Exhibitions and books at 42nd PFF
This year’s edition of the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia will be accompanied by numerous exhibitions, both outdoor and indoor. Also, meeting with authors have been planned, devoted to a few new books about the filmmakers, works and phenomena related to the Polish and world cinema.
Exhibitions
As many as two exhibitions will be held at the 42nd Polish Film Festival by the Film Museum in Łódź. In the Gdynia City Museum, “Film Posters” by Andrzej Pągowski exhibition will be presented. He is one of the most recognizable poster makers in Poland, an artist celebrating the 40th anniversary of creative work this year. The posters have been selected by the very author – we will see both the oldest ones and the most recent ones. The collection includes posters for films by Krzysztof Kieślowski, Andrzej Wajda, Agnieszka Holland, Roman Polański, Janusz Majewski, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Miloš Forman and Robert Altman. From the oldest ones – Camera Buff by Krzysztof Kieślowski or Hair by Miloš Forman – through the latest, including his 2016 poster for Afterimage by Andrzej Wajda. All pieces have been selected by the artist himself. The exhibition was co-financed by the City of Gdynia. In the Gdynia Film Centre, the “Jerzy Kawalerowicz on the 10th anniversary of death” exhibition will be held, presenting the personal and professional way of the outstanding director. Both expositions will be available until the end of September.
In the Musical Theatre in Gdynia, three photographic exhibitions will be presented during the Festival. As every year, Rafał Placek, the photographer, will present the “Portraits of directors” exhibition, that is, the effects of photoshooting sessions with participation of filmmakers visiting Gdynia. At the exhibition entitled “f/5.6”, photographs by Bogdan Dziworski, a member of this year’s jury of the Visions Apart Competition and an outstanding Polish documentalist and street photography master, will be presented. His retrospective has been prepared by Leica 6×7 Gallery Warszawa. “Photographs of Krzysztof Ptak” is an exhibition commemorating the late outstanding film operator, which will be available in the Foyer of the New Stage of the Musical Theatre.
Outdoor exhibitions will also be held. In the European Council Park, between the Gdynia Multikino and the Musical Theatre, the ELLE Magazine will present the figures of the debuting actor at the “Birth of Stars” exhibition. At Grunwaldzki Square, thanks to the “City of Culture, City of Film” exhibition, plans of the development of the National Centre of Film Culture in Łódź will be presented. Just next to it, the story of “Cinema and Theatre under Occupation” will be presented by the Institute of National Remembrance. An interesting local thread is taken up by the “Star Warsaw – the History of a Cinema in Gdynia”, presented by Kawiarnia Tłok. It will present archival pictures and materials related to the cinema which from 1939 to 2003 used to operate in the centre of Gdynia.
Book promotions
On the first day of the Festival, 18th September, at 5.00 pm on the New Stage of the Musical Theatre, the premiere of the first biography of Anna Przybylska, „Ania” by Grzegorz Kubicki and Maciej Drzewicki, will be held. The meeting with the actress’ family and friends, organised by Wydawnictwo Agora, will be supplemented with a minirecital by Andrzej Piaseczny. Anna Dereszowska will read out extracts of the book.
In the Gallery of the Gdynia Film Centre, from Tuesday to Saturday (19th to 23rd September), meetings with special guests, authors and publishers of as many as eleven positions have been planned. They include “Szpital przemienienia” by Małgorzata Henrykowska, “Sztuka filmowa” by Jerzy Wójcik, “Faraon. Poetyka filmu” edited by Seweryn Kuśmierczyk, „Cybulski. Podwójne salto” by Dorota Karaś, „Andrzej Wajda. Ostatni romantyk polskiego kina” by the Polish Filmmakers Association and „Andrzej Wajda jako historyk. Metodologiczne studio z historii wizualnej” by Piotr Witek.
The programme of the Festival’s literary meetings revolving around the Polish cinema involves also: „Sztuka dźwięku. Technika i realizacja” by Małgorzata Przedpełska-Bieniek, „Filmoterapia” by Małgorzata Kozubek, „Historia na ekranie Polski Ludowej” by Piotr Kurpiewski and „Janusz Majewski. Film – kobieta jego życia” by Zofia Turowska, as well as „Noce i Dnie. Opowieść o filmie Jerzego Antczaka”.
On Wednesday, 20th September, at 2.30 pm, the results of the competition organised by the Polish Society of Film and Media Research will be announced. The awards will be given out in the following categories: the Best Book of the Year and the Debut of the Year.
More about books and exhibitions at the 42nd Polish Film Festival: www.festiwalgdynia.pl (EXHIBITIONS / BOOKS).
