POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
This annual event is organized by the UW-Madison Polish Student Association in collaboration with the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic Languages, CREECA, Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Film Comittee, Associated Students of Madison, and the Polish Heritage Club of Madison WI.
The festival hosts a variety of films each year that explore Polish culture and identity as well as support the work of Polish writers and directors.
The event is free and open to the public
Location: The Marquee Cinema, Union South
1308 W Dayton St, Madison, WI 53715
Movies screened in 2022 at the 32nd
Annual Polish Film Festival
author: IRENA FRACZEK
November 13 at 6:30 pm
ILLUSION
(original title: Iluzja)
(2022, dir. Marta Minorowicz, 1hour 30 minutes)
Many months after her disappearance, the mother of a missing daughter starts her own increasingly irrational investigation. At times she plays with reality, at others – she questions it. These experiences strengthen her observation skills, which eventually leads her to be able to perceive a miracle beyond boundaries. A film about the power of the human spirit, about searching for reconciliation and harmony against tragic circumstances.
► TRAILER ◄
Marta Minorowicz (dir): Born in Brudnik in 1979. She graduated in Theatre Studies from Jagiellonian University and she completed a documentary film program at the Wajda School. Her documentary films, such as A Piece of Summer and Decrescendo, won numerous awards, including the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the Golden Dove at DOK Leipzig.
NOTE: A selection of short films will precede this screening.
November 20 at 1:30 pm
F*CKING BORNHOLM
(original title: F*cking Bornholm)
(2022, dir. Anna Kazejak, 1hour 39 minutes)
A group of friends with their children go on a traditional long weekend trip on the Danish island of Bornholm. An incident between children will trigger a wave of crises in their relationship.
► TRAILER ◄
Anna Kazejak (dir): Born in Bytom in 1979. Director. She studied Cultural Studies at the University of Silesia and at the University of Łódź. Since 2001, she has studied at the Directing Faculty of the Film School in Łódź. She worked as a second director on several school short films. Her feature film debut was the novelette “Silesia” in “Ode to Joy”. In 2005, she was nominated for the “Polityka” Passport Award in the category “film”, as well as for the Byki Sukcesu Award in the category “debut”. Member of European Film Academy and the Grand Prix at the Man in Danger Media Film Festival in Poland. Her feature-length documentary-fiction hybrid Zud was nominated for the Crystal Bear Award at the 2016 Berlin IFF (the Generation competition) and it received the Fathy Farag award at the Cairo International Film Critics Week and a Special Mention at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia in the Visions Apart section. The “Illusion” is the director’s full-length feature debut.
November 20 at 4:00 pm
BLACK SHEEP
(original title: Czarna Owca)
(2022, dir. Aleksander Pietrzak, 1hour 40 minutes)
Magda, a teacher in a Catholic high school, is hiding from everyone the fact that she prefers women, Arek has not been able to find a job for a long time now, and Tomek, a popular YouTuber, is motivated mainly by self-interest. The trouble starts when Magda, tired of living a secret life, decides to follow her heart and triggers a cascade of events. Asia breaks up with Tomek, the grandfather disappears, and Arek has problems with getting his life back on track. When troubles, conflicts, and desires that have been repressed for many years finally explode, everybody starts to live their own life. Or at least they think they do… Will every character find their own path to happiness?.
► TRAILER ◄
Aleksander Pietrzak (dir): Born in 1992 in Płock. Graduated from Music School Stage II in piano class. He is an alumnus of the Movie Directing Faculty at the Warsaw Film School. His diploma movie “Strong Coffee is Actually Not That Bad” (2014), won many national and international awards. Another short film “Me and My Dad”, created in Munk studio, was also a huge success at festivals and was streamed in cinemas along with three other short movies under the name “The Best Polish 30’ Short”. He debuted with a full-length movie called “Julius” which qualified him to enter the main movie contest of the 43rd Polish Film Festival in Gdynia. Member of the Polish Filmmakers Association, member of the Main Board since 2022.
