Małgorzata Szumowska

One woman's journey for self-discovery and turns into a harrowing tale of survival.

For her entire life, the cult she was born into has been all that teenage Selah has known. Along with a band of similarly cloistered young women she lives seemingly unstuck in time, cut off from modern society in a remote forest commune presided over by a man called Shepherd, a controlling, messiah-like figure with a frightening dark side. But when her insular world is rocked by a series of nightmarish visions and disturbing revelations, Selah begins to question everything about her existence—including her allegiance to the increasingly dangerous Shepherd.

A journalist tries to balance the duties of marriage and motherhood while researching a piece on college women who work as prostitutes to pay their tuition.

Zenia is an industrious Ukrainian migrant worker in Poland who makes house calls as a masseur to the needy and aspirational residents of a middle-class gated community near Warsaw. He is privy to all of their problems, anxieties and secrets – and something of an unwitting guru figure. Zenia’s grounded spirituality, apparent healing powers and broad shoulders make him an object of lust for many of the lost souls in the community.

The contemporary story of a priest who launches a centre for troubled youth in a small parish. He is a good priest and is well-liked by his congregation, which remains unaware of his complicated past.

Aniela has lived the first half of her life as a man: with an office job, a wife, and two children. But neither her family's opposition nor repression by the government in Poland can stop her from finally becoming the person she's always been.

One woman's journey for self-discovery and turns into a harrowing tale of survival.

For her entire life, the cult she was born into has been all that teenage Selah has known. Along with a band of similarly cloistered young women she lives seemingly unstuck in time, cut off from modern society in a remote forest commune presided over by a man called Shepherd, a controlling, messiah-like figure with a frightening dark side. But when her insular world is rocked by a series of nightmarish visions and disturbing revelations, Selah begins to question everything about her existence—including her allegiance to the increasingly dangerous Shepherd.

A journalist tries to balance the duties of marriage and motherhood while researching a piece on college women who work as prostitutes to pay their tuition.

A journalist tries to balance the duties of marriage and motherhood while researching a piece on college women who work as prostitutes to pay their tuition.

Zenia is an industrious Ukrainian migrant worker in Poland who makes house calls as a masseur to the needy and aspirational residents of a middle-class gated community near Warsaw. He is privy to all of their problems, anxieties and secrets – and something of an unwitting guru figure. Zenia’s grounded spirituality, apparent healing powers and broad shoulders make him an object of lust for many of the lost souls in the community.

Zenia is an industrious Ukrainian migrant worker in Poland who makes house calls as a masseur to the needy and aspirational residents of a middle-class gated community near Warsaw. He is privy to all of their problems, anxieties and secrets – and something of an unwitting guru figure. Zenia’s grounded spirituality, apparent healing powers and broad shoulders make him an object of lust for many of the lost souls in the community.

Zenia is an industrious Ukrainian migrant worker in Poland who makes house calls as a masseur to the needy and aspirational residents of a middle-class gated community near Warsaw. He is privy to all of their problems, anxieties and secrets – and something of an unwitting guru figure. Zenia’s grounded spirituality, apparent healing powers and broad shoulders make him an object of lust for many of the lost souls in the community.

The contemporary story of a priest who launches a centre for troubled youth in a small parish. He is a good priest and is well-liked by his congregation, which remains unaware of his complicated past.

The contemporary story of a priest who launches a centre for troubled youth in a small parish. He is a good priest and is well-liked by his congregation, which remains unaware of his complicated past.

Aniela has lived the first half of her life as a man: with an office job, a wife, and two children. But neither her family's opposition nor repression by the government in Poland can stop her from finally becoming the person she's always been.

Aniela has lived the first half of her life as a man: with an office job, a wife, and two children. But neither her family's opposition nor repression by the government in Poland can stop her from finally becoming the person she's always been.

Aniela has lived the first half of her life as a man: with an office job, a wife, and two children. But neither her family's opposition nor repression by the government in Poland can stop her from finally becoming the person she's always been.

