Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

A moral and satirical story created in a truly Mrozkovian style. The title character is a morbidly shy neighborhood caretaker. He leads a modest, peaceful life.... until his affliction entangles him in a chain of absurd political intrigues.

The story of what Diana and Albert decided to do with their lives after break up, and how they responded to the very advice given to them by Jesus and Buddha themselves.

A documentary about art, resistance, and an unusual friendship born in the shadow of war. Creating a gigantichen as a form of protest, an artistand his assistant unexpectedly forge a friendship that leads them onto pup-petry festival stages all over Europe.

A young penniless woman comes to a small town with her newborn baby. She goes to work but because her child has no father, life is hard for her. Until she meets a carefree vagabond photographer willing to help her out.

First days of the War Alina, one of the film’s protagonists, disabled after leg surgery, spends alone with the cat, in her home in a small city near Kyiv. She looks for the ways to escape. The bridges are destroyed. Alina manages to find the only road useful and get away with the cat to her parents, caught by the War in their cottage in the nearby village. For the first weeks of the invasion everyone tries to live normally. The mother conducts online lessons, the father takes care of the cats and all the other animals in the neighborhood left behind, Alina records current events with her camera. The sounds of the approaching front force the family to alter their perspective. The way one sees and feels changes. When the neighbors leave their homes, Alina and her parents, under the cover of the night, hurry to pack. However, at the last moment, the father decides to stay.

The documentary is an observation of everyday life using the "patient eye" method of cameras during a special period for director Maciej Cuske. Here is Staś Cuske, the director's son in a few months will join the First Holy Communion.

Report from the Holy Father's second pilgrimage to Poland in 1983.

A film based on real events about the art of passing, goodness and mercy... The titular Little Brother is based on Alojzy Kosiba, "Alojzeczek" - a fundraiser and almoner who lived in the years 1855-1939. A monk approaching the end of his days wants to save a young boy's life before his earthly farewell.

The Yasuni Park in Ecuador is a haven of biodiversity and home to indigenous tribes. It also holds a third of the country's oil reserves. Ecuador had agreed to keep the oil in the ground. But as powerful new interest groups emerge, the future of the Park, and the people who have called it home for thousands of years, come into question.

Kolos is nearing the end of his prison sentence when he’s unexpectedly joined in his cell by the stunning Velvet, a “gift” from Igor, owner of the Gejsza nightclub where Kolos once worked as a bouncer. Upon release, Kolos reenters his old world as a trusted enforcer for mafia boss Hajs and wins Velvet’s love, but when a new woman enters his life, he begins considering another path.

Set at the end of the XIX-th century. Madame Dulska is the sole and absolute ruler of her house in Cracow. She is ruthless, greedy and oversensitive of the reputation of her family. To protect his son from temptations she overlooks the affair he is having with the maid. Young Dulski first wants to marry the girl, but then yields to his mother demands and turns his interest to a cousin. Everything returns to normal: his father has his habitaul visits to a brothel, his son to a cabaret and Madame Dulska safeguards her reign.

Sang is one of 300.000 children left behind by American soldiers after the Vietnam War, born to Vietnamese woman. When he unexpectedly finds his father in the U.S., he wants to meet him, even though it comes at a price of leaving his beloved family. Cultural barriers and unspoken pain collide when the past catches up with the present.

A study of the psyche of a sick, aging man who loses faith in the meaning of life.

Franio the rabbit has been preparing for a long time for the day that is set to change everything. A lamp, stool and a new rope – every item is already in place.

Black docu-comedy from the largest pawn shop in Poland. Times are tough, bankruptcy looms, but then the two choleric proprietors get a bright idea. A hilarious, heartwarming film.

A fairy tale about the adventures of a fair-haired boy and his dog. The young hero is gifted by a dwarf with an enchanted pencil, thanks to which the drawn objects materialize.

Pre-war Polish film about the siege of Jasna Góra, which took place during the Swedish invasion of Poland.

The doll builds a magnificent funfair from metal parts.

The last performance of the Grand Circus in the 1978 season. The camera meticulously captures important details, gestures, situations and emotions on the faces of circus artists.

A miniature parable about a young boy who misunderstands the function of a bird feeder.

A thought-provoking documentary that explores the relationship between man and nature in the Polish Tatras Mountains, focusing on mass tourism at the site known as the ‘Eye of the Sea’, one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe.

13-year-old Khodor is a child whose family tries to issue him an ID document that proves his existence and gives him the right to education, health-care and movement outside of the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut, Lebanon. Through the process, many of the family's old secrets are revealed.

The gripping story of two teenage Polish Jewish sisters, Ariana and Renia Spiegel, who struggled to survive the Shoah in Nazi-occupied Poland, told through the pages of the diary Renia wrote from 1939 to the summer of 1942.

Three women, one person. An astronaut drifting in the cosmic void argues with her “I” – the one from the past and from the future. Will there be room for all three materialized personalities on board a small ship? A comedic, feminist psychoanalysis in the science fiction convention with elements of musical and animation.

A propaganda film about supposed pedophilia and hypocrisy in the celebrity community.

An exiled leader returns to Poland to lead an uprising against the Russian occupiers.

