brain, and all I could hear was that terrible babble in the gaping maw of the unknown, that something blind, turning its blade toward itself."

King Jan Kazimierz, Mazepa, a young Cossack from the king's entourage, and Zbigniew, the voivode's son from his first marriage, are all in love with Amelia, the voivode's wife. Dramatic coincidences and misunderstandings lead to a tragic ending. Zbigniew commits suicide, Amelia dies, the voivode orders Mazepa to be captured, stripped naked, and tied to a horse, after which he releases him, while he himself kills himself with a dagger in front of the king.

A German man and a Polish woman fall in love in the days preceding World War II.

In 1912, Szczebieniew, a rich and ailing old man, comes to Italy with his young wife, Zinaida. Bored with his company, she looks for amusement and casual affairs.

Majka and Agata have as much in common as they divide. They are both over fifty, going through menopause and do not believe that anything in their lives will change for the better. One lives on the Baltic Sea, the other in the Tatra Mountains. One runs a confectionery shop, the other is a successful interior designer. One is a widow, the other is just left by her partner for a younger woman. One devotes herself to her children and grandchildren, completely forgetting about herself, the other has no family and cares about her spiritual development. One day, the friends meet at the funeral of a high school friend. Agata encourages Majka to spontaneously go to the mountains, and she takes her place. The unexpected role reversal brings a number of complications, funny twists and challenges that the women will have to face.

Ewa works as a translator. She gives private english lessons and lives alone, but has a strong bond with her parents and sister Joanna. One day she got a package from her former boyfriend Eryk who writes her that he’s starting a journey. Reading his notes Ewa starts to think that description of his journey is chronicle of Eric’s sickness and depression and all of his story is fiction.

A troublemaker returns to his home village, reigniting friendship with his former teacher and looking to atone for his wrongdoings.

Based on actual events in 1982, the film recreates a hostage-taking in Switzerland. Four men storm the Polish embassy: a criminal, a crazed killer, a student and an idealist. When the embassy is stormed by the police, the four captors react differently.

In the New York apartment of 69-year-old prof. Arendt , 30-year-old Michael Ben Szaked appears, who had previously arranged an interview with her. He introduces himself as a student at the University of Jerusalem, writing a doctorate in philosophy. He is preparing a project to be sent to the university archive and collecting statements of Jewish intellectuals. The starting point is a book by prof. Hanna Arendt's about Eichmann to be published, which caused a real storm not only in Israel, but also around the world.

A young, unemployed catechist goes to the province to take a job at a school.

Piotr and Alina are 30-year-olds in a big city, trying to make their dreams come true. Alina earns money in a casino so she can work as a director. Piotr works in an alternative radio station, co-organizing aid for the Belarusian opposition. The day of their engagement is supposed to be a joyful meeting of two families and two generations. However, a series of coincidences causes the family celebration to turn into a confrontation of attitudes and views. Do their families have more in common or more in common? Alina and Piotr must decide what is most important to them in life and what their "new way of life" should really look like.

Martial law. Three women at the festive table await the return of Witek, with whom they have had no contact for ten days.

Szymon discovers a naked woman and takes her to his secluded house where, over the next few days, she tells contradictory stories about her life. But it turns out she is not the only person in the house with something to hide.

Based on the facts, the story of Dr. Barbara Makowska-Witkowska, arrested in 1983 by the civil militia. She was accused of beating up and stealing a drunk patient's wallet.

Two years after the war, during a train trip, Henryk (20) recollects the occupation period. He passes different train stations and recollects various situations from the past: his family life, working in a garage, guerrilla warfare, the fear that accompanied him every day. He’s looking at the travellers’ faces, including the ones who have survived the war.

Four siblings on the verge of coming-of-age try to build their independent lives without losing the bonds that connect them.

The laundress working at the doctor's house agrees to take her daughter out of the ghetto for a fee and get her settled with her family in the countryside. The old woman's attitude to the Jews is ambivalent but the action is unambiguous.

Twenty years old prostitute and drug addict, Jola, by chance meets Andrzej, a "railway station gay". They try to stay together, in spite of numerous diffculties. They both are carriers of the HIV virus. At the end of their travels they find themselves in the Red Palace - formerly the recreation centre for Party dignitaries, now a home for AIDS sufferers - which is run by father Jan. In the nearby small town aggression begins to grow again the unwanted guests; the house have been promised to the local people for housing purposes... The lives and fates of Jola, Andrzej, and father Jan become increasingly intertwined with one another...

A prosecutor takes on the case of a peasant accused of murder.

Four boys act out games in a nearly barren landscape near a mining excavation where blasting is going on. The oldest, Szafran, is their leader. When he gets into a frenzy, so do the others: running barefoot through thistles, rubbing dirt in their hair, catching fish barehanded. Szafran says he is the Antichrist and gives orders. Are these games or something else?

