Uwertura
Overture
1965

Marek Piwowski

6 min

The First short film by Marek Piwowski, at that time second year student of the Polish Film School in Łódź. Short and cynical and very good.

Marek Piwowski famous among the generations of the Polish film lovers as the director of the Kult film “Rejs”,   is a director, journalist and screenwriter. He studied navigation at the Moscow Marine School, journalism at the University of Wroclaw, and film directing at the Lodz Film School. Marek Piwowski has been a miner, farm laborer, journalist at the "Nowa Kultura" Magazine, and a lecturer at the New York University in New York, NY. He has acted in films made by such directors as Skolimowski, Zanussi, Morgenstern, Zygadlo, and even his own films. He is a member of the American Film Institute.

Psychodrama
1969

Marek Piwowski

30 min

“Psychodrama” by Marek Piwowski is a brilliant example of the great Polish documentary tradition. It’s about teenage girls in a provincial borstal, rehearsing a theatre version of “Cinderella”. In the process, they reveal their tragic fates and demons: asked what she likes most, a 13 year-old answers: “Playing with dolls.” And what is she most afraid of: “Venereal diseases.” This is the world pre-media: each girl original and moving. The moments on screen are pure gold dust, each bit of dialogue, face, character and story are authentic, tragic in their own way. It’s heartrending, but the film is shot without cheap pathos or turgid vérité “objectivity”. Piwowski is a real filmmaker: playful, but humane; manipulative in the best possible way.

Marek Piwowski famous among the generations of the Polish film lovers as the director of the Kult film “Rejs”,   is a director, journalist and screenwriter. He studied navigation at the Moscow Marine School, journalism at the University of Wroclaw, and film directing at the Lodz Film School. Marek Piwowski has been a miner, farm laborer, journalist at the "Nowa Kultura" Magazine, and a lecturer at the New York University in New York, NY. He has acted in films made by such directors as Skolimowski, Zanussi, Morgenstern, Zygadlo, and even his own films. He is a member of the American Film Institute.

Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera
A Night Watchman's Point of View
1977

Krzysztof Kieślowski

15 min

1977 Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera / A Night Watchman's Point of View - The portrait of factory watchman Marian Osuch, who reveals himself to be a discipline fanatic favoring complete control of everything and everyone. A metaphorical image of totalitarianism on the example of a rank and file, but simultaneously model, proponent of state terror. This is one of Kieślowski's few films with a clearly negative protagonist. (Awards: 1979 - 19. OFFK / 19th National Short Film Festival, Krakow - Grand Prix "Złoty Lajkonik" / "Golden Lajkonik" along with the film Siedem kobiet w różnym wieku / Seven Women of Different Ages; MFFK / International Short Film Festival, Krakow - FIPRESCI Award; International Film Festival, Nyon - "Silver Sesterce"; International Short and Documentary Film Festival, Lille - Jury Prize

Z miasta Łodzi
From the City of Łódź
1969

Krzysztof Kieślowski

17 min

1969 Z miasta Łodzi / From the City of Łódź (working title: "Łodzianie" / "People of Łódź") - Kieślowski's thesis film realized at the State Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź under the guidance of Kazimierz Karabasz. The film is a portrait of the city of Łódź. Images of buildings that are falling apart are accompanied by optimistic commentary about the city and its industries.

Głos nadziei
Voice of Hope
2002

Maciej J. Drygas

58min

"Voice of Hope" - screening of Maciej Drygas's documentary film on the impact of Radio Free Europe broadcasting to Poland, featuring unique footage from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Maciej Drygas - One of Poland’s most renowned documentary filmmakers. Drygas graduated in film directing at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow (1979). His celebrated debut, Hear My Cry, tells the story of Ryszard Siwiec, who committed suicide by self-immolation in 1968 at a harvest celebration held at the 10th-Anniversary Stadium in Warsaw. Drygas is famous for spending long hours in archives in preparation for his infrequently released films. This strategy has proved effective, as each new Drygas documentary is an important event in the film world.Immediately after his studies, he was an assistant to Krzysztof Zanussi and Krzysztof Kieślowski. He debuted as a documentary director with a piercing morality play, the film Usłyszcie mój krzyk / Hear My Cry, which won many awards at festivals all around the world. His second film Stan nieważkosci / Weightless, which speaks of "human" costs of the space conquest, met with a similar success. He is now the director of the radio drama section of the Reportage Laboratory at Warsaw University.

