Self
The Midnight Sun Film Festival is held every June in the Finnish village of Sodankylä beyond the arctic circle — where the sun never sets. Founded by Aki and Mika Kaurismäki along with Anssi Mänttäri and Peter von Bagh in 1985, the festival has played host to an international who’s who of directors and each day begins with a two-hour discussion. To mark the festival’s silver anniversary, festival director Peter von Bagh edited together highlights from these dialogues to create an epic four-part choral history of cinema drawn from the anecdotes, insights, and wisdom of his all-star cast: Coppola, Fuller, Forman, Chabrol, Corman, Demy, Kieslowski, Kiarostami, Varda, Oliveira, Erice, Rouch, Gilliam, Jancso — and 64 more. Ranging across innumerable topics (war, censorship, movie stars, formative influences, America, neorealism) these voices, many now passed away, engage in a personal dialogue across the years that’s by turns charming, profound, hilarious and moving.
Writer
Francis Ratay witnesses the theft of church painting "Angel with violin". The entire incident recorded by an amateur camera. The thief turns out to Benedict Weber, gallery owner and art connoisseur. Francis comes to his gallery. Blackmails him, that will provide police record, unless the image in three days back in place.
Director
A collection of short films by 16 European directors.
Scenario Writer
Three sisters share a connection to a violent incident from their childhood reunite to for the chance to come to terms with their past.
Self
Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz directed this insightful TV documentary (2005) tracing the Polish filmmaker's career. Former classmates reminisce about Kieslowski's happy beginnings at the Lodz film school and how his dissatisfaction with some of his early documentaries prompted the dramatic work and stylistic experimentation that led to his monumental series of films The Decalogue (1989). Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland, and Juliette Binoche are among the many admirers weighing in on his hard-driving work methods and preoccupation with the ephemeral. In Polish, French, and German with subtitles.
Self
Documentary tracing the filmmaker’s work in Poland, from his days as a student through The Double Life of Véronique.
Screenplay
A woman takes the law into her own hands after police ignore her pleas to arrest the man responsible for her husband's death, and finds herself not only under arrest for murder but falling in love with an officer.
Writer
Left behind by a circus, a camel wanders to the house of a simple middle-aged couple in a Polish village. Although the wife is initially bewildered by the strange and unexpected animal, her husband immediately adopts it as a pet.
Self
This interview, made in January 1995, is an attempt to examine the universal messages offered by 'Decalogue', as well as it's idiosyncrasies
Self
Documentary about polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski
Self
A documentary about the showing of Krzysztof Kieślowski's film RED at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, including interviews with the director and the cast of the film.
Self
Film director Krzysztof Kieślowski examines in detail one scene from each of the films in his Three Colors Trilogy.
Screenplay
Valentine, a student model in Geneva, struggles with a possessive boyfriend and a troubled family. When she runs over a dog, she discovers that its owner, a retired judge, is illegally wiretapping and eavesdropping on his neighbors' phone calls. Although Valentine is outraged, she develops a strange bond with the judge – and as the two become closer, she finds herself caught in the middle of events that could change her life.
Author
Valentine, a student model in Geneva, struggles with a possessive boyfriend and a troubled family. When she runs over a dog, she discovers that its owner, a retired judge, is illegally wiretapping and eavesdropping on his neighbors' phone calls. Although Valentine is outraged, she develops a strange bond with the judge – and as the two become closer, she finds herself caught in the middle of events that could change her life.
Director
Valentine, a student model in Geneva, struggles with a possessive boyfriend and a troubled family. When she runs over a dog, she discovers that its owner, a retired judge, is illegally wiretapping and eavesdropping on his neighbors' phone calls. Although Valentine is outraged, she develops a strange bond with the judge – and as the two become closer, she finds herself caught in the middle of events that could change her life.
Screenplay
Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.
