Małgorzata Szumowska

A multi-dimensional portrait of one of the most distinctive artists in the history of Polish cinematography. Wojciech Jerzy Has always hovered over the line where the mainstream met the avant-garde and his biography was marked by moments of artistic triumphs and personal tragedies.

The film was inspired by one of the most important documentaries shot by Krzysztof Kieślowski, Talking Heads (1980). The director asked his interlocutors seemingly simple questions, such as “Who are you?” and “What do you want?”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.