Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

The film's protagonist is Colonel Jerzy Ryszard Kukliński of the Polish People's Army, one of the most controversial figures in modern Polish history. For some, he was a national hero who saved Poland from Soviet invasion, for others, he was just a spy and a traitor. The documentary shows his career path: from joining the army in 1947 at the age of 17, through his appointment to a high position in the General Staff in 1964, his graduation in 1976 from the Military Academy in Moscow, where top-ranking officers were trained, to his promotion in the same year to head of the strategic defense planning department. After the West learned of plans to impose martial law in Poland, Kukliński, who was in danger of being exposed, was evacuated by the Americans to Berlin in November 1981.

A group of chauvinistic men start a Bachelors' Club, but soon they start falling in love with women, threatening the continued existence of the club.

A writer moves to an apartment in Warsaw's Praga neighborhood to write a new book.

A captain and lieutenant of the Russian army are buried in the basement of the Przemysl Fortress during the First World War.

The world-famous astronomy professor has been living in seclusion for many years. Will Martin manage to rediscover his genius? It turns out that the mysteries of human life are as unfathomable as outer space.

A documentary film about prostitution: conversations with women practicing the world's oldest profession.

Teresa is suffering from postnatal depression after the birth of her son. In an effort to find comfort elsewhere she temporarily moves back with her husband to her parents’ house. However, the young woman’s family home conjures up memories of a previous relationship and a past love that perhaps has yet to be extinguished.

Songs and sketches of the legendary Student Satirical Club, established in 1954 in Warsaw.

In the beginning of the 20th century, Polish students are fully aware that the education system is not one in which the truth is taught, but rather one their government wants them to learn. A student contradicts his professor's stance that Suworow was one of Poland's greatest leaders. The argument between the two eventually leads to a wide strike.

This is the story of an eternal childhood from which springs the shape and meaning of all to come. Where are you? Where am I? Why are we here? How did everything change, and we never noticed? Time has passed, and no one will come again to shout outside my window. And in this darkness that seems to surround everything, we realize the slightest sign would have been enough: a gesture, a song, a word, a kiss, one’s presence. It would have been simple, if our goodwill had become doing good.

A documentary film about contemporary artists inspired by Chopin's work. The film features a number of prominent artists-each inspired by Chopin in a different way. Among them are Marita Alban Juarez- a Polish jazz singer with Peruvian roots, and Leszek Możdżer- the most outstanding Polish jazz pianist.

Wacław Urbin joins an exclusive club, learning the secrets of its members.

Short documentary on Poland's first steam locomotive.

Dialogue-free short detailing the daily tasks of a man and his wife.

From home videos to interviews with his closest confidantes, this documentary reveals the unseen side of the late Pope John Paul II.

There are 36 days left before Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. On another Baptism of Christ holiday an ice hole was made in a pond in a bedroom suburb of Kyiv. Church bells are heard on the shore, people are undressing, standing in line... In this short observational film, closeups of people of different ages, lines of naked bodies and short conversations tell us about the fragility of life, the contradictions of human faith and the joy of existence.

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

A little girl living in a ruined tenement house tells about her dreams. The camera observes her playing in the yard on a warm, spring day.

After watching a Bollywood film, a woman yearning for excitement begins to question the storyline of her own life.

Friends, with the help of the gamekeeper and forester, try to catch the poacher.

Lech Wałęsa. One of the most important and at the same time most colourful figures in Polish history. In communist Poland he was a simple electrician, then he led the downfall of communism in Poland, and consequently in other countries of Eastern Europe. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1983, President of Poland from 1990 to 1995. The film tells the incredible story of Lech Wałęsa and his wife Danuta.

The city as a living organism.

A beautiful story about a magnolia tree that, instead of shedding its leaves and flowers on the ground as nature intended, decided to go straight to heaven.

Janek returns from the big city to the province, where he confronts a gang of moonshiners.

A swarm of locusts teases a herd of horses. A four-wheeled vehicle drives into the herd. It pulls behind its riders, the horses, and the insects. The gallop is more and more dynamic, gravediggers prepare coffins for crazy drivers.

Two concert halls for an audience of 2,500 people, a 14-metre guitar-shaped bar, 350 artists performing at the club during the 11 months of its existence, triangular posters hanging all over the city – this is the story of one of the first independent rock clubs in free Poland which took Warsaw by storm. It became the most important place on the map of the resurgent capital in 1992 and rallied an extraordinary community of young people who loved music and fun.

The film uses songs, drawings, amateur films, photos and fragments of texts by Stanisław Staszewski.

A thorough enquiry into a personality of a great Polish scholar Professor Marian Mazur who in 1970s created new psychological typology based on cybernetics.

Directed by Nahum Lipowski.