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

The Polish artist Julia and her husband Piotr, a talented and successful composer, live in Kraków. When Julias's mother, Barbara falls ill with stomach cancer, the life of the family is falling apart. Julia accompanies her mother to death, but her husband Piotr is at rehearsals in Cologne and leaves her to cope with this difficult situation. Only her friend Adrian is at her side. Her father Jurek is also overwhelmed by the impending loss of his beloved wife. After the death of the mother her father takes comfort from alcohol. Shortly after the father dies. Julia found only in the arms of Adrian to rest, but this in turn destroyed her marriage to Piotr. After the loss of the parents and break up of the marriage she is now alone in the world with an uncertain future where Adrian is of little help

The Polish artist Julia and her husband Piotr, a talented and successful composer, live in Kraków. When Julias's mother, Barbara falls ill with stomach cancer, the life of the family is falling apart. Julia accompanies her mother to death, but her husband Piotr is at rehearsals in Cologne and leaves her to cope with this difficult situation. Only her friend Adrian is at her side. Her father Jurek is also overwhelmed by the impending loss of his beloved wife. After the death of the mother her father takes comfort from alcohol. Shortly after the father dies. Julia found only in the arms of Adrian to rest, but this in turn destroyed her marriage to Piotr. After the loss of the parents and break up of the marriage she is now alone in the world with an uncertain future where Adrian is of little help

A busy attorney, worried that his anorexic daughter Olga, who is still grieving her recently deceased mother, might try to harm herself, sends her to see a psychiatrist who's dealing with her own loss in an unusual way.

A busy attorney, worried that his anorexic daughter Olga, who is still grieving her recently deceased mother, might try to harm herself, sends her to see a psychiatrist who's dealing with her own loss in an unusual way.

A busy attorney, worried that his anorexic daughter Olga, who is still grieving her recently deceased mother, might try to harm herself, sends her to see a psychiatrist who's dealing with her own loss in an unusual way.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife Anna travel to Europe for their honeymoon and end up staying in a health resort in Switzerland, only to return to Russia after four years. Fyedya can’t shake his roulette habit and keeps losing their money. His wife accepts this fate since he keeps assuring her that it’s all for inspiration and soon he shall write his to-be masterpiece, 'The Idiot'.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky and his wife Anna travel to Europe for their honeymoon and end up staying in a health resort in Switzerland, only to return to Russia after four years. Fyedya can’t shake his roulette habit and keeps losing their money. His wife accepts this fate since he keeps assuring her that it’s all for inspiration and soon he shall write his to-be masterpiece, 'The Idiot'.

After fun-loving metalhead Jacek is disfigured in an accident at work, he becomes the first person in Poland to receive a face transplant. This leads to his status as a media spectacle and martyr, all while battling ensuing identity issues as a consequence.

After fun-loving metalhead Jacek is disfigured in an accident at work, he becomes the first person in Poland to receive a face transplant. This leads to his status as a media spectacle and martyr, all while battling ensuing identity issues as a consequence.

After fun-loving metalhead Jacek is disfigured in an accident at work, he becomes the first person in Poland to receive a face transplant. This leads to his status as a media spectacle and martyr, all while battling ensuing identity issues as a consequence.

A mysterious guest comes to the inhabitants of one of the tenement houses in the country of the former Eastern bloc and sends money from heaven. The appearance of money evokes in the inhabitants dreams, memories and reflection on their own sad life.

A mysterious guest comes to the inhabitants of one of the tenement houses in the country of the former Eastern bloc and sends money from heaven. The appearance of money evokes in the inhabitants dreams, memories and reflection on their own sad life.

