Silence, Darkness

Silence, Darkness 1999

1

The film was made at the Polish Sculpture Center in Oransko, during sculpture workshops for deaf-blind people. The camera shows the process of creation, which is closely connected with getting to know oneself. It is accompanied by hesitation, anger and joy.

1999

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Thou Shalt Not Kill 1991

1

Józef Gębski's film is a documentary reconstruction of the crime committed by NKVD officers against Polish officers imprisoned in Starobielsk and Kharkov in 1940. Accounts of historians and prosecutors are juxtaposed with the testimony of the then heads of the central and regional NKVD board.

1991

Pokolenia

Pokolenia 2017

1

The history of Poland told through fragments of movies produced by Wytwórnia Filmów Fabularnych.

2017

Birthplace

Birthplace 1992

7.30

Henryk Greenberg is a Polish-born American who lost much of his family in the Holocaust. Certain of the location where his father and younger brother were murdered, Greenberg returns to find most of his former neighbors predictably claiming foggy memories at first; but soon their recollections come more easily.

1992

In the Shadow of the Palace

In the Shadow of the Palace 1991

1

Russians working at the bazaar near the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw talk about their everyday life.

1991

Symphony of the Ursus Factory

Symphony of the Ursus Factory 2019

6.00

The Ursus factory once covered 170 hectares and employed 20,000 workers, producing 100 tractors a day. Now, its buildings stand derelict and empty; half have already been demolished by investors with new plans. The symphony of mechanical sounds and gestures that is gradually built up throughout the film is produced by former factory employees. Proud of their factory, they reminisce about the huge numbers of people and the parties they had. They were a community, passionate about supporting agriculture through their factory. The Ursus tractor was well-known, not only in Poland but throughout the world.

2019

Siberian Lesson

Siberian Lesson 2003

6.40

The first documentary by Wojciech Staroń. He just finished film school, his wife Małgosia just became a teacher. The year is 1997. They decide to go for a year deep into Siberia: she’ll teach Polish, he’ll shoot a film. And this is that beautiful film, narrated in the first person by Małgosia as she meets all sorts of colorful characters and reflects upon reality with her beautiful, monotone voice, seeing the good in people individually and collectively. This is also about her transformation in this travel undertaken in the centuries-old fashion of the observer who, by observing others, observes herself.

2003

The Choice of Poland

The Choice of Poland 1991

1

A documentary about the election campaign and the first free elections in Poland in 1990. The filmmakers look behind the scenes of the political game. They present candidates during meetings with voters, document meetings of election staffs and listen to the ‘voice of the street’.

1991

The Happy Life of Benedykt Jerzy Dorys

The Happy Life of Benedykt Jerzy Dorys 1990

1

Made just before the protagonist's death, Maria Kwiatkowska's film is a documentary portrait of one of the most outstanding Polish fashion and portrait photographers, Benedykt Jerzy Dorys. The co-founder of the Union of Polish Art Photographers talks about his artistic path and his personal life.

1990

The Smoke Only

The Smoke Only 1990

1

A documentary tackling the problem of air pollution in Walbrzych. The film shows the effects of excessive and ill-considered industrialization of the region: the sky covered with smoke, mining waste heaps piling up, burnt buildings, and, above all, the residents exposed to smog from an early age.

1990