25th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival Retrospective
We celebrated the Festival in a special way through rich programming and exciting events with distinguished guests.
We started with the Gala Reception to mark the achievement of 25 years of the Festival, and to express appreciation to all who contributed to the Festival’s success: organizers, sponsors, and most of all, the viewers.
The Festival coincided with the 100th Anniversary of Poland’s Regained Independence and we joined world-wide celebration with a series of Polish historical films presented in the weeks preceding the Festival.
In all, the Festival’s program included 18 films: 7 feature films, 2 animations, 4 short films and 5 documentaries, with many showings at full-capacity.
We welcomed 7 guests, film director Krzysztof Zanussi, Sławomir Grünberg, Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz and Filip Bajon with his film team – Olga Bieniek, Marlena Kreńska and Marzena Mróz.
Our Documentary and Short Film Competition received a record of 55 submissions. The winners were Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz (Best Documentary), Mateusz Gołębiewski (Best Debut) and Pat Howl Kostyszyn (Best Short Film).
The Festival’s organizers thank the viewers and sponsors for their continued participation and financial support.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the 2019 Festival!
The Festival Opening Gala 2018
2018 Award Winners Announced
The Jury of the 25th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival
is pleased to announce the winners for the 2018 Documentary and Short Film Competition:
Ewa Pięta Award for the Best Documentary
Niebo bez gwiazd / A Sky Without Stars
dir. Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz
Andrzej Dolata Award for the Best Debut
Praca / Labor
dir. Mateusz Gołębiewski
Best Short Film Award
Tamtej nocy / Off the Hook
dir. Pat Howl Kostyszyn
100 Years of Poland’s Regained Independence
POLISH HISTORY IN FILM MASTERPIECES
To celebrate the 100th years of Poland’s regained independence, the Polish Filmmakers Association is presenting a series of films with a historical theme. The idea behind the project is to disseminate knowledge of Polish art and history by presenting films of outstanding artistic quality. The films selected show various historical periods, and offer insight into Polish history from the viewpoint of several generations, ranging from Andrzej Wajda, now a classic figure of Polish cinema, to Jan Komasa, a representative of our youngest filmmakers. Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival is proud to host and co-sponsor the series Polish History in Film Masterpieces.
MICHIGAN THEATER
603 E LIBERTY ST
ANN ARBOR
SCREENINGS:
- OCTOBER 3, 7:00 PM „NIGHTS AND DAYS”
- OCTOBER 10, 6:45 PM „PROMISED LAND”
- OCTOBER 17, 7:00 PM „THE PIANIST”
- OCTOBER 24, 7:00 PM „ASHES AND DIAMONDS”
- OCTOBER 31, 7:00 PM „MAN OF MARBLE”
- NOVEMBER 10, 5:10 PM „WARSAW 44”
NOCE I DNIE / NIGHTS AND DAYS
dir. Jerzy Antczak
1975, drama, 245 min.
This epic family drama based on Maria Dąbrowska’s novel Noce i dnie tells the story of the Niechcic family. In 1914, in the war-torn Kaliniec, Barbara Niechcic remembers her youth, love, marriage and family life in the countryside.
ZIEMIA OBIECANA / THE PROMISED LAND
dir. Andrzej Wajda
1974, drama, 169 min.
Drama based on a novel by Władysław Reymont. Set in the industrial city of Łódź, The Promised Land tells the story of a Pole, a German, and a Jew struggling to build a factory in the raw world of 19th-century capitalism.
POPIÓŁ I DIAMENT / ASHES AND DIAMONDS
dir. Andrzej Wajda
1958, drama, 97 min.
It is May 1945, and Nazi Germany has just surrendered. The war is over, but not in Poland. As the German soldiers vacate, the remaining Russian forces and Polish resistance fighters must work out the hierarchies of power in “liberated” Communist Poland.
CZŁOWIEK Z MARMURU / MAN OF MARBLE
dir. Andrzej Wajda
1976, drama, 160 min.
In repressive Poland, documentary filmmaker Agnieszka works on a film about Birkut, a bricklayer who had briefly been hailed as a hero of the proletariat in the 50s, but then disappeared into obscurity. In piecing together details about the bricklayer’s mysterious life, she discovers that his involvement in organized labor had been viewed negatively by party bosses, and that her own investigations could put her in danger.
MIASTO 44 / WARSAW’ 44
dir. Jan Komasa
2014, drama, 130 min.
A story of love, friendship and the pursuit of adventure during the bloody and brutal reality of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.
Ewa Pięta Award for Best Documentary
is given to director Ada Smyk
for the film Kulisy/Backstage.
