WFF | FINA presents: Polish cinema without borders

The history of Polish cinema of the second half of the 20th century, especially the 1970s and 1980s, would be incomplete without taking into account those phenomena and films that crossed the borders of national cinema. Domestic filmmakers made films outside Poland or in co-productions with other countries for many reasons — often because during the PRL period they were forced to do so by the censorship apparatus and the reluctance of the authorities or the lack of creative freedom and the opportunity to experiment, which in some cases resulted in long-term emigration (e.g. Andrzej Żuławski, Jerzy Skolimowski, Walerian Borowski, etc. Chick). For many, incidental (e.g. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Jacek Bromski, Jerzy Gruza) or more lasting (e.g. Agnieszka Holland, Andrzej Wajda) foreign collaborations were also an opportunity for creative confrontation with different production methods, work in an international environment, and above all to draw inspiration from non-national texts and cultural contexts of course.

Selected films by Polish directors made abroad allow us to see how complex and diverse Polish transnational cinema was — and still remains — a phenomenon. From original films, in which we find the style and subject matter characteristic of the respective creators, to genre films that explore conventions that are poorly present in domestic cinematography. From well-known great film productions with a star cast, to intimate or separate paintings, somewhat forgotten. From historical films, to adaptations of literary texts, to daring formal and narrative experiments. Although each of these films is a completely independent work, when seen together they incite interpretations that, on the one hand, place them on the map of European and American cinema, on the other — complicate and enrich our knowledge of Polish cinema. The section “FINA presents: Polish cinema without borders” is an invitation to travel through other cultural traditions, languages and sensibilities, but also to return to domestic cinema along somewhat circular roads and less frequented paths.