Kirk Douglas
1966

Marek Piwowski

9min

Kirk Douglas visiting in Poland the Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź.
Very funny and very unique.)

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.View a clip here >>

Korkociąg
Corkscrew
1971

Marek Piwowski

10min

A documentary film showing the various stages of the alcohol abuse. All characters suffer psychosis, delirium tremens, epilepsy, halucination etc. An important but shocking film.

About 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.View a clip here >>

Struktura
Structure
1989

Paweł Łoziński

8 min

Structure - a short documentary about a prison warden presents his totalitarian views on education and society. He has had the same idea about the “order” and “discipline” for over 40 years and does not notice that the world around him has significantly changed.
Struktura - etiuda dokumentalna. Sylwetka więziennego strażnika, który prezentuje swoje stałe, podzielane od 40 lat poglądy na wychowanie, społeczeństwo, jakby nic w tym czasie w Polsce się nie zmieniło.

About Paweł Łoziński
Film director born in 1965 in Warsaw.
He graduated from the Directing Department of the Polish Film School in Łódź. Son of Marcel Łoziński, famous director of documentaries. He cooperated with his father in several renowned films, such as Siedmiu Żydów z mojej klasy / Seven Jews From My Class (1991) and 89 mm od Europy / 89 mm from Europe (1993). Yet, he began to work on his own a long time ago. His own documentaries are shown at international festivals and have been awarded many prizes. He specializes in documenting everyday life. He also made one feature film Kratka / Grate.

Gadające głowy
Talking Heads
1980

Krzysztof Kieślowski

15min

1980 Gadajace głowy / Talking Heads - People of various professions and various ages, ranging from a one-year-old child to a one hundred-year-old woman, provide answers to the following questions: What year were you born in? Who are you? What do you think is most important? The result is a gallery of heads identified by their year of birth. The dreams and problems of people of various ages combine to constitute a story of human life. A two-year-old dreams of being a 'Syrenka' automobile (one of the erstwhile 'wonders' of Socialist technology), while a one hundred-year-old woman dreams of living longer. The film is simultaneously a story about Poland, about how Poles perceive their country and what they would have liked to change about it. The film's title is sarcastic (referencing a phrase used earlier by prominent critic Zygmunt Kałużynski in an unfavorable review of Kieślowski's work as a filmmaker). In this film, Kieślowski seems to predict what the world witnessed later in August of 1980, when Poles began to speak openly and publicly about the changes that needed to occur in the country. (Awards: 1981 - Oberhausen International Film Festival - Honorable Mention)

About Krzysztof Kieślowski
Director of documentary and feature films, screenwriter. Born in 1941 in Warsaw; passed away there in 1996.

During his lifetime, Krzysztof Kieślowski won numerous awards for his work as a maker of documentary and feature films, among them a Grand Prix at the International Film Festival in Mannheim for Personel / Personnel (1975), a Gold Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival for Amator / Camera Buff, the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival for Trzy kolory: Niebieski / Three Colors: Blue and the Silver Bear at the International Film Festival in Berlin for Trzy kolory: Biały / Three Colors: White. In 1976 he received the "Drożdze" / "Yeast" Award of "Polityka" weekly, and in 1985 Kieślowski received a lifetime achievement award at the 15. Lubuskie Lato Filmowe / 15th Lubuskie Film Summer in Łagów. In 1990 the director became an honorary member of the British Film Institute for his "outstanding contributions to the culture of the moving image," and in 1993 he received the Order of Literature and Art of the Minister of Culture of France. In 1994 Kieślowski was awarded the Danish C.J. Soning Award for his contribution to the development of film art and European culture, and that same year he was nominated for an Academy Award for his direction of Trzy kolory: Czerwony / Three Colors: Red. In 1995 he became a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Kieślowski received the European Media Award (Girona) in 1996 and was a winner of the Felix Award of the European Film Academy. The Department of Radio and Television at the University of Silesia in Katowice was named after him in the year 2000.
"This is a name familiar to all of cultured Europe (...). His films have won distinction at the world's most prominent festivals - from Cannes to Venice, Berlin, Chicago (...) from Strasbourg to New York, Hong Kong and Jerusalem,"
wrote Stanisław Zawiśliński ('Kieślowski. Bez końca' / 'Kieślowski - No End,' Warsaw, 1994) just two years before the passing of Krzysztof Kieślowski, a director whose films have been seen and admired by millions around the world.

Krzysztof Kieślowski was an exceptional individual in Polish narrative and documentary cinema. He was someone who cleared the way for others, who was neither afraid to ask difficult questions nor the most fundamental and universal of questions. Zawiśliński believes that humans were already Kieślowski's primary subject of interest when he embarked on his career as a filmmaker.
"Man clashing with society, with power, with the System, with his environment, with his family and with himself. Man entangled in contradictions, dependencies and conflicts. Man constantly forced to make choices in a world of established values and bearing responsibility for those choices. Man encroached upon by politics and man beyond politics. Man facing the inevitable and eternal effort towards freedom, equality and just, eternally seeking love, joy and understanding..."
Finally, man who asks himself and others (just as the director does) one fundamental question: "How should one live?"

Pierwsza miłość
First Love
1974

Krzysztof Kieślowski

52 min

1974 Pierwsza miłość / First Love - The story of two young people (aged 17 and 18) up through the moment their first child is born. The film offers a vision of the love between two young people who are beginning their lives as adults in the realities of the Polish People's Republic, where nothing is simple and every matter - even the simplest - requires multiple visits to multiple institutions. Their love proves to be a source of hope to them. Kieślowski planned to make a second installment about the couple's daughter titled "Ewa," "Ewunia" / "Little Ewa" or "Horoskop" / "Horoscope." This film was ultimately made in the year 2000 by Krzysztof Wierzbicki based on footage shot previously by Kieślowski (Horoskop / Horoscope). (Awards: 1974 - 11. MFFK / 11th International Short Film Festival, Krakow - "Złoty Smok" / "Golden Dragon" Special Prize of the Chairman of the State Radio and Television Commission; 14. OFFK / 14th National Short Film Festival, Krakow - "Złoty Lajkonik" / "Golden Lajkonik" Grand Prix of the Minister of Culture and Art; 1975 - Award of the Chairman of the State Radio and Television Commission.)

Uslyszcie moj krzyk
Hear My Cry
1991

Maciej J. Drygas

46 min

Hear My Cry - The story of Ryszard Siwiec, a clerk from Przemyśl, who commited siucide in September 1968 in protest against Poland's participation in the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia.
On September 8, 1968, during a harvest festival at the Stadion Dziesięciolecia (10th Anniversary Stadium) in Warsaw, in front of thousands of people, Siwiec poured gasoline over himself and lit it in protest against the communist totalitarianism and the entrance of Warsaw Pact forces into Czechoslovakia.
Severely burned, Siwiec was transferred to the hospital where he died. His sacrifice passed unnoticed. His name did not appear on the front pages of neither Polish, nor western papers. After many years, the creator of the film, on the basis of the preserved documents, confessions of relatives and eyewitnesses of the event tries to find out who Ryszard Siwiec was and the cause of his readiness to do such a terrible thing. The film ends in a shocking seven-seconds-long archive fragment that shows the "human torch".
"Out of a very scarce material Maciej Drygas made a terrific, shocking film. A film that is not only a tribute to a rebellious man, but also a complement to the meaning of his sacrifice. It is only now that this imploring appeal 'hear my cry' can be answered." (Paweł Mossakowski, "Gazeta Wyborcza")
Awards:

About 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.

Bylem generalem Wehrmachtu
I Was A Wehrmacht General
1988

Jacek Bławut

18 min

Byłem generałem Wehrmachtu / I Was A Wehrmacht General. A shocking biogrpahy of a Polish spy and cichociemny (an elite special-operations unit of the Polish Army in exile).
Kazimierz Leski - was a Polish engineer, co-designer of the Polish submarines ORP Sęp and ORP Orzeł, a fighter pilot, and an officer in the World War II Home Army's intelligence and counter-intelligence.
 
He is credited, during World War II, with at least 25 journeys across German-held Europe, usually in the uniform of a Wehrmacht Major General.
 
After the war, he was imprisoned by Poland's communist authorities. He spent seven years on death row before being rehabilitated in 1956. He then resumed work as an engineer.

Jacek Bławut - member of EFA, contributes to European film documentary industry as a scriptwriter, director, cinematographer and producer of more than 80 documentary films, which are successful both artistically and commercially. His credits as scriptwriter, director and producer are highlighted by : “The Abnormal” (Joseph von Sternberg IFF Manhaim 1991, Special Prize of the Jury on the International Film Festival San Sebastian 1991, FIPRESCI Award, Manheim 1991); while his credits as director and cinematographer include: “Special Olympic…und dann mussten wir noch watschwiren”, “Die Reise Tunesien” and “Fremden Legion”, Jacek Bławut was also the screenwriter, director and dir. of photography of the 26-episode-TV series THE AIR CAVALRY (1999/2000), the first docu-soap ever in the Polish television (awarded The Prize of Polish TV Producers NIPTEL 2000 the Best Documentary). His last film, “The Country of Birth” was awarded Grand Prix at the Cracow Film Festival 2003 and nominated for the European Film Award 2003.

Stolarz
The Carpenter
1976

Wojciech Wiszniewski

13 min

Stolarz / The Carpenter – a reflection on Polish history from the perspective of a carpenter making furniture for the goverments and oficials.
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.

Pokolenie 89
Generation 89

Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz

60 min

Pokolenie 89 / Generation 89 - Polish alternative culture in the 80ies – a great document!!!
Review (PL)

MARIA ZMARZ-KOCZANOWICZ
Born in 1954 in Cieplice Śląskie, Poland.
Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz obtained a degree in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw in 1978 and followed this up with a directing degree from the Radio and Television Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice, which she received in 1982. She is the
director of almost 50 documentaries, among them URZAD / THE OFFICE (1986) and NIE WIERZE POLITYKOM / I DON‘T BELIEVE POLITICIANS (1989). Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz has won numerous festival awards, for example in Paris, Gdańsk and Krakow.