Drew, a Vietnamese immigrant in Warsaw, spends his days working in his mother’s grocery shop, constrained by her rigid expectations. Behind closed doors, he leads a secret life as a nail artist, crafting intricate designs and breaking cultural taboos. When he meets Bo, a nail artist and owner of a nearby beauty salon, she recognises his talent and spurs him into action.

The school incident of the disappearance of a watch became a pretext for the filmmakers to faithfully show an interesting social layer, to present the life of the school community, Agnieszka's conflicts with her parents and the emerging sympathy for a boy.

Radek Peda is a 25-year-old ex-convict, former thief and drug dealer. Coping with his aggression is a heavy duty when nearly everything else has gone out of the window, and especially since the relationships with his father and girlfriend are not pushing him in the right direction.

Report from the sports parade on July 22.

Henryk, on the threshold of significant life changes, organizes a party for his friends in a closing mine. By chance, a beautiful Hungarian girl, wanting to wait until dawn to catch a train to Budapest, also appears at the party.

Feliks Promienski inherits from his aunt a small clay figurine representing a pagan god and from that moment happiness begins to favor him. Lost film.

A Silent broad comedy about upper class life

Seven-year-old Marek - a lonely boy, lost, desperately seeking warmth and love. His parents are two young scientists, completely devoted to their careers. She is just finishing her doctoral thesis, he is sketching new projects to promote him. They apply rigor and ruthless discipline to the child. No bond connects them with a child. They do not try to understand his needs, have no idea about his dreams, problems. Marek falls into severe depression. In the doctor's office, Marek notices a cat. He is awakened by the overwhelming desire to have his own pet - a longed-for friend. Of course, the parents do not even want to hear about it. Marek secretly, for buying pocket money, he buys a cricket - a creature that is small enough to hide from the eyes of his parents.

The Searcher, a guy who left his old life in search of the Sweet Fruits, sets out to travel into the world. In the very beginning he meets the forester, who seems to have the answer to all his questions. Unfortunately the Searcher doesn't understand anything the forester says, so he has to consult with the wise men of this world in the hope that they can give him the answers he is looking for. His Odyssey leads him on dangerous adventures around the globe until he can finally meet his destiny and uncover the secret of the Sweet Fruits.

A movie director and a TV CEO set out to make a movie about the decline of the human race and civilization.

The first and—paradoxically—the final part of the triptych. The city, which is its subject, grows not only in space but, most importantly, in time. With all consequences.

When you shatter your fantasies the pain may be crippling or trans formative. You will want to go back to the fantasies because you will never be sure whether you have really broken free.

Strength or vulnerability? Fight or flight? Alex has always escaped the patterns, but in a world where the strength of fists measures masculinity, vulnerability is like a mark on his back. When the mysterious Tom joins the class, the boy gains an ally – and something more. Will they manage to face the brutal rules of their milieu together without losing themselves?

The story of father Ksawery Knotz, a charismatic Catholic monk, family counsellor, author of bestselling books, and speaker during retreats for couples – many on sex.

Korytkowska and Hatłas's essay, blurring the boundaries between cinema and literature, is a universal story about the difficulty and the satisfaction directly associated with any act of creation.

Second half of September 1939. Lt. Brejer, along with a detachment of his sappers, receives orders to blow up the bridge. The promised explosives do not arrive. So Brejer gets the order to withdraw and reunite with the rest of the division. Along the way, suffering hunger and discomfort along with his soldiers, he joins various divisions, collects survivors and fights. From a German prisoner of war, he finally learns that the Soviets have entered Poland. Finally, he and his men manage to reach his home unit, but that unit has just surrendered to the Germans.

An apple is squished to the soundtrack of its amplified demise.

A psychiatric study.

Polish rebel Rafal Wojaczek writes poetry and lives life on the edge before his suicide in 1971.

Loosely connected scenes in the life of a young student.

Tells the story of the eternal issue of human fate, hope, waiting and fulfilment. It shows an individual totally abandoned in his pursuit to fulfil his dreams, without significant influence on his fate...but only seemingly.

Six segments telling stories of half-fairy-tale, half-realistic lives of provincial musicians.

Mr. Aleksander regularly hosts three friends who are clearly poorer than himself. Nobody knows that he is stealing nylon in cafes and restaurants.

The Republic of Poland of the 16th century. During the period of religious tolerance, the Sieniawski and Bielecki families compete with each other.

On a beautiful sunny day, among lush greenery, singing birds, humming grasses, buzzing insects, there are the two of them – two women of a different age. So much divides them and, at the same time, so much attracts them to each other. They know each other so well. They are so close to each other. What is the secret behind their bond? What can they learn from each other? Where are they heading pushed by ‘one more moment’ spent together? This ambiguous, surprising and subtle cinema is about halftones when it unfolds in a serene and lazy holiday rhythm touching us with its warmth.