Man Of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza) (1981) 153 min (Opening Night)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Country: Poland
Wajda’s Palme d’Or-winning, Oscar-nominated masterpiece follows the workers’ strike in Gdańsk in August 1980 that led to the formation of the Solidarity trade union.
Wednesday, February 5 at 8:30PM
Camouflage (Barwy ochronne) (1976) 101 min (Opening Night)
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
The shallowness and cynicism of the academic milieu and the hypocrisy of idealism are depicted in the relationship between a young linguist and a diabolical associate professor. A universal story by one of the most renowned contemporary Polish directors.
Wednesday, February 5 at 6:00PM – Director Krzysztof Zanussi will attend the screening
Friday, February 7 at 7:30PM
Eroica (1957) 85 min
Director: Andrzej Munk
Munk contrasts the absurd life of a street-wise bon-vivant with a somber picture of righteous Polish officers incarcerated in a German camp in his ambiguous two-part wartime symphony.
Friday, February 7 at 9:45PM
The Saragossa Manuscript (Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie) (1964) 183 min
Director: Wojciech Has
Based on one of the greatest works of world literature, a mountain-crossing turns into a sequence of supernatural and frightful events for the skeptical Alphonse van Worden.
Wednesday, February 5 at 2:00PM
Saturday, February 8 at 5:30PM
Pharaoh (Faraon) (1965) 152 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
This epic production, complete with huge battle scenes and stunningly choreographed musical pieces, focuses on a young Ramses XIII as he takes over rule of the ancient Egyptian empire.
Friday, February 7 at 4:30PM
Sunday, February 9 at 1:00PM
The Illumination (Iluminacja) (1972) 93 min (USA)
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
One of the most interesting works of 1970s Polish cinema. A young provincial man comes to the capital to study physics and must tackle life’s universal questions in this philosophical essay comprising animation, experimental methods and documentary footage.
Friday, February 7 at 2:30PM
Thursday, February 13 at 6:30PM
Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od Aniołów) (1960) 110 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
A young, virtuous exorcist is sent to a mysterious monastery inhabited by beautiful nuns who are said to be possessed by demons in this thrilling and philosophical portrait of human vice.
Saturday, February 8 at 9:00PM
Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00PM
Night Train (Pociąg) (1959) 98 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
A subtle game of emotions between two travelers—changing from mutual aversion to closeness without hope of a future—plays out amidst the human microcosm of a night train.
Sunday, February 9 at 4:30PM
Jump (Salto) (1965) 105 min
Director: Tadeusz Konwicki
In this Polish Western, a man on the run seeks refuge in a ghost town halfway between dream and reality, whose desperate inhabitants can’t decide if he’s a prophet or a common liar.
Sunday, February 9 at 9:00PM
The Last Day of Summer (Ostatni dzień lata) (1958) 62 min
Director: Tadeusz Konwicki
A man and a woman who cannot communicate meet on an empty beach in this subtle tale of a confrontation of two lonely people from which a true closeness cannot result. The film was awarded the Grand Prix in Venice for documentary and short films, as well as the Grand Prix of the EXPO in Brussels and the First Prize of MFF in London.
Monday, Feb 10 at 6:30PM
Ashes And Diamonds (Popiół i diament) (1958) 103 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
At the end of WWII, a young Polish resistance soldier reaches a crossroads when Nazi rule is replaced by a communist regime that is not what he and his compatriots have been fighting for.
Sunday, February 9 at 6:45PM
Black Cross (Krzyżacy) (1960) 173 min
Director: Aleksander Ford
In this historical blockbuster, the tragic love of Zbyszko and Danusia plays out amidst the Polish-German conflict that lead to the battle of Grunwald.
Monday, February 10 at 8:00PM
The Constant Factor (Constans) (1980) 91 min
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
A young man who dreams of climbing the Himalayas finds himself compromising his ideals when he takes a job at an international trade company in Zanussi’s award-winning Cannes hit.
Tuesday, February 11 at 9:15PM
Saturday, February 15 at 9:00PM
A Short Film About Killing (Krótki film o zabijaniu) (1987) 86 min
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
The paths of three men—a cabbie, a lawyer, and a killer—cross on a somber March day in this psychological and ethical study of murder that launched Kieślowski’s international career.
Thursday, February 13 at 8:30PM
Blind Chance (Przypadek) (1981) 123 min
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Kieślowski explores the autonomy of human choices by presenting three alternative versions of the life of 20-year old Witek, whose whole future depends on whether he can catch a train.
Friday, February 14 at 9:30PM
Sunday, February 16 at 2:00PM
The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod Klepsydrą) (1973) 124 min
Director: Wojciech Has
Holocaust themes augment this adaptation of Jewish author Bruno Schulz’s visionary and poetic reflection on the nature of time and death, which won the Jury Award at Cannes.
Friday, Feb 14 at 7:00PM
Sunday, Feb 16 at 4:30PM
The Promised Land (Ziemia Obiecana) (1974) 170 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Wajda’s fascinating portrait of the industrial city of Lodz during the birth of gritty 19th century capitalism is also a tale of the strength of masculine friendship.
Saturday, February 15 at 1:30PM
The Wedding (Wesele) (1972) 107 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Characters from all walks of life come together at a 19th century wedding party and things take a turn for the uncanny when ghosts from their pasts mingle with the joyful celebrations.
Saturday, February 15 at 4:45PM
To Kill This Love (Trzeba zabić tę miłość) (1972) 92 min
Director: Janusz Morgenstern
As Neil Armstrong lands on the moon, two young Poles kept out of university by communist quotas discover love and life in a big city, dreaming of an independence they cannot enjoy.
Saturday, February 15 at 7:00PM
Innocent Sorcerers (Niewinni czarodzieje) (1960) 88 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
In 1950s Poland, two young people meet in a bar and go from small talk to bed, but as dawn approaches what seemed to be a meaningless episode in their lives gets more complicated.
Sunday, Feb 16 at 7:00PM
Austeria (1982) 107 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
On the first night of WWI, refugees seek sanctuary from the Russian army in a country inn owned by a Jewish family in this intimate drama set against the turbulence of history.
Sunday, February 16 at 9:00PM