Director
Polish immigrant Karol Karol finds himself out of a marriage, a job and a country when his French wife, Dominique, divorces him after six months due to his impotence. Forced to leave France after losing the business they jointly owned, Karol enlists fellow Polish expatriate Mikołaj to smuggle him back to their homeland.
Screenplay
Julie is haunted by her grief after living through a tragic auto wreck that claimed the life of her composer husband and young daughter. Her initial reaction is to withdraw from her relationships, lock herself in her apartment and suppress her pain. But avoiding human interactions on the bustling streets of Paris proves impossible, and she eventually meets up with Olivier, an old friend who harbors a secret love for her, and who could draw her back to reality.
Director
Julie is haunted by her grief after living through a tragic auto wreck that claimed the life of her composer husband and young daughter. Her initial reaction is to withdraw from her relationships, lock herself in her apartment and suppress her pain. But avoiding human interactions on the bustling streets of Paris proves impossible, and she eventually meets up with Olivier, an old friend who harbors a secret love for her, and who could draw her back to reality.
Author
Julie is haunted by her grief after living through a tragic auto wreck that claimed the life of her composer husband and young daughter. Her initial reaction is to withdraw from her relationships, lock herself in her apartment and suppress her pain. But avoiding human interactions on the bustling streets of Paris proves impossible, and she eventually meets up with Olivier, an old friend who harbors a secret love for her, and who could draw her back to reality.
Screenplay
Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.
Director
Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.
Self
Documentary featuring a candid interview with Kieślowski and rare behind-the-scenes footage from the set of The Double Life of Véronique
Self
Documentary on Krzysztof Kieslowski's Dekalog from the BBC Arena series.
Director
Collection of documentary shorts by various acclaimed directors
Writer
Jerzy and Artur’s father dies, leaving behind a valuable stamp collection, which, they discover, is coveted by dealers of varying degrees of shadiness. The more involved the brothers get in their father’s world, the more dire and comical their situation becomes.
Director
Jerzy and Artur’s father dies, leaving behind a valuable stamp collection, which, they discover, is coveted by dealers of varying degrees of shadiness. The more involved the brothers get in their father’s world, the more dire and comical their situation becomes.
Writer
Roman and Hanka have a loving marriage, but his impotence has led to her having an affair. The unbearable situation drives Roman to extreme measures both physically and mentally, testing their love and his own will to live.
Director
Roman and Hanka have a loving marriage, but his impotence has led to her having an affair. The unbearable situation drives Roman to extreme measures both physically and mentally, testing their love and his own will to live.
Writer
Zofia, a professor of ethics, is visited by Elżbieta, an American researching the fate of Jews who survived World War II. A daytime classroom conversation turns into a night of confrontation, and Zofia is forced to answer for a decision she made decades ago that directly affected the course of Elżbieta’s life.
Director
Zofia, a professor of ethics, is visited by Elżbieta, an American researching the fate of Jews who survived World War II. A daytime classroom conversation turns into a night of confrontation, and Zofia is forced to answer for a decision she made decades ago that directly affected the course of Elżbieta’s life.
Writer
As a high school student, Majka bore a child, Ania, whom Majka’s mother, Ewa, has been raising as her own. Now that Majka is ready for motherhood, Ewa refuses to let go, leading Majka to kidnap her own daughter, with unexpected emotional consequences.
Director
As a high school student, Majka bore a child, Ania, whom Majka’s mother, Ewa, has been raising as her own. Now that Majka is ready for motherhood, Ewa refuses to let go, leading Majka to kidnap her own daughter, with unexpected emotional consequences.
Writer
A teenage postal worker, Tomek, routinely spies on his older neighbor Magda, a sexually liberated artist who lives in the apartment across the courtyard from his. As their private worlds merge, fascination turns to obsession, and the line between love and curiosity becomes violently blurred.
Director
A teenage postal worker, Tomek, routinely spies on his older neighbor Magda, a sexually liberated artist who lives in the apartment across the courtyard from his. As their private worlds merge, fascination turns to obsession, and the line between love and curiosity becomes violently blurred.