November 20 at 6:30 pm
SONATA
(original title: Sonata)
(2022, dir.Bartosz Blaschke, 1hour 59 minutes)
Diagnosed as an autistic child, Grzegorz lives in his own, hermetic world not being able to connect with others. When he is a teenager, it turns out that the cause of Grzegorz’s isolation is not autism but a deep hearing impairment, underneath which a great musical talent has been hidden for years. Thanks to a hearing aid, Grzegorz starts to discover speech, sound, and music, with which he falls in love. Grzegorz now desires to become a pianist and perform at a great philharmonic concert hall. But no one, apart from him and his family, believes that this deaf boy – though aided with new technology – will ever make his dream come true.
► TRAILER ◄
Bartosz Blaschke (dir): Born in 1974 in Gliwice. Film director and screenwriter. He graduated in Cinematography and Photography from the Radio and Television Faculty of the University of Silesia in Katowice and from Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing in Warsaw. Director of the short film “My Father’s Eyes” (2015) and the documentary series “Patrol Tatry” (2019), and screenwriter of TV series “Na dobre i na złe”, “Ojciec Mateusz”, “Nad rozlewiskiem”, “Na Wspólnej”. Two-time winner of awards in the Script Pro competition: 2nd place for his screenplay for “Sonata” (2018) and 3rd place for the screenplay of “Felicja i Jezus” (2014). “Sonata” is the director’s feature-length debut..
POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
This annual event is organized by the UW-Madison Polish Student Association in collaboration with the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic Languages , CREECA , ASM of Madison , Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Film Comittee, and the Polish Heritage Club of Madison WI.
Shows are free to the public
Seating is limited and provided on a "first come, first served" basis
Films are screened in the original language with English subtitles
Screening location: The Marquee Cinema at Union South
1308 W Dayton St room 245, Madison, WI 53705
Movies screened in 2019 at the 29th
Annual Polish Film Festival
November 17 at 3 pm
MISTER T
(original title: Pan T.)
(2019, dir. Marcin Kryształowicz, 103 minutes)
A comedy-drama that shows the struggle of the individual against the totalitarian system. The action is set in Warsaw rising from the post-war ruins in 1953. Pervasive uncertainty, denunciations, and the sense of constant surveillance are tamed with the help of vodka and good company. A renowned author, Mister T. lives in a hotel for writers and makes a living by tutoring. The pace of his life quickens once the authorities begin to suspect him of evil intentions to blow up the biggest communist building in the city, and Secret Police agents start to watch his every move. It is hard to stay serious in this absurd reality.
► TRAILER◄
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November 17 at 5:30 pm
PLAYING HARD
(original title: Zabawa Zabawa)
(2019, dir. Kinga Dębska, 88 minutes)
A stirring story of three women of different ages who have a drinking problem: a respected sixty year old child surgeon, a well-known prosecutor in her forties and a young professional who are at the top of their game and on the brink of collapse at the same time.
► TRAILER◄
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November 24 at 3 pm
TAXING LOVE
(original title: Podatek od miłości)
(2018, dir. Bartek Ignaciuk, 101 minutes)
Klara, devoted to her work as a tax inspector, becomes infatuated with the dashing but irresponsible and cynical man who is about to be charged with tax evasion. Witty dialogues, enjoyable suspense and great humor as in the best romantic comedies..
► TRAILER◄
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November 24 at 5:30 pm
CLERGY
(original title: Kler)
(2018, dir. Wojciech Smarzowski, 133 minutes)
Three Catholic priests meet to celebrate the anniversary of an event which could have taken their lives. Their experiences and motivations to serve as priests are entirely different, and soon each of them will have to face new challenges. “Controversial in its native Poland, this ambitious drama skillfully shows its clerical cast are as much victims as villains."
