Convicki. Lava

“Lava” is an unusual, author's interpretation of Adam Mickiewicz's “Dziadów”, in which the classic drama is transferred to the space of the present and acquires new meanings. Konwicki combines a romantic text with images of the modern world, creating a film essay about Polish history, identity and spirituality. Various plans intermingle on the screen — theatrical, realistic and symbolic — and familiar parts of the drama take on a topical, often surprising, tone. “Lava” is a demanding cinema, but extremely intense. Emotionally and intellectually engaging, compelling to confront national memory and mythology. It is also a film about the community of experiences and how the past still influences the present. Konwicki's work remains one of the boldest and most original dialogues with Polish romanticism in the history of cinema.

In the landmark 1989, Tadeusz Konwicki — a renowned writer and experienced filmmaker — reached out to Adam Mickiewicz's “Dziady”, creating one of the most important and personal works of his cinema. The film was the artistic event of the year, awarded, among others, at the Gdynia Festival (Jury Prize, distinctions for music, sound and acting roles), and at the same time received a cooler reception from the audience. “Lava” was created at a turning point, between the end of the romantic paradigm and the beginning of a new reality, and today remains a fascinating testimony of a change in which tradition collides with modernity and the past with the future.