Karuzela is a four person drama. It is a journey inside the souls of the main characters across the reefs of everyday dilemmas - the merry-go-round of life. An individual approach to the subject, obscure narration and absence of easy answers is what allows every viewer to embark on their own journey around the universal story told in the film. They are not even 30 years old and they have problems with finding work. When something comes their way, it is only a temporary 'junk contract'.The characters have to overcome their weaknesses and face the harsh reality.They are taking their life exams and do not want to make wrong choices again.This is a game witch will evoke emotions, allow to identify with the main characters and their complex world

1945, Zofia Szablewska, a repatriate from the East, arrives in the former Breslau, now Wroclaw. He lives in a former German villa - the House under the Two Eagles. Zofia's roommate is Jan Liski, an officer of the Security Office who raises his stepson, Kazio, alone. Zofia uses the Red Cross to search for her husband Antoni and son Zbyszek, with whom she lost contact during the war. The commemorative clock left by the Germans brings back memories of her native Kresy, the Nowosiolo estate and the beginning of her love with the Polish settler - Antoni.

Grachow, a researcher, is to escort a car to a distant place of the foreign exchange horse Favorite. The driver of Locha drives fast, although he was supposed to not exceed a speed of 30 km per hour. They experience various adventures along the way. Grachow, who drives the car, cannot control the speeding machine, he saves himself at the last moment by jumping out of the cabin. The car with the horse on the platform rolls down to the river ...

In a secluded forest house, a woman tormented by anxiety and paranoia lives with her helpless husband. Their fragile peace shatters when she suddenly falls ill and appears to die, setting the stage for a tense and haunting drama of isolation and dread.

This is not a love story though it is full of love. It is not a comedy though the characters often say funny things. It is not a detective story even though the hero is trying to solve a murder. It is not a nature drama though it shows the splendid colours and customs of the countryside. It is not a musical though Lubica expresses her longing in a passionate dance. Nor is it a film about ghosts though a ghost does ask the hero for a favour. A few draughts of Strawberry Wine are enough to take us into a magical world in the true centre of Europe, where love, crime and penitence are just as much a part of life as the changing of the seasons, the migration of birds or the flowing of a mountain stream.

A moving portrait of the Klezmer Orchestra of the Sejny Theatre, in which music becomes a source of identity and community.

The story of a young man who, on his father’s fiftieth birthday, decides to deal with the sluggishness that is affecting them.

An ambitious, enthusiastic young geologist is entangled in bureaucratic red tape when he tries to drill for oil. Frustrated with the situation, he torches an abandoned mill, ignores his girlfriend, and fights with his friends who do not share his exuberance about the project.

The 1937 trial of communist journalists, working for the same student magazine in Vilnius, is shown through the tragic life of the paper's young collaborator Julek Szulc.

Ula, a young girl from a small town in Poland is kidnapped and taken to a brothel in Germany. Luckily she manages to escape and return home. However, the welcome she receives is far from warm, as the girl is ostracised by the local, conservative community.

It was women who closed the gates and launched the Solidarity strike when, on a Saturday in August 1980, workers, satisfied with a raise, stopped their protest and wanted to leave the Gdansk shipyard. If it had not been for the initiative of several determined women, perhaps there would not have been any August 1980 in Polish history. Under martial law, with the men in prisons, the women took on their role. They were not interested neither in joining the union’s power structure, nor in particular posts. The most important thing was their work and its results. When communism in Poland came to an end on June 4, 1989, the vast majority of women in Solidarity disappeared from the political stage. They let themselves be forgotten when their colleagues were taking over the most important posts in power in a free Poland. This documentary by Marta Dzido and Piotr Śliwowski reminds us about these forgotten heroines, giving us a new perspective on the last 30 years of Polish history.

A realistic tale of an intellectual couple whose stagnant marriage is put to test. The wife's audacious, sexy friend arrives for an indefinite period. The husband initially detests the bold, seductive and uninvited stranger whose frank observations lead his wife to question their 11-year union. The husband is a taxi driver unmotivated to finish his masters degree in sociology. His marriage has degenerated into a sexless habit with minimal communication. Predictably, the stranger's presence provokes change via conflict. Surprisingly, the husband and wife eventually rediscover their love for one another after brief affairs outside their marriage.

Two weeks to go until the qualification race for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. A young Polish swimmer (Jan Kałusowski) prepares for a chance to compete at the most prestigious sports event in the world.

On his way home, Mikołaj Twardowski is attacked by bandits. He calls on the devil for help, who rescues him from danger. The devil's intentions are not selfless. Twardowski signs a pact with Hell, unaware of what he is agreeing to. Eighteen years pass, and the devil appears at Mikołaj's house with the intention of taking his son away. The cautious Twardowski, just before his death, sends his son to a hermit, who advises him on how to steal the contract his father signed.

Joanna and Jan's marriage seems happy. After the birthday party is over, Joanna unwraps the gifts she received. One of them is a videotape with a recording of a regional TV program, during which a historian named Marczak tells about Jan's cooperation with the political police, which began back in the 1950s, by reporting on Joanna's father. At first, Joanna believes in her husband's innocence, but soon becomes suspicious and begins a private investigation.

