The Big Five of the 50th PFF
For the third time at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia – The Big Five – five filmmakers will reveal which Polish films are especially close to their hearts – films that have shaped who they are today and never cease to amaze them This year, the Big Five comprises Sonia Bohosiewicz, Ewa Braun, Agnieszka Holland, Marcin Koszałka and Marek Koterski.
The screenings will offer a unique opportunity to revisit evergreen classics — the beating heart of our cinema. Each presentation will feature a film and a filmmaker. After the screening, we will discover what led the filmmaker to choose that particular film, what kind of audience member they are, and what has shaped their perspective on cinema. The conversation will bring film buffs together — filmmakers and audiences alike — for all filmmakers are, first and foremost, audience members. They watch films with passion and vulnerability, yet we rarely have the chance to ask them about films beyond their own work.
SONIA BOHOSIEWICZ
‘Avatar’ or Exchange of Souls, reż. Janusz Majewski
I’m Burning!, reż. Janusz Majewski
“Janusz Majewski — a director I admire and a person I have fallen in love with. At the Festival in Gdynia, I would like to highlight a well-known facet of the author of The Eccentrics. At the beginning of his career, Janusz Majewski introduced new genres to Polish cinema: horror, science fiction, and grotesque — and he did so brilliantly. I will present the festival audience with the TV film ‘Avatar’ or Exchange of Souls, an adaptation of the futuristic short story by Teofil Gautier from 1964, and I’m Burning! from 1967, a half-hour-long narrative regarded as the first Polish horror film. Early Majewski, already a skilful filmmaker, was an advocate of films full of humour, wit, and intelligence — all qualities we need so much these days. I would also like to say a few words about this during my conversation with Łukasz Maciejewski.”
EWA BRAUN
The Gateway of Europe, reż. Jerzy Wójcik
“I’d like to reintroduce a film that hasn’t been screened very often. I was amazed by its visual qualities and its rendition of drama. It’s The Gateway of Europe, directed by Jerzy Wójcik. This adaptation of Melchior Wańkowicz’s short story was brought to life by exceptional and talented artists, including Witold Sobociński (photography), Janusz Sosnowski (production design), and Magdalena Tesławska and Paweł Grabarczyk (costumes). Their contributions earned them Eagles and awards at the PFF in Gdynia.”
AGNIESZKA HOLLAND
The Lure, reż. Agnieszka Smoczyńska
“The Lure is brimming with surprises, originality, and energy. It’s unlike any other film in Polish cinema and beyond. Concept, form, music, humour, and sensual vitality — these words spring to mind when I think of Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s brilliant debut”
MARCIN KOSZAŁKA
Hospital of the Transfiguration, reż. Edward Żebrowski
“Hospital of the Transfiguration moved me deeply. It speaks softly but forcefully about the limits of what it means to be human in a world ridden with insanity and approaching disintegration. Edward Żebrowski, himself struggling with illness and alienation, created a film that is painfully honest and highly relevant.”
MAREK KOTERSKI
Ashes and Diamonds, reż. Andrzej Wajda
“I’ve never really thought about why Ashes and Diamonds became so important to me. When I go to the cinema, I expect that
(a) the film will hold my attention,
(b) I will care about it and ‘feel it in my gut’, and
(c) I will want to see it again.
I have watched Ashes and Diamonds twenty-one times.”
