Saturday, May 16 | 2:00 PM | ILUZJON STOLICA
Discussion FINA Presents: Documentaries from a Time of Change
after the screenings of PEOPLE FROM AN EMPTY ZONE, dir. Kazimierz Karabasz, Władysław Ślesicki, TALKING HEADS, dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, BARA BARA, dir. Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz, Michał Arabudzki
Partner: National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute, Kino Iluzjon
In 2025, the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute launched the Polish Film Heritage List (LPDF). Updated annually, the list includes films that are pivotal to the history and development of Polish cinema and audiovisual art. The list would not be complete without documentary films. Join us for a screening of three titles featured on the LPDF, followed by a discussion. Each of these films was made at a different moment of historical and social upheaval. The authors of ‘People from an Empty Zone’ broke away from the socialist-realist form amid the atmosphere of the Polish October. ‘Talking Heads’ was made on the eve of the Solidarity uprising. ‘Bara Bara’, in turn, bears witness to Poland during the 1990s transformation. Together, these three documentaries paint a portrait of Poles from three very different decades – a portrait that we can still see ourselves in today, sometimes even with a touch of tenderness.
Guests:
Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz – director and screenwriter of films and television programmes. Lecturer at the Faculty of Film and Television Directing at the PWSFTViT in Łódź. Member of the Programme and Research Council of the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute. Author of dozens of documentary films, including: ‘Everybody Knows Who They Are Standing Behind’, ‘Bara Bara’, ‘I Love Poland’, ‘Gdański Railway Station’.
Katarzyna Malinowska – creative producer, script consultant and film industry expert. Head of Programmes for Young Creators at the Munk Studio of the Polish Filmmakers Association (SFP), she is also in charge of the programmes ‘60 Minutes’, ‘30 Minutes’, ‘First Documentary’ and ‘Young Animation’.
Tomasz Kolankiewicz – Director of the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute. Film scholar, historian, consultant, and promoter of Polish cinema. He has been a juror at Polish and European film festivals. Lecturer at the Doctoral School of the PWSFTviT in Łódź. Expert at the Polish Film Institute, Member of the Polish Film Academy.
The discussion will be moderated by Alicja Nowacka, curator at the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute. She is a film scholar, educator and film critic. Nowacka is also a programmer for young audience film festivals and the winner of the Grand Prix at the 27th Krzysztof Mętrak Competition for film critics.
