POLONICA
Every year, the POLONICA section brings our festival audience closer to a selection of films in the creation of which Polish artists were actively involved.
The selection includes films co-produced by Poland, or made with participation of Polish artists, be it actors, costume designers, or cinematographers. Alongside the already well-known film productions, such as ‘Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass,’ ‘A Real Pain,’ or ‘Housekeeping for Beginners,’ you will also have a chance to see pre-release screenings of ‘The Ugly Stepsister’ featuring Katarzyna Herman, or ‘The Goldman Case,’ the latter of which is one of the most interesting films of the season, featuring Jerzy Radziwiłowicz playing the father of the main protagonist.
Łukasz Maciejewski
Head of Programme for the POLONICA section
The Ugly Stepsister is an unorthodox take on the story of Cinderella, with the focus put on one of the stepsisters. The film is a combination of a classic fairy tale with elements of body horror, commenting on the obsession about one’s looks.
The Goldman Case is a film based on actual events. It is a behind-the-scenes look at a court case involving a far left activist sentenced to life imprisonment. It is also an attempt at creating a psychological profile of the revolutionist.
In A Real Pain, we follow a story about two cousins, who arrive in Poland to follow in the footsteps of their own family, following the death of their beloved grandma. Jesse Eisenberg adopts a narration far from the obvious to portray complex human relationships.
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass is an adaptation of the prose by Brunon Schulz, created by Stephen Quay and Timothy Quay, the famous duo of animators. The film is both about a nostalgic journey into the past and fear of the inevitable.
The relationships of the protagonists in Housekeeping for Beginners are constantly put to a test. Dita never planned to become a mother, which makes it all the more difficult for her to take care of the daughters of her late life partner. Perhaps a true bond does not require kinship to happen?
Łukasz Maciejewski – a film and theatre critic, film expert, academic teacher, writer, and festival director. He graduated from film studies at the Jagiellonian University, and has been a long time academic teacher at the Łódź Film School (for his academic work, he has received five First Degree President's Awards for Academic Merit). He worked as a moderator and co-organiser of a few hundred film festivals and reviews, both in Poland and other European countries. He is a director for six different film festivals, for example the ‘Kino na Granicy / Kino na Hranici’ Film Festival in Cieszyn, the ‘Grand Prix Komeda’ FF in Ostrów Wielkopolski, the ‘Wajda na Nowo’ FF in Suwałki, the ‘Arcymistrzowie Kina’ FF in Gdynia, and a festival curator for the BellaTOFIFEST IFF in Toruń. He is a member of the European Film Academy, the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), the Polish Film Academy, the Polish Filmmakers Association, the Society of Authors ZAiKS, and the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC). He has received two Awards of the Polish Film Institute in the ‘Book of the Year’ and ‘Critic of the Year’ categories, and such awards as ‘Złota Róża’ (Golden Rose), the ‘Uskrzydlony’ statuette, ‘Dziennikarska Wena,’ ‘Art Kciuka,’ and ‘Sowa.’ He was awarded the ‘Polonia Minor’ Medal and the Medal for Merit to Culture. In 2022, he received the ‘Klaps’ Award for a Film Critic of the Year. He is a permanently appointed film expert and commentator for the ‘Tygodnik Kulturalny’ section of TVP Kultura television channel, a member of the jury for the Polityka's Passport Award, and a host of press conferences held during the Main Competition of the Gdynia Film Festival. He collaborates with many different magazines and portals. He is a film reviewer for the ‘Interia’ web portal, a columnist for the ‘Kalejdoskop Kultury’ online portal and ‘Jazz Forum’ magazine, as well as a permanent collaborator for ‘Kraków i Świat’ monthly magazine. He is a juror in several dozen film and theatre festivals in Poland and abroad. He collaborates with the Łaźnia Nowa Theatre in Nowa Huta and the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Cracow, for the latter of which he manages the film cycle ‘Przywrócone arcydzieła’ (‘Restored Masterpieces’) film cycle held at the Małopolska Garden of Arts. He is an author of eight books and a co-author of over forty joint publications. For example, he has published such books as ‘Przygoda myśli. Rozmowy obok filmu,’ ‘Aktorki. Spotkania,’ ‘Aktorki. Portrety,’ ‘Aktorki. Odkrycia,’ or ‘Krystian Lupa. Koniec świata wartości.’ In 2024, Łukasz Maciejewski was awarded the title of ‘Ambassador of the City of Tarnów’ by the President of Tarnów.
Included in the section:
- The Ugly Stepsister, dir. by Emilie Blichfeldt, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Romania, 2025, 109’
- The Goldman Case, dir. by Cédric Kahn, France, 2023, 115’
- A True Pain, dir. by Jesse Eisenberg, USA, Poland, 2024, 90’
- Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, dir. by Stephen and Timothy Quay, Great Britain, Poland, 2024, 75’
- Housekeeping for Beginners, dir. by Goran Stolevski, Northern Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo 2023, 107’
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Fundacja Biuro Kultury
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Dofinansowano ze środków Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego pochodzących z Funduszu Promocji Kultury — państwowego funduszu celowego.