► TRAILER◄
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Design: Irena Frączek
POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
This annual event is organized by the UW-Madison Polish Student Association in collaboration with the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature and the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Film Comittee.
The Polish Heritage Club is proud to sponsor this event that became an established tradition of celebrating and promoting recent and the most accomplished Polish movies.
Shows are free to the public.
Seating is limited and provided on a "first come, first served" basis.
Films are screened in the original language with English subtitles.
Movies screened in 2017 at the 27th
Annual Polish Film Festival
November 19 at 1 pm
MARIA CURIE
(2016, dir. Marie Noelle, 100 minutes)
The movie follows the famous physicist and chemist Marie Curie and her struggle for recognition in the male-dominated science community in early 20th century France.
► TRAILER◄
November 19 at 3:30 pm
ART OF LOVING
(Sztuka kochania)
(2017, dir. Maria Sadowska, 122 minutes)
Michalina Wisłocka, the most famous and recognized sexologist of communist Poland, fights for the right to publish her book, which will change the sex life of Polish people forever.
► TRAILER◄
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November 19 at 1 pm
STARS
(Gwiazdy)
(2017, dir. Jan Kidawa-Błoński, 120 minutes)
A story of passion, rivalry, love, and friendship. Jan Banaś, acclaimed Silesian football player of the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to make his dreams come true on and off the field. Stars is the story of a great love between young people torn by passion and ambition.
► TRAILER◄
November 19 at 3:30 pm
LULLABY KILLERY
(Ach Śpij Kochanie)
(2017, dir. Krzysztof Lang, 100 minutes)
The script is based on a true story set in the 1950s, when the serial killer Władysław Mazurkiewicz, suspected of 30 murders, terrorized Kraków. This handsome, elegant playboy-murderer went unpunished for a very long time until he met his match in the young militia detective.
► TRAILER◄
POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
This annual event is organized by the UW-Madison Polish Student Association in collaboration with the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic Languages , CREECA , ASM of Madison , Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Film Comittee, and the Polish Heritage Club of Madison WI.
The festival became an established tradition of celebrating and promoting
recent and the most accomplished Polish movies.
Shows are free to the public
Seating is limited and provided on a "first come, first served" basis
Films are screened in the original language with English subtitles
Screening location: The Marquee Cinema at Union South
1308 W Dayton St room 245, Madison, WI 53705
Movies screened in 2018 at the 28th
Annual Polish Film Festival
November 18 at 1pm
HAPPINNESS OF THE WORLD (pl. Szczęście Świata)
2016, 98 min, director Michal Rosa
A beatifully photographed tale about the unusual inhabitants of an apartment building in Silesia, a region near the Polish-German border: Rose, an alluring Jewish woman, and the three men enchanted with her – a Pole, a Silesian, and a German teenager. The movie has two parts. The first one is set in the summer of 1939 and ends dramatically during the war. The second takes place in the 1950s and tells the story of how the war-surviving residents of the apartment building struggle with the new socialist reality.
November 18 at 3pm
THE BUTLER (pl. Kamerdyner)
2018, 2h 30 min, director Filip Bajon
A saga of the Prussian family von Krauss living in Puck area entwined with the story of forbidden love between the Kashubian boy Mateusz and the German aristocrat Marita. Set between 1900 and 1945, the script depicts the complicated fate of three nations inhabiting the former Polish-German borderland in northern Kashubia: Germans, Kashubes, and Poles. The borderline set by the Versailles Treaty after the WWI divided not just the territory, but also the people, causing hatred and leading to the horrific crime during the WWII.
December 2 at 1pm
SQUADRON 303 (pl. Dywizjon 303)
2018, 1h 40 min, director Denis Delic
A story of Polish airmen who bravely fought in aeral combat over the England's skies in WW2 - not just to keep Great Britain free from the Nazis, but also to keep alive the very idea of their own country reminaing under the German and Soviet occupation. Wearing the Royal Air Force (RAF) blue uniforms, the 303 Squadron (one of 16 fighting in RAF) shot three times as many Luftwaffe planes as any other of Allied squadrons. While they fought, Poland lived.