When Malgorzata Szumowska was an elementary school student, she had a diary in which her friends, acquaintances and loved ones wrote in. Now she has a movie camera. So she decided to ask her friends to repeat this old entry in a new form - on film. The attempts to record their statements become the material from which Szumowska creates a documentary film that is - paradoxically - in a way directed against the documentary. Kasia and Marek, Magda and Kamil, Przemek, Julka and Wojtek, grandmother Stefania, Malgosia talk about love, happiness, relationships with loved ones, dreams, betrayal.

When Malgorzata Szumowska was an elementary school student, she had a diary in which her friends, acquaintances and loved ones wrote in. Now she has a movie camera. So she decided to ask her friends to repeat this old entry in a new form - on film. The attempts to record their statements become the material from which Szumowska creates a documentary film that is - paradoxically - in a way directed against the documentary. Kasia and Marek, Magda and Kamil, Przemek, Julka and Wojtek, grandmother Stefania, Malgosia talk about love, happiness, relationships with loved ones, dreams, betrayal.

A portrait of a family living in a village in Masuria.

A portrait of a family living in a village in Masuria.

A documentary that uses a multi-narrative structure focused on the physical body's response to the invasion of Ukraine. The first plotline follows wounded soldiers at the Superhumans rehabilitation center in Lviv. The narrative charts their physical recovery, tracking the painful process of healing and learning to operate advanced prosthetic limbs. The second storyline centers on Dana Vitkovska, a transgender Ukrainian artist and performer exiled in Warsaw. Her journey explores identity transition, the trauma of displacement, and the reclamation of her body through dance. The final narrative thread follows the artistic collective Open Group. The artists translate the violence of warfare into physical performance, capturing refugees as they reproduce the raw, terrifying sounds of bombings using their own voices and body language.

When Malgorzata Szumowska was an elementary school student, she had a diary in which her friends, acquaintances and loved ones wrote in. Now she has a movie camera. So she decided to ask her friends to repeat this old entry in a new form - on film. The attempts to record their statements become the material from which Szumowska creates a documentary film that is - paradoxically - in a way directed against the documentary.

February 24, 2022: Russian troops are flooding into Ukraine. After the initial shock, how do you respond? For Marine Hugonnier, it was by using her own weapons – film and images – driven by what she describes as, “a desire to create a common front and a common image”. This is her declared agenda. She takes a two-pronged approach, first travelling to the Polish border and filming once she arrives. Then, transporting supplies to Kyiv. Despite the fact these images were shot in March 2022, the troubling paradox is that they already seem to bear the weight of history. This is like a frozen moment, at the point when the war had only just become a threat rather than a reality crushing both bodies and the landscape.

A pregnant 22-year-old with a dreary job, a difficult home life and an absent boyfriend learns to love her life and share this love with the child in her womb.

A pregnant 22-year-old with a dreary job, a difficult home life and an absent boyfriend learns to love her life and share this love with the child in her womb.

It is night in Warsaw. Two very different homes. In one, a father watches sports lying on the sofa, expecting the son to do the same. In another apartment, a wealthy-looking mother sits at the table to dine with her daughter, completely different from her. At the same time, the boy and the girl embark on a nocturnal adventure of transformation, during which they strip off the various stratifications of gender that they have inherited. The streets of the city are transformed into a liberating walkway. When by chance they meet – face to face, body to body – they mirror each other in silence, offering comfort, safety.

It is night in Warsaw. Two very different homes. In one, a father watches sports lying on the sofa, expecting the son to do the same. In another apartment, a wealthy-looking mother sits at the table to dine with her daughter, completely different from her. At the same time, the boy and the girl embark on a nocturnal adventure of transformation, during which they strip off the various stratifications of gender that they have inherited. The streets of the city are transformed into a liberating walkway. When by chance they meet – face to face, body to body – they mirror each other in silence, offering comfort, safety.

A 2005 novella film created to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement. It consists of 13 10-minute shorts. There are various forms: mini-feature, music video, documentary, animation, interview.

A 2005 novella film created to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement. It consists of 13 10-minute shorts. There are various forms: mini-feature, music video, documentary, animation, interview.