This year’s Kinoteka Polish Film Festival looks to have a mostly killer line-up of screenings and events that are sure to excite the adventurous moviegoer. If you’re like me, and your knowledge of Polish cinema extends little beyond Kieślowski, Polanski, and Wajda, this festival could be the ideal way to get better acquainted.
One of the highlights promises to be a strand titled Polish New Wave, a selection of what sounds like a fascinating set of radical and experimental ’70s cinema. It’s taking place at Tate Modern in early April and seems like a great opportunity to delve a little into the works of some revered yet relatively unknown directors. I’m most anticipating Andrzej Żuławski’s On the Silver Globe, having been introduced to his movies via Second Run’s recent DVD release of his terrifying, hypnotic debut The Third Part Of The Night. Any film described as a ‘cosmic odyssey and science fiction superproduction’ containing ‘self-referential commentary, amazing costumes, and hysterical and ecstatic cinematography’ has me sold.
Krzysztof Kieślowski is represented by an exhibition at Riverside Studios which celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Dekalog. Featuring archive material, photographs, posters and a series of portraits of the director, Kieślowski fans are sure to be pleased, but it’s a shame for the uninitiated that only two segments of this 10-part epic are being shown to coincide with this exhibition.
Another director I’m eager to be introduced to is Jerzy Skolimowski, whose first feature in 17 years is receiving its UK premiere at the festival. Described as ‘enigmatic, disturbing and tender’ in the program notes, Four Nights With Anna has divided critics since its appearance at Cannes last May, and I’m intrigued as to how this story of a peeping tom who becomes obsessed with a nurse at his workplace will play out. The director will be on hand to introduce the film and answer questions after the screening. There’s also a retrospective of some of his earlier features being shown in double bills at the Riverside, a great chance to provide some context to better appreciate this new feature. [Editor's note: we're going to be interviewing Skolimowski in mid-March and reviewing a box set of four of his older features, so stay tuned for that...]
Finally, Michael Nyman is teaming up with the Polish accordion group Motion Trio at the Barbican. He’ll be playing some of the scores from his most acclaimed films and presenting a new commission, set to a montage of movie extracts from the Polish cinema that has inspired him throughout his career.
If you want to check out the full program, you can do so here.
The Kinoteka Polish Film Festival takes place at venues throughout London from March 12 to April 8.
