Foreign cinema goers in Wroclaw
The idea to screen Polish films for foreign viewers came from two local film researchers and cinema fans, Lech Moliński and Adam Kruk. The first edition was organised at the Lower Silesian Film Centre (Dolnośląskie Centrum Filmowe) in a room of up to 70 seats, this year's edition, the fourth in a row, will be held at the Nowe Horyzonty Cinema in a room for 130 people, which is usually full. "Last year's screening of "Ida" brought more people than we could accommodate," says Adam Kruk, a person in charge of the "Polish Cinema for Beginners" programme.
Viewers at the Nowe Horyzonty Cinema
Films worth a discussion
How foreign viewers develop an interest in Polish cinema? One of the reasons may be that that they are offered more than mere screenings. Each session begins with an intro in English and concludes with a discussion among the audience. "Our discussions can be quite heated," admits Adam Kruk. "When we did 'Suicide Room', a guy from Boston stood up and said he could not imagine the film to be made in the US, and when we did 'Kingsajz', a German guy was surprised how openly critical this film was towards the Communist regime, a thing film makers in DDR could only dream of doing," says the Polish Cinema for Beginners Programme Director.
Cosmopolitan audience
Who comes to the screenings? "People of all ages and all nationalities, including Poles," says Adam Kruk. The organisers do not run any register of the nationalities. "They often say where they come from during discussion, which is why we know we have Americans, Ukrainians, Italians and Germans," says the coordinator. Adam Kruk explains that they found cinema fans by contacting Erasmus students or multinational corporations. Sometimes we also have tourists. They spend several days in the city and often decide to drop by if they see the poster," says the Programme Director. But there are also regulars. "We call them our 'Polish Cinema for Beginners' community because, for them, it is more of a crash course in Polish cinema than mere entertainment," says Adam Kruk.
"The Double Life of Veronique" by Krzystof Kieślowski - screening on 19. March
Films by Wajda, Polański and Holland
Films selected for each season follow a simple principle. Important as they are for Polish viewers, they cannot be obscure to foreign audiences. "We took particular care to choose works which were awarded internationally," says Adam Kruk. The most important thing of all was to avoid pure entertainment and choose films which are educational or vital for the Polish culture. To date, those who attend the "Polish Cinema for Beginners" series have seen films by Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi, Roman Polański, Agnieszka Holland, Wiesław Saniewski or Paweł Pawlikowski.
"Ashes and Diamonds" by Andrzej Wajda - screening on 5. March
Screenings in March and April
Over the next two months the cinema will screen Wajda's "Ashes and Diamonds", Kieślowski's "The Double Life of Veronique" (19. March), Holland's "In Darkness" (9. April, the screening to feature the director herself) and Morgenstern's "See You Tomorrow" (23. April). All screenings begin at 7.00 p.m. Tickets cost 13 PLN and 16 PLN. To find out more about the films, please go here.
