2009 Film Festival Movies
The Movies 
The Long and the Short of Polish Contemporary Cinema
At The Bob Bullock Texas History Museum, the Texas Spirit Theater, 1800 N. Congress Avenue at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in downtown Austin, Texas.
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Thursday, November 5
6:30pm – Opening Gala
Special guests:
Consul General Joanna Kozinska-Frybes
Culture, Science, Education and Public Affairs Consul Malgorzata Cup
Director Jacek Bromski, President of Polish Filmmakers Association
Ludek Drizhal, the composer of the music for “God’s Little Village”
Actress Agnieszka Kotlarska, starring in “God’s Little Village”
7:30pm
God’s Little Village / U Pana Boga za Miedza (2009, 110 minutes)
Director: Jacek Bromski
Screenplay: Jacek Bromski
Director of Photography: Ryszard Lenczewski, Lukasz Zal
Music: Ludek Drizhal
Producer: OKO Film Studio, TVP-Film Agency
Cast: Krzysztof Dzierma, Andrzej Beya-Zaborski, Grzegorz Herominski, Agnieszka Kotlarska, Emilian Kaminski, Wojciech Solarz, Malgorzata Sadowska, Agata Kryska, Mieczyslaw Fiodorow.
Plot: The highly anticipated third part of the comedy series from director Jacek Bromski, this ongoing story portrays the life of the small community of Krolowy Most, an idyllic small town in Poland, this time torn by the political struggles of the mayoral elections.
Friday, November 6
6:30pm
Time to Die / Pora Umierac (2008, 104 minutes)
Director: Dorota Kedzierzawska
Screenplay: Dorota Kedzierzawska
Director of Photography: Arthur Reinhart
Music: Wlodzimierz Pawlik
Producer: Tandem Taren-To
Co-producer: TVP, KID FILM
Plot: A deeply moving but also witty and genuinely uplifting slice of cinema. The 93 year-old Polish screen veteran Danuta Szaflarska produces a wonderful central performance as the feisty and spirited Aniela, all alone in her once grand home and fighting against greedy property developers, idiotic neighbors, unappreciative family, juvenile delinquents, and the rigors of old age. Garnering rave reviews from film festivals around the world, this film is a real gem.
8:45pm
Before Twilight / Jeszcze nie wieczor (2008, 95 minutes)
Director: Jacek Blawut
Screenplay: Jacek Blawut, Jacek Piotr Blawut, Stanislaw Józefowicz
Director of Photography: Wojciech Staron
Music: Tomasz Stroynowski
Producer: Rabarbar Film Studio
Cast: Jan Nowicki, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Roman Klosowski, Danuta Szaflarska, Irena Kwiatkowska, Nina Andrycz, Fabian Kiebicz, Stefan Burczyk, Zofia Wilczynska, Ewa Krasnodebska.
Plot: A story about love, aging, and actors, their eccentricity and their dreams to play one more big role before they pass away. The aged residents of the Veteran Actors’ House, engaged in triviality of everyday life, decide to stage Goethe’s “Faust”. This idea comes from a veteran actor, a restless soul, who appears unexpectedly in their uneventful life and by the enthusiasm of two young people. The film is warm and amusing, and concentrates on the joy of life.
Saturday, November 7
6:30pm
Preserve / Rezerwat (2007, 100 minutes)
Director: Lukasz Palkowski
Screenplay: Marcin Kwasny, Lukasz Palkowski
Director of Photography: Pawel Sobczyk
Music: Sebastian Krajewski
Producer: Paisa Films
Cast: Marcin Kwasny, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Grzegorz Palkowski, Tomasz Karolak, Artur Dziurman, Wioletta Arlak, Jan Stawarz, Tadeusz Boren.
Plot: After a stormy breakup with his girlfriend, freelance photographer Marcin moves into a dilapidated apartment in the Praga district of Warsaw. His new landlord hires him to document the disastrous condition of the building. While taking pictures of the neighborhood, Marcin discovers an unknown world which starts to fascinate him. In this world, specific rules and code of honor have been preserved. A series of events change his life, bringing him new friends and enemies. “Preserve” is a bitter-sweet story about the inhabitants of Praga – the district of Warsaw with an unforgettable atmosphere.
8:45pm
Drowsiness / Sennosc (2008, 105 minutes)
Director: Magdalena Piekorz
Screenplay: Wojciech Kuczok
Director of Photography: Adam Nocon
Music: Adrian Konarski
Producer: Tor Film Studio
Cast: Malgorzata Kozuchowska, Michal Zebrowski, Krzysztof Zawadzki, Joanna Pierzak, Rafal Mackowiak, Bartosz Obuchowicz, Dorota Pomykala, Anna Tomaszewska, Andrzej Grabowski, Marian Dziedziel, Krzysztof Kolberger, Weronika Rosati.
Plot: Centers on three individuals whose stories become intertwined. Actress Roza, doctor Adam, and writer Robert all suffer the same burden of disturbed sleep. Roza cannot work because she suffers from narcolepsy, Adam is unable to return to his family and leave behind city life, and Robert finds no inspiration. However, owing to a combination of circumstances, the three meet and life gives them a chance to escape their lethargy.
Sunday, November 8
6:30pm
Tomorrow We Are Going to the Movies / Jutro idziemy do kina (2007, 100 minutes)
Director: Michal Kwiecinski
Screenplay: Jerzy Stefan Stawinski
Director of Photography: Piotr Wojtowicz
Music: Misza Hairulin
Cast: Mateusz Damiecki, Antoni Pawlicki ,Jakub Wesolowski, Anna Gzyra, Grazyna Szapolowska, Daniel Olbrychski, Julia Pietrucha, Marta Scislowicz, Olgierd Lukaszewicz.
Plot: This is the beautiful and touching story about young people in 1938. These people, born in a free country, meet the reality of war. The war shatters their future, hopes, friends, properties, and chances for normal living, if one survives it at all. Out of 30 classmates, 20 die, while others are sentenced to death in prisons. But even those who survive can never make up for lost years. The screenplay is based on its author’s and his friends’ memories and experiences.
8:35pm
The Glass Trap / Szklana pulapka (2008, 15 minutes), Documentary
Director: Pawel Ferdek
Screenplay: Pawel Ferdek
Director of Photography: Wojciech Staron
Music: Mikolaj Trzaska
Producer: The Polish Filmmakers Association – The Andrzej Munk Studio “The Youth and Film”, production manager: Jakub Kosma
Plot: Cash, a car and a mobile phone… as well as a fish. A group of toughs from the suburbs of Warsaw organizes a new entertainment: aggressive aquarium fish-fight shows. The tournament is accompanied by betting. The dense atmosphere of the competition brings out primitive instincts. The Glass Trap is a speedy ride.
8:50pm
The Loneliness of a Short-Order Cook / Samotnosc kucharza szybkich zamowien
(2008, 24 minutes)
Director: Marcel Sawicki
Screenplay: Marcel Sawicki
Director of Photography: Monika Wozniak
Music: Oscar Santos, Michael Gerald Bauer
Producer: The Polish Filmmakers Association
Plot: Young Japanese works as a cook in Japanese jazz club in Los Angeles. It is just a temporary job while he is waiting for his visa. He falls in love with a Mexican girl who doesn’t speak English. He discovers the other side of the city – without beaches, palms and expensive cars. Sawicki’s film is about the inability to communicate due to language and loneliness.
November 14, 2009, 1pm – 5pm
Short Films, Documentaries, and Animations Admission is free!
At The University of Texas Campus, Communication building (CMB), Studio 4D, at the intersection of Guadalupe and 25th Street, Austin, Texas. (Parking Information)
Actors / Aktorzy (2008, 24 minutes) Documentary Director: Tomasz Wolski Plot: While Jacek Blawut was filming his feature film, “Before Twilight”, there was another camera on the set. It was recording the actors waiting to enter the set. The result is an affectionate, humorous documentary film about the art of waiting.
52% (2007, 19 minutes) Documentary Director: Rafal Skalski Plot: Alla wishes to became a ballet dancer. Once again she tries to be admitted to the Russian Ballet Academy in St. Petersbug. The entrance exams are extremly tough for her. Alla must lenghten her legs because her proportions are not accurate. 52% is the perfect ratio of the legs’ lenght to the height.
My New Life / Moja nowa droga (2009, 37 min) Director: Barbara Bialowas Producer: The Polish Filmmakers Association – The