Writer
Jacek, an angry drifter, murders a taxi driver, brutally and without motive. His case is assigned to Piotr, an idealistic young lawyer who is morally opposed to the death penalty, and their interactions take on an emotional honesty that throws into stark relief for Piotr the injustice of killing of any kind.
Director
Jacek, an angry drifter, murders a taxi driver, brutally and without motive. His case is assigned to Piotr, an idealistic young lawyer who is morally opposed to the death penalty, and their interactions take on an emotional honesty that throws into stark relief for Piotr the injustice of killing of any kind.
Writer
A father and daughter, Michał and Anka, have a unique intimacy, which the college-aged Anka is beginning to feel conflicted about. When she finds an unopened letter from her deceased mother, it seems to justify her attraction to Michał, who may not in fact be her father.
Director
A father and daughter, Michał and Anka, have a unique intimacy, which the college-aged Anka is beginning to feel conflicted about. When she finds an unopened letter from her deceased mother, it seems to justify her attraction to Michał, who may not in fact be her father.
Writer
It’s Christmas Eve, and Ewa has plotted to pass the hours until morning with her former lover Janusz, a family man, by making him believe her husband has gone missing. During this night of recklessness and lies, the pair grapple with choices made when their affair was discovered three years ago, and with the value of their present lives.
Director
It’s Christmas Eve, and Ewa has plotted to pass the hours until morning with her former lover Janusz, a family man, by making him believe her husband has gone missing. During this night of recklessness and lies, the pair grapple with choices made when their affair was discovered three years ago, and with the value of their present lives.
Writer
Dorota Geller, a married woman, faces a dilemma involving her sick husband's prognosis. Her husband's doctor, who believes in God, sweared about it in vain.
Director
Dorota Geller, a married woman, faces a dilemma involving her sick husband's prognosis. Her husband's doctor, who believes in God, sweared about it in vain.
Writer
Krzysztof, a semantics professor and computer hobbyist, is raising his young son, Paweł, to look to science for answers, while Irena, Paweł’s aunt, lives a life rooted in faith. Over the course of one day, both adults are forced to question their belief systems.
Director
Krzysztof, a semantics professor and computer hobbyist, is raising his young son, Paweł, to look to science for answers, while Irena, Paweł’s aunt, lives a life rooted in faith. Over the course of one day, both adults are forced to question their belief systems.
Writer
19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than appeared at first sight...
Director
19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than appeared at first sight...
Author
Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
Director
Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
Author
Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.
Director
Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.
Author
1982, Poland. A translator loses her husband and becomes a victim of her own sorrow. She looks to sex, to her son, to law, and to hypnotism when she has nothing else in this time of martial law when Solidarity was banned.
Director
1982, Poland. A translator loses her husband and becomes a victim of her own sorrow. She looks to sex, to her son, to law, and to hypnotism when she has nothing else in this time of martial law when Solidarity was banned.
Writer
A dramatisation of the workers' protests in June 1976 in Radom, seen from the perspective of the local Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party. [Produced in 1981, but not commercially released until 1996.]
Director
A dramatisation of the workers' protests in June 1976 in Radom, seen from the perspective of the local Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party. [Produced in 1981, but not commercially released until 1996.]
Screenplay
A young man in his twenties leaves prison after a three-year sentence. He wants to start a new life in a place where he is not known and dreams only of a job, a wife and a family. He succeeds partially in fulfilling these dreams, but then runs into a conflict on a construction job between the corrupt boss and fellow workers secretly planning a strike. He becomes a pawn in one camp while remaining true to his ideals in the other. Filmed in 1976 and shelved for five years.
Director
A young man in his twenties leaves prison after a three-year sentence. He wants to start a new life in a place where he is not known and dreams only of a job, a wife and a family. He succeeds partially in fulfilling these dreams, but then runs into a conflict on a construction job between the corrupt boss and fellow workers secretly planning a strike. He becomes a pawn in one camp while remaining true to his ideals in the other. Filmed in 1976 and shelved for five years.