December 2 at 3pm
BREAKING THE LIMITS (original title: Najlepszy)
2017, 110 min, dir. Lukasz PalkowskiThe fascinating, true-life tale of a drug addict who against the odds became a triathlon champion and set a world record in 1990. His story is full of incredible ups and downs, tremendous effort, and unbelievable strength, but his achievements would not have been possible without two women in his life.
Design: Irena Frączek
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POLISH FILM FESTIVAL
The Polish Heritage Club is one of the sponsors of the annual
Polish Film Festival at UW-Madison. The festival became an
established tradition of celebrating and promoting the most
recent and accomplished Polish movies.
Shows are free to the public.
Seating is limited and provided on a "first come, first served" basis.
Films are screened in the original language with English subtitles.
The annual festival is organized by the UW-Madison Polish Student Association
in collaboration with the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature and
the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Film Comittee.
Movies screened in 2016 at the 26th
Annual Polish Film Festival
Sunday, November 20, 1pm
KAMPER
(2016, dir. Łukasz Grzegorzek)
Thirty-something Kamper is the eternal boy who has it all: a beautiful wife he loves, a large apartment, a super car, and a dream job of video game tester (the fantasy of many teenagers all over the world). A comedy, in which this scruffy Warsaw hipster’s reluctance to grow up lands his otherwise great marriage on the rocks.
Sunday, November 20, 3pm
KARBALA
(2015, dir. Krzysztof Łukaszewicz)
Based on the true events in the Operation Iraqi Freedom (official name of Iraq War until 2010), the movie is a tale of 40 Polish and 40 Bulgarian soldiers defending the Karbala City Hall against the outnumbering forces of Mahdi Army (Shiite insurgents loyal to Muqtada Al-Sadr). The battle took place in April 2004 and became the biggest Polish engagement since World War II. But it was kept secret for ten years as participating soldiers were officially assigned to non-combat operations such as training Iraqi police and street patrolling.
The Karbala's soundtrack is a creation of Polish-born Cezary Skubiszewski (one of the most accomplished composers in Australian cinema) and features vocals expertly delivered by Lisa Gerrard, an Australian singer, musician, composer and member of the group Dead Can Dance. She is also known for her contributions to soundtracks of movies such as Gladiator, The Insider, Black Hawk Down and solo composed scores to Whale Rider and Baraka. Below are clips with the Karbala's theme and finale with Lisa Gerrard.
Sunday, December 4, 1pm
BLINDNESS (Zaćma)
(2016, dir. Ryszard Bugajski)
Haunted by the horror of her ruthless crimes, a former high-ranking security officer in Poland’s communist government seeks an audience with the Primate of the Polish Catholic Church, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. In the darkest hours of stalinism, Julia Brystiger was known as "Bloody Luna" because she tortured interrogated prisoners with extreme cruelty. She was also personally supervising the Primate's imprisonment in the years 1953-1956.
Sunday, December 4, 3pm
PLANET SINGLE (Planeta singli)
(2016, dir. Mitja Okorn)
This romantic comedy follows the story of two young people meeting on Valentine's Day. Ania is a romantic and prudish music teacher looking for the love of her life, while Tomek is a cynical host of a controversial comedy TV show. He seizes an opportunity to increase the show's popularity by striking a deal with Ania to satirize her dates with men from the Planet Single website. What follows is a series of bizarre encounters revealing the true colors of men from the online dating scene and the naiveté of women they meet.
Highlights of the movies to be screened on December 4th include children singing a tune entitled "The Days We Don't Know Yet" (Dni, których nie znamy). The song is one of many hits of Marek Grechuta (1945-2006), a belowed Polish singer, poet and painter. Listen to the endearing take on the song from the movie "Planet Single" (left) and the Grechuta's original.
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