APF: Winter Twilight | Harmony

Another meeting of the Polish Film Academy at the Student Cinema “Blue Blanket” in Toruń, realized in cooperation with the National Film Archive — Audiovisual Institute.

In the program:

Winter Twilight — directed by Stanisław Lenartowicz

Harmony — directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has.

After the screening of the films, the lecture will be given by: dr hab. Katarzyna Taras, prof. PWSFTvit

The meeting takes place as part of the first semester of the APF Plot “In Search of Identity. Polish Cinema until 1956”, dedicated to the development of cinema on Polish soil in the first half century of its existence — from pioneering productions to the first works of the Polish Film School.

The Polish Film Academy is a nationwide educational program of the National Film Archive — Audiovisual Institute, which disseminates knowledge about the history of Polish cinematography. Each meeting combines a film lecture with a film screening, allowing us to look at indigenous cinema through its creators, genres, themes and historical contexts.

In the academic year 2026/2027, Toruń for the first time joins the group of cities where the program of the Polish Film Academy is implemented.

Winter Twilight (1956)

Director: Stanisław Lenartowicz

“Winter Twilight” is an intimate psychological drama set in a small provincial town. The calm rhythm of everyday life is disturbed by the return of Józek Rumša, the son of an old railway worker. The young man arrives with his wife, although he was previously expected to get involved with the local Celinka. Family conflict becomes the starting point for stories of unmet expectations, loneliness and difficulty accepting change.

Stanisław Lenartowicz's film clearly departs from the schemes of socialist realism. Instead of an unambiguous story, we get a cinema of mood, understatement and careful observation of the characters. A special role is played by the image, space and atmosphere — elements that allow us to talk about emotions even outside of dialogue. “Winter Twilight” is today indicated as one of the works foreshadowing transformations leading to the Polish Film School.

Harmonie (1947)

Director: Wojciech Jerzy Has

“Harmonia” is a short feature debut by Wojciech Jerzy Has. The protagonist of the film is a boy dreaming of an instrument exhibited in an antique shop. As he gains his dream harmony, his joy collides with the brutality of everyday reality.

This simple story, at the beginning of Has's creative journey, foreshadows themes that would later recur in his cinema — the tension between dream and reality, the loneliness of the protagonist and the special role of objects and space in the construction of the cinematic world. “Harmony” lasts 11 minutes and for many years was not directed to regular distribution.