Discoveries from Poland World Cinema

What happens behind the closed doors of surgical wards, treatment rooms and other spaces where specialist medical consultations take place? Things you don't see but they can save people's lives.

When will you get a boyfriend? Why won’t you eat meat? Why is it like this every year? Why are you always being interrogated about your private life and your weight? A young woman grows tired of the relentless questioning from her relatives. Thankfully, she’s not entirely alone — a loyal and supportive companion is always by her side. Just when she meets a potential partner and appears to be inching toward fulfilling her family’s expectations, a fateful twist shatters her reality.

Excerpt from a discussion between a man and a woman at a sawmill. An adaptation of a short story by Yuri Kazakov.

Two brothers, living in isolation after an apocalypse, clash over their beliefs when intruders approach their hideout.

Reema works in the Well of Death – a carnival sideshow in Pakistan, where motorcyclists perform stunts and Reema dances to attract spectators, living the life of a nomad. Shattered by the loss of her love – Asif, heartbroken Reema travels back to her ”Guru”, who runs the transgender house where she grew up. “Well of Dreams” is a tale about the hopes and trials of Reema, set in a world where love can only be seen on a cinema screen in Lollywood films.

The horror of male-female erotic relationships. A series of shocking love failures. They are hilarious for the viewers and terrifying for the protagonists.

A bitter reflection on the development of civilization.

The Smolensk disaster as seen through the eyes of foreign correspondents reporting on the events of April 2010.

A bittersweet reflection on life in Poland. Young and old talk about the search for love, wedding night, school uniforms, prime minister duties, buckling up, religion and power. A rich collage of statements, conversations, musical pieces and reportage material. The film touches on the most sensitive topics for society, such as unemployment and poverty, farmers' strikes, pseudo-fighters and crime. On the other hand, in the pictorial layer, the main character is Lodz, its inhabitants and post-Peerel landscapes.

In October 1949, when socialist realism was imposed on Polish artists, a presentation of the achievements of art schools took place in Poznań. The report of the event called ‘shows’ was made by students of the Film School in Łódź.

A bored young woman interacts with the stranded objects of a black-and-white room, which take on their own lives as she begins to dream.

The year 2019, declared the Year of Stanislaw Moniuszko (18191872) by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and UNESCO, abounds in a series of events commemorating the work of the father of the Polish national opera. The Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz has also joined the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Stanislaw Moniuszko, publishing DVDs with the performance of Halka in a star cast, directed by Natalia Babiska and under the baton of Piotr Wajrak. The producers of the Bydgoszcz show suggest a refreshed, reinterpreted view of Halka, finding a broader historical and social background therein, and looking for, also in the music that follows the truth about interpersonal relationships discovered between the lines in an extremely natural way, Moniuszkos phenomenon, which escapes an easy categorisation.

An animated film with documentary elements. The protagonists perform repetitive tasks at a CD factory. Observation of the production line is a pretext for seeking meaning, purpose, and time within the system.

Michał returns to Poland from abroad. As a result, he finds himself in a forced quarantine in his friend's apartment.

The inhabitants of the village of Tichilesti in eastern Romania live far away from civilization, in the quiet among dogs and cats that roam the streets. However, this tranquillity portends death as Tichilesti was where lepers were sent years ago.

Zosia, Kinga and Oskar start their first year at school for blind and visually impaired children.

Theatrical release by one of the most influencive polish theatre directors; Jerzy Grotowski. Based on a drama "Pedra Calderona de la Barca" paraphrased by Juliusz Słowacki

Reconstruction of the events of WW I near Bolimów, where the first mass attack with chemical weapons in history took place.

A young boy accidentally travels back in time to the year 2999 and is forced to find himself in this futuristic world. He does not yet know that his decisions will lead to a galactic war...

The film shows the tedious process of inspection and maintenance of passenger cars. To the accompaniment of jazz music, we get to know the hardships of the employees of the railway. A request for respect for their work addressed to passengers is the main message of the image.

The Film introduces the silhouette of Sergei Paradzhanov-a great, eccentric master. It shows his house, the environment in which he lived and worked. It uses unique fragments of materials documenting the director's work on the film set and archival photographs unconventional photo shoots.