Writer
People of different age, profession and social status answer two simple questions: who they are and what they want from life.
Director
People of different age, profession and social status answer two simple questions: who they are and what they want from life.
Director
Kieslowski’s later film Dworzec (Station, 1980) portrays the atmosphere at Central Station in Warsaw after the rush hour.
Writer
Filip buys an 8mm movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen when he is sent to regional film festivals with his first works but his focus on movie making also leads to domestic strife and philosophical dilemmas.
Director
Filip buys an 8mm movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen when he is sent to regional film festivals with his first works but his focus on movie making also leads to domestic strife and philosophical dilemmas.
Director
A former partisan now 38 years old remembers his childhood in the war.
Writer
Each day of the week is represented by a ballerina beginning with a young child and ending with an older ballet teacher.
Writer
At the time of the Polish social regime, a security officer is promoted to work at a prison yard. Introducing concurrently with the narrator; he speaks of himself, his thoughts, his point of view.
Director
At the time of the Polish social regime, a security officer is promoted to work at a prison yard. Introducing concurrently with the narrator; he speaks of himself, his thoughts, his point of view.
Director
Each day of the week is represented by a ballerina beginning with a young child and ending with an older ballet teacher.
Writer
24 hours in the life of a hospital from the point of view of the doctors and nurses.
Director
24 hours in the life of a hospital from the point of view of the doctors and nurses.
Writer
The confession of a man who was the director of a factory in Lower Silesia. "He was a Party member but opposed to the Mafia-like organization of Party members which was active in that factory and region. Those people were stealing and debiting the factory account. He didn’t realize that people higher up were involved in the affair. And they finished him off.’ (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
Director
The confession of a man who was the director of a factory in Lower Silesia. "He was a Party member but opposed to the Mafia-like organization of Party members which was active in that factory and region. Those people were stealing and debiting the factory account. He didn’t realize that people higher up were involved in the affair. And they finished him off.’ (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
Dialogue
When a political decision is made as to the location of a new large chemical factory, Stefan Bednarz is put in charge of it. This honest communist party man has to confront the local community opposing the construction.
Writer
When a political decision is made as to the location of a new large chemical factory, Stefan Bednarz is put in charge of it. This honest communist party man has to confront the local community opposing the construction.
Director
When a political decision is made as to the location of a new large chemical factory, Stefan Bednarz is put in charge of it. This honest communist party man has to confront the local community opposing the construction.
Writer
Romek, an idealistc 19-year-old boy, takes a job as a tailor in the costume department of a Warsaw theater company where his new colleague, Sowa, is pressured to make a costume for an overbearing soloist.
Director
Romek, an idealistc 19-year-old boy, takes a job as a tailor in the costume department of a Warsaw theater company where his new colleague, Sowa, is pressured to make a costume for an overbearing soloist.
Writer
A short making-of from the set of Kieslowski's feature film "Blizna", which uses a lot the word "Action!" and the slate.
Director
A short making-of from the set of Kieslowski's feature film "Blizna", which uses a lot the word "Action!" and the slate.
Writer
A communist party control committee interrogates a worker and party activist who is to be excluded from the party.
Director
A communist party control committee interrogates a worker and party activist who is to be excluded from the party.
Director
"Legenda" is a document about a famous polish writer Stefan Żeromski. It serves as an interview with people who knew the artist.
Krzysztof Kieślowski
"Legenda" is a document about a famous polish writer Stefan Żeromski. It serves as an interview with people who knew the artist.
Writer
After the doctor's refusal to perform abortion on a 17-year old girl, she and her boyfriend have to cope with the new situation. They both need to learn to take responsibility for their decisions, in spite of numerous hardships facing them.
Director
After the doctor's refusal to perform abortion on a 17-year old girl, she and her boyfriend have to cope with the new situation. They both need to learn to take responsibility for their decisions, in spite of numerous hardships facing them.
