Polish Film Academy: “Dybuk”, directed by Michał Waszyński (1937, 94′) and “Mir Kumen On/The Way of the Young” (1936, 59′) + lecture by Prof. Kamila Żyto

The Academy of Polish Film is a nationwide educational program that disseminates knowledge about the history of Polish cinema. The new edition of the two-year course starts at the Museum of Cinematography on October 5, 2026. Classes are held once a week, on Mondays at 5 p.m., and consist of one-hour lectures and screenings of two films.

“Dybuk”

Two friends Nisson and Sender vow to marry their unborn children. Nisson dies prematurely, leaving his son Chonen; rich Sender has a daughter Lea, but he does not want to remember to vow, although the young love each other. He wants to marry her richly. Desperate, Chonen attempts to create gold ore by magic, summons Satan; he dies when struck by lightning. Dybuk, or soul of the deceased, ascends to Lea on the day of her wedding. Tadyk manages to drive him out, but Lea, however, dies, merging with her beloved.

The description of the film comes from the “Lexicon of Feature Films” (Warsaw, 1996).

“Mir Kumen On/The Way of the Young”

The director of the sanatorium, Noah, explains that the main goal is not only to restore health to children, but also to instill in them the principles of friendship, solidarity and human dignity. Three new Jewish children, a girl and two boys, are admitted to the sanatorium. They are hungry, sick, dirty. They do not believe that they can eat here to their fill, that no one will steal their food, that even rabbits have something to eat here, that it is so clean, so bright, so joyful... A normal day of the sanatorium: lessons, gymnastics, classes in the garden; children play, read, draw... Slowly the newly arrived three get hooked is forced to study, work and play... There is a miners' strike in the Zagłębie. One of the older girls proposes that each child give one day of their stay to the children of the Zagłębie... When they arrive, they are greeted under a huge inscription “Friendship”. At first distrustful, they quickly form a single circle of new ones (they are played by children). The dolls rebel, do not want to listen to the angry director, drive him away and play with the children in the audience. When the shift ends, the three children must return to their former lives. They are sad, but they hear a growing chant: “We go with fire into the distance, we go thirsty for love.” More and more children holding hands, more and more powerful song...

The description of the film is taken from the website Filmpolski.pl