A gloomy milking parlor filled with the sounds of Bach concerts from wheezing loudspeakers is the everyday life of Eric, a cow milker at the Milk Raj cooperative. Eryk is a young boy who abandoned his career as a photographer and lived in an industrial town, away from his family and friends. On the spot he met Marissa, a prostitute in a poor nightclub. They became friends. They both want to find their place in the world.

The second part of an animated pastiche of popular science television programs from the early days of Polish television. The presenter's guests include a man who taught an ant to eat with a knife and fork, and Helena-Maszyna, who loves ironing.

Illumination is a phenomenon of sudden awareness of something. A pleasant experience constituting one of the important motivators of creativity. Usually it is preceded by a long chain of associations. The film presents visualizations of thought processes, random events and creative provocations that can lead to the development of a phenomenon called an illumination.

Have you ever wondered what live would be in a world made of wool? In Woolworld, people, animals and everything that surrounds them is made of wool and all is closely tied together.

A spy named John learns the importance of sports and health from Nowa Huta citizens

Two siblings watched by their grandfather sit at the table and struggles to finish their soup. The children don't want to eat, they scoop the soup up reluctantly, looking for a possible way to break free from the table. When the door opens, and the bright light hits the room, the children run out and find themselves in a completely different reality.

In recent years deepening political ideological conflict is tearing Poland apart. This film presents the dramatic developments through the eyes of two women on opposite sides of the political barricade. Marta and Tita are patriots, but their patriotism doesn’t unite them. Both are proud of their country and its history, and they want only the best for it. But their attitudes could not be more different. Marta leads a paramilitary unit, promotes Christian values, supports the ruling Conservative party and is ready to leave the EU. Tita, the liberal atheist activist, hates weapons, fights for democracy and feels content living in the EU. Is it possible to solve the growing crack in Polish society?

The eponymous number shows the difference between the age of both protagonists of Emilia Śniegoska's documentary. A 19-year-old German girl visits 91-year-old Zofia, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The relation between the women is ambiguous – we may only guess what is more important there – whether it is curiosity (for a young German it is one of the last chances to meet an eyewitness of the cruel history), or the need to be close to a fellow human being.

A story about a small drummer in a great army.

Mieczysław lives with his wife, Wladzia, in a small, lost village. Being on the edge of life he lives a simple life, taking care of his disabled wife. In his spare time, the old man tries to save relics of the past fot the future generations.

An unemployed census representative asks questions to others experiencing similar difficulties.

Tiny human figures building bridges using wooden logs - and then the whole operation is put into context.

A creative image of an underwater search in the dimensions of two worlds-ice desert and under water-told from the point of view of the rescue team, of the diver, and of the ordinary people waiting on the shore.

The impression lasts as long as it takes to make a horseshoe and shows the work of a blacksmith.

A TV documentary about Polish director Stanislaw Rózewicz and his works.

Encouraged by the offers of a prestigious position in the city, the teacher is unconvinced and decides to return to his native village, where before the war he taught at the local school.

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The story of Krzysztof Globisz who, after a massive stroke in 2014, suffers from aphasia – the loss of the ability to speak. Despite his condition he decides to return to teaching at drama school, as well as to the theater stage to play the role of a whale who, like himself, speaks his own distinct language.

Robert is in a relationship with a sex robot and runs a confectionery shop with his mother. When the cake oven breaks down, Robert's toxic father returns to fix it. His father's presence tests Robert's love for the robot.

"Beyond Euro" is the result of collective work of the youth creative laboratory. His idea can probably be defined as an attempt to impersonate the crowd. The ability to see, to distinguish a human face from a crowd that seems faceless, cohesive on a sporting, political, or any other basis. And tell me about it. That's probably the point. Both the Almanac and the laboratory. How successful this experiment is will be judged by the audience. In any case, it took place. And here is a series of attentive, thoughtful, concerned or ironic, but always caring and independent views of young authors on the reality that surrounds them. To see a separate human face in a crowd also means to keep your own. In any crowd... which is thus personified and gets a chance to turn into a society. The thought is not new, but it needs to be reminded.

Settling of scores among international Marxist revolutionaries. A spirit of Mhedi Ben Barka inspired revolt.

A brave young cowboy, owner of a golden revolver, defeats bandits, and then... eats the weapon, which was made of chocolate.