December, 1981. World-class champion Ewa Jaskólska is looking forward to a cruise around the world with her yacht. At her farewell party, several people are present that are connected to the new Solidarnośc movement. The guests are filmed by a TV journalist. The introduction of the martial law in Poland leads to problems for all people involved. Can Ewa go back to her home country after these dramatic changes in Poland?

The film shows the Polish media life in 2010 from the perspective of the daily work of paparazzi - from hunting Roman Polanski to the events of the Smolensk catastrophe. However, in the foreground there is a dramatic story of a man who makes controversial choices on a daily basis and bears emotional, personal and ethical consequences. The title character turns out to be as ruthless as himself as to the people on whose lives he preys. Paparazzi is a movie about lost world values and bold rules - but shows that we always have a chance to decide what kind of man we will be tomorrow.

A story of two young people - Marcin and Renata, who one day meet on the train when Marcin tries to steal money from Renata.

A Polish crime film in which Hieronim Śpiewankiewicz (Bogusław Samborski), the chief cashier of a Warsaw bank, steals a large sum of money and runs away with his lover Ada (Betty Amann). He is unaware that the woman is in cahoots with a gang that plans to defraud him and take the loot.

A dead boy is found in Warsaw-on-Sea. Police Superintendent Delman arrives at the scene of the crime and quickly realises that he knew the victim and that the boy’s secret is also his. His investigations lead him to the seaside district of Noamia.

Basia has already settled down in her life. She is a housewife and has a loving family. It seems as though she does not miss anything to be happy. Until a moment when an opera diva moves into an apartment upstairs. Basia is enchanted and seduced with her voice. A peculiar relationship is born between them. It develops into a feeling which is not particularly comfortable for either of the two women.

A portrait of cabinet intrigues, the false aspirations of the party elite and the grinding reality of the 1960s, or "our little stability." Robert Meller and Janusz Dymek's documentary drama concerns the famous 1964 meat scandal, in which three death sentences were demanded and one was adjudicated and executed. The victim was Stanislaw Wawrzecki. Ostensibly, it was about fraud and bribes in the meat industry. In fact, it was about covering up the government's economic ineptitude, shortages of supplies and directing the people's anger at a few defendants.

Jerzy Stuhr plays a high school teacher with a sensitive outlook on life and a soft spot for students who like art and literature as passionately as he does. His adversary is a possessed sports instructor, gaining growing control over the students and authorities. His methods are questionable and his influence dangerous, but the handball team's prospects look good and the school needs success...

The Home Army's battles against the communist authorities in the Żywiec region.

After leaving prison, Tolek plans to get revenge on his former girlfriend.

A Polish-born Australian businessman arrives in Poland to find a wife for himself.

The film features two men who emerge from the sea carrying a large wardrobe, which they proceed to carry into a town.

A single mother of two daughters has to meet her ex-husband due to an illness of one of them. The family’s tragedy touches all the members of the family, who feel the need of a reunion.

A visual experiment composed from simultaneous displays. Collage-type parallel of images becomes a sign of modernity, based on the chaos of multiplicity and excess. The collapse of linear forms leads to a complete degradation of borders, while the exhaustion of homogenous vision of the world – to the aesthetic eclecticism.

Darkness hides secrets - twelve-year-old Marta finds out about it in the last days of summer vacation. During one of his lonely night escapades in the countryside, he witnesses a brutal rape. The resolute girl does not dare to tell her mother about the event, who is also hiding an important secret.

A young doctor arrives in a sleepy village and becomes involved with secret tragedies plaguing the inhabitants.

A young doctor from the lower classes is helped in his career by a rich woman. When he comes back from study in Paris he takes a job at a watering spa. He comes up against the owners when he tries to help the poor.

Emilka is young, jobless, and suffers from panic attacks when close to water reservoirs. After a family tragedy, she seems content to spend all her time with her mysterious younger sister. A job at a local archive could be her chance for a new beginning.

In spring of 1954, thanks to amnesty, Marcin Nowak - a political prisoner - get released from prison and tries turn his life back to normal

The first of six episode compilations of the TV show released theatrically, featuring episodes 1 and 3. In 1941, Polish soldier Stanisław Kolicki escapes German captivity only to be mistaken for the dashing Abwehr lieutenant Hans Kloss and recruited by the Soviets as their secret agent J-23. Under deep cover behind enemy lines, he feeds crucial intelligence to the Red Army while outwitting suspicions and dueling wits with the formidable SS officer Hermann Brunner.

A young man knocks on the door of an old boarding house, hoping to rent a room. The owner answers the door in her bathrobe. She is hoping to get rid of the unexpected guest, but when she learns that he might be a prospective lodger, she agrees to show him around. The house is rather shabby and it keeps getting weirder with each room they see and each boarder they meet… The young man wants out, but leaving turns out to be pretty hard.