Country:Poland

Director:Andrej Wajda

Program:Contemporary World Cinema

Summary:

An intimate history from master Andrej Wajda about a group of Polish officers and soldiers imprisoned by the Soviet Army on the border of Poland.

Country:Poland

Director:Aleksander Ford

Program:Contemporary World Cinema

Summary:

A tale of a young impoverished nobleman and the events leading up to the War of Grunwald, the greatesT battle of medieval Europe which occurred in 1410.

Country:Poland

Director:Andrej Zulawski

Program:Multiplying Parallels

Summary:

Andrej Zulawski’s brutal first film set the tone for his future investigations into the dark limits of the narrative mind. Ostensibly a film about the German occupation of Poland during World War II, Zulawski turns his father’s personal experiences into an emotionally loaded trip through the guilt of an escaping young man who has witnessed the death of his wife and child. While working for an opposing force he barely escapes death and hides while a man who resembles him gets gunned down instead.

Country:Poland, Japan

Director:Mamorou Oshi

Program:Parallel Pathways

Summary:

Mamorou Oshi made a name for himself as the creator of the groundbreaking anime Ghost in the Shell where his interest in reflexive narrative and parallel reality was pronounced. In this experiment with live action he takes his concerns a step futher with a nod to the work of Tarkovsky. The result takes cinema to its next open ended life: In a gloomy future world, young people are addicted to an illegal and deadly battle simulation game called Avalon.

Country:Poland, France

Director:Krysystof Kieslowski

Program:Parallel Pathways

Summary:

Since his early passing, Kieslowski’s name has become distinctly associated with parallel narratives and thematically linking stories. This enigmatic and unusually romantic film occupies a special place in his work at a time when he began to work outside of his native Poland. Here he boldly creates images ostensibly straddling two cultures and two lives.  Veronika lives in Poland. Veronique lives in Paris. They don't know each other. Veronika gets a place in a music school, works hard, but collapses and dies on her first performance.

Country:Poland

Director:Roman Polanski

Program:Parallel Pathways

Summary:

In waning winter light, a doll maker works in his shop, a kerosene lamp beside him, a jumble of dolls and doll parts, whole and broken, surrounding him. There are noises, too: a cuckoo clock chirps the workday's end. The artisan completes a repair and leaves, shuttering the shop from outside. Back inside, whispering begins. What else is in store for the shop's seemingly lifeless denizens?

Country:Poland

Director:Krysztof Kopczynski

Program:Contemporary World Cinema

Summary:

In April 2005 the world heard the news that in a village of Spingul in northern Afghanistan a 29 year-old woman has been publicly stoned for adultery. This documentary begins five years before the aforementioned event broke over international media waves causing a stir on news programs and talk shows. It follows Amina who was given away by her family to be married to Muhammad. Right after the wedding however, Muhammad left his new bride to find work in Iran. Then Karim appeared in her life.