Writer
A school teacher from a small town in Poland comes to Warsaw to see his estranged wife, a window dresser, in the hope that she will return to him rather than give him a divorce.
Director
A school teacher from a small town in Poland comes to Warsaw to see his estranged wife, a window dresser, in the hope that she will return to him rather than give him a divorce.
Director
Patients with serious lung diseases, who are now in a sanatorium, tell us about their thoughts and feelings.
Writer
Krzysztof Kieslowski's protagonist is Joseph Malesa, a former party activist, labor leader and mason. The document talks about his career and life through ups and downs
Director
Krzysztof Kieslowski's protagonist is Joseph Malesa, a former party activist, labor leader and mason. The document talks about his career and life through ups and downs
Writer
One of the first documentary films of Krzysztof Kieslowski. It is a story about everyday life funeral in the 70s
Director
Commissioned film about the conditions of safety and hygiene in the Lubin copper mine.
Director
A commissioned film about the Lubin copper mine.
Director
One of the first documentary films of Krzysztof Kieslowski. It is a story about everyday life funeral in the 70s
Director
A group of veterans recount a horrifying experience when trapped in a minefield, resulting in each losing their sight.
Director
A documentary revolving around the Polish situation on an industrial level at the tail-end of the 1960s: it alternates between stark images at a metallurgic foundry and a board-room meeting among the various executives involved in its management.
Director
Robotnicy - Nic o nas bez nas tells a story about Gdańsk Shipyard and its workers after so called Grudzień 1970 (1970 protests). After those events Edward Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as party first secretary and promised redical change in style and methods of ruling. Kieślowski shows the skepticism of workers and their attitude to party members. He also pictures conflicts inside the party (PZPR) and usual work in shipyard. The political criticism of this movie made it a target of censorship – it was suspended and cut against the will of director.
Director
Ten days of preparation for the Monte Carlo rally. The two Polish drivers battle with the technical shortcomings of the Polish Fiat 125 and overwhelming bureaucracy. They did not finish the race. An allegory of the country's industrial and economic problems.
Writer
This documentary explores the changing faces of the old Polish city of Lodz, and how its modernization, both physically and culturally, affects the older, more conservative residents, many of whom lived through World War II and are confused and somewhat resentful at the changes they're seeing.
Director
This documentary explores the changing faces of the old Polish city of Lodz, and how its modernization, both physically and culturally, affects the older, more conservative residents, many of whom lived through World War II and are confused and somewhat resentful at the changes they're seeing.
Director
After looking at a photograph from the end of World War II of two young boys holding guns, celebrating the liberation of Warsaw, a documentarian for Polish television tries to find the boys and discover how their lives have went.
Writer
A young couple leave a lake campsite on motorbike at the same time as a bus full of youths. The boy accidently loses a tent along the road which is picked up by those in the bus who offer a trade of the tent for his girl.
Director
A young couple leave a lake campsite on motorbike at the same time as a bus full of youths. The boy accidently loses a tent along the road which is picked up by those in the bus who offer a trade of the tent for his girl.
The Artist
Portrait of an artist as a young manic. First, a montage of still photographs of an artist's face. Then motion. He stirs in sleep; he paints and expresses frustration. He looks for a light for his cigarette. He sketches, wads it up; makes tea; stares at his face in a mirror, then looks at canvas after canvas of self-portraits. (IMDb)
Writer
A boy leaves a party and gets on a passenger tram. Aboard, he shyly watches a girl, who soon falls asleep.
Director
A boy leaves a party and gets on a passenger tram. Aboard, he shyly watches a girl, who soon falls asleep.
Director
The insane government bureaucracy at a state pension window.
Writer
Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors Trilogy consists of the films Blue (1993), White (1994) and Red (1994).
Director
Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors Trilogy consists of the films Blue (1993), White (1994) and Red (1994).