The final film produced by Warsaw’s Documentary Film Studio is an epic re-enactment of a treacherous mission by the Voluntary Tatra Mountain Rescue Service to aid colleagues stranded behind enemy lines at the close of World War II (several real participants feature in the film). Based on a short story about the rescue by Adam Liberak, Munk’s final “documentary” is also arguably his first major exercise in the craft of narrative filmmaking.

Kitka was just a little girl when she lost her mother. Now, in her late teens, she makes her first life choices. Her grandfather, her father and even her late mother are determined to help the adolescent girl. However, suffering from the family trauma and in constant conflict with each other, they themselves seem to need help. They do not make it any easier for Kitka so the girl decides to take matters into her own hands. She embarks on a series of funny adventures, meets a number of strange characters and experiences first romantic entanglements. Eventually, everything ends wonderfully well, and the literal sense of the word wonder is not to be forgotten in this context.

Ada decides to play in a pornographic film. During preparations for the production, the girl slowly loses confidence. The situation gets complicated when the protagonist gets a call from her ex-boyfriend on stage. Ada tries to delay her performance but the pressure of the environment becomes stronger and stronger.

Jazz, dreams, and hope. The protagonist of the film is Wiesław Mrzygłód, a musician and artist. He has an extraordinarily positive attitude to the world, life, and music. In the 1980s, together with the Old Dixieland Players, he played at the most important jazz events in Poland and Europe. Despite doctors' opinions, he says, "Someday, I will play again." He refuses to give up. The film was made using analog and combined techniques, based on drawing using oil pastels, prints, and re-filming methods.

A woman's car stops in the middle of the woods. She and her son must return before nightfall, or they will find themselves in big trouble.

A look at the horse races at the famous track in Sluzewiec, Warsaw.

Roksana is the editor of the heart advice section of a widely read magazine. Her problem is the handsome and loving husband Bogumił. The man was taken to the hospital, where he is looked after by his sister Krystyna.

A short music film, a feature illustration of Vivaldi’s opera Stabat Mater performed by Jakub Józef Orliński and Capella Cracoviensis. The music here accompanies events in which the theme of the Sorrowful Mother is originally interpreted by the director and set in an undefined contemporary time. Atmospheric, strangely wandering, emotional narrative with a surprising finale, starring Jakub Józef Orliński himself, not only as a countertenor but also as a stirring actor.

Marek, a middle-aged forensic technician, is recently divorced and he shares custody of his five-year-old son with the boy’s mother. One night, accompanied by a trainee technician, he receives a call that breaks his work routine.

Did the 1989 revolution in Central Europe devour its children? This question is answered by representatives of the anti-communist opposition from Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and Berlin. The documentary shows images of the upheaval, with songs by Jacek Kaczmarski, Jaroslaw Hutka and Wolf Biermann as a backdrop.

The young speedway rider wants to represent the country in the world championship. However, the coaches choose another player.

Kant-Pol or the Republic of Kantians. This is a country where fraud in every respect is the order of the day. A CEO who has his office in a tasza, a musician who can't play without a floppy disk, and a driver who drives on left documents after a deadbeat. Young people who are dangerous. The police can't do anything on their own. Silesia is a broken vessel...

A documentary portrait of the Kurylewicz Quintet at work in the recording studio, Opus Jazz captures the stop-and-start process of rehearsal before the musicians lock into rhythm and achieve full improvisational flow. Majewski’s film highlights both the discipline and spontaneity of modern jazz in 1960s Poland.

A boy paralyzed as a child grows into an athletic man. The colossal strength that allowed him to become a fit man will prove to be his undoing. Convicted of a murder in a fight, he loses the chance to return to his beloved girl.

A young actor preparing for the part of Macbeth recalls his wartime memories connected with his mentor.

In a little house all for herself, an elderly woman moves through her day. While she tends to every chore on the docket, we learn some things about her. She has a green thumb, she speaks Polish while on the phone, she likes to nap. A prayer sounds. They are words from her mother-in-law, Polish poet Zofia Bohdanowiczowa, who was also displaced from her native Poland. Three generations meet, one by writing, one by living, and the third by the very making of this film, a composition of her ancestors through sound and image.

Events are shown from the perspective of a boy (played by Christopher Ciupa ), which surpasses the intelligence and sensitivity of others, is the one who feels and sees more. Lost hero who is trying to find a cruel world. Children's home, foster family, another children's home, in the end reformatory.

A short tale of a 14 year old boy who is emotionally and sexually maturing.

A poetic short drama film about young man Lev, who decides to become a mariner in Ukrainian NAVY after he starts to feel disconnected with his home village.

A fantasy biography of Franz Kafka, bringing to life the writer's diaries and photographs.

The third part of the American horror movie parody, this time targets "Rosemary's Baby" and "Halloween".

Peter and Bozena are studying medicine, they love each other and want to be together. The girl, after a dramatic experience, breaks off contact with her parents and moves out. With the help of a friend, the young couple manages to rent a small apartment. However, their life is not going well. Peter begins to cheat on Bozena. Accidentally met Joe slips the girl a drug. One time was enough for Bozena to go in search of an illusory land of happiness - Alabama, which does not exist. However, the girl finds out too late.