Major albo rewolucja krasnoludków
Major, or the Revolt of the Dwarfs
1989

Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz

30 min

Major albo rewolucja krasnoludków /
Major, or the Revolt of the Dwarfs, 1989
- presents the phenomenon of Wroclaw’s anarchist and very popular movement “the Orange Alternative” in the 80ies.

MARIA ZMARZ-KOCZANOWICZ
Born in 1954 in Cieplice Slaskie. Film director, scriptwriter. One of the most prolific Polish documentary filmmakers; made nearly 50 films. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw (painting, 1978) and the Radio and TV Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice (film directing, 1982). Her feature film debut was The End of the World (Kraj swiata, 1993). Her doc pics include award winning The Office (Urzad, 1986), awarded Golden Lajkonik and Silver Dragon at the Cracow FF '87, Cinema du Reel First Prize '88; Love Without Visa (Milosc bez wizy, 2001); Children of Revolution (Dzieci rewolucji, 2002); Diary.pl (Dziennik.pl, 2004); Krzysztof Kieslowski - Still Alive (2006).

Sztygar na zagrodzie
Foreman On A Farm
1978

Wojciech Wiszniewski

12 min

A story about a foreman who wanted to be a farmer. Being a very dedicated person he became very successful farmer but also a thorn in the side by the local community. Harassed by the jealous neighbors the man and his family had to go. The film is full of symbolic images highlighting the message that without a conscious collective activity an individual person even if highly resourceful and dedicated will not be able to succeed.  

Wojciech Wiszniewski (born 22 February 1946 in Łódź - 21 February 1981 in Warsaw) was a Polish filmmaker who mainly directed faux documentaries. Most of his films were censored by the communist authorities due to its pessimistic look at 1970s Poland. Only after his death were they released. His complete works have been released on DVD by Narodowy Instytut Audiowizualny.

Dworzec Gdanski Gdanski Railway Station
2007

Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz

55 min

DWORZEC GDAŃSKI / GDANSKI RAILWAY STATION

1968 has gone down in history as a turbulent year of political and social protest throughout Europe. It is less noted for a chapter of Polish-Jewish history that altered the destiny of those involved. In the aftermath of the Six Day War between Israel and the neighbouring Arab states, the ruling communist party and its instruments of state began to stir up anti-Semitic prejudice in Poland. Barely twenty years after the terror of National Socialism and the Shoah, Polish Jews were vilified as Zionists and enemies of the state. High time, insinuated the propagandists, for them to “go home” to the Israeli “motherland”; in some cases, Jews were simply stripped of Polish citizenship. As the pressure mounted, thousands of Polish Jews emigrated, leaving behind their home, their friends, and their families. Gdansk Station in Warsaw was the starting point for a journey to an unknown country where the future was uncertain.
Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz’s documentary depicts the fate of several émigrés from that period. It deals with the shock they felt at seeing public opinion so brazenly manipulated, with their decision to leave Poland, and with the pain, still raw for many, of leaving. And it shows a moving reunion of former companions almost forty years after the events.

MARIA ZMARZ-KOCZANOWICZ
Born in 1954 in Cieplice Slaskie. Film director, scriptwriter. One of the most prolific Polish documentary filmmakers; made nearly 50 films. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw (painting, 1978) and the Radio and TV Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice (film directing, 1982). Her feature film debut was The End of the World (Kraj swiata, 1993). Her doc pics include award winning The Office (Urzad, 1986), awarded Golden Lajkonik and Silver Dragon at the Cracow FF '87, Cinema du Reel First Prize '88; Love Without Visa (Milosc bez wizy, 2001); Children of Revolution (Dzieci rewolucji, 2002); Diary.pl (Dziennik.pl, 2004); Krzysztof Kieslowski - Still Alive (2006).