London’s sixth annual Polish Film Festiwal (sic) has just launched its website.
Given London’s already large and growing Polish population, the festival has grown to match, and now has several distinct sidebars including:
New Polish Cinema – several new features and shorts, including Stanislaw Mucha’s Hope (Nadzieja), which I recently reviewed for Sight & Sound – it’s a metaphysical thriller adapted from a script by Krzysztof Piesiewicz with more than a hint of Piesiewicz’ former collaborator Krzysztof Kieślowski’s work. Other new full-length features include Lejdis (d. Tomasz Konecki), Reserve (Reserwat, d. Łukasz Palkowski), Strawberry Wine (Wino truskawkowe, d. Dariusz Jabłoński), Tomorrow We Are Going to the Movies (Jutro idziemy do kina, d. Michał Kwieciński), Twists of Fate (Korowód, d. Jerzy Stuhr) plus a chance to see Ken Loach’s It’s A Free World on the big screen.
Andrzej Wajda Retrospective, starting with the British premiere of Katyń and a live Q&A with the man himself on April 22 – and he’s doing a book signing the following evening. The rest of the retrospective runs throughout May, and consists of thirteen titles – most of the major ones plus one or two oddities like the John Gielgud vehicle The Conductor. One thing the site doesn’t seem to mention, probably wisely, is that I’ll be giving an illustrated talk on Wajda on May 6th – and throughout April I’ll be revisiting his extensive back catalogue and writing it up here.
Jerzy Kawalerowicz Tribute – to mark the passing of one of Poland’s greatest directors, a rare chance to see three of his best-known films on the big screen: Night Train (Pociąg, 1959), Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od aniołów, 1961) and Pharaoh (Faraon, 1966).
Andrzej Klimowski Poster Exhibition at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, in parallel with the launch of his new book, a graphic novelisation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic The Master and Margarita.
1,2,3… Avant-Gardes – three programmes of experimental films made in the 1970s.
Censorship as a Creative Force – already mentioned here.
The site also promises to host a trailer for the festival made by the Quay Brothers – I’ll post a link when it’s published.
Have you seen Pharoah?
I loved MJOTA and Night Train and noted that Pharoah was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film in a Foreign Language. I just haven’t read as much about this film as the two perhaps more famous, more notable films.
No, I’ve never seen it – in fact, I’ve only just got my hands on a copy of Night Train. But I’ll see if I can catch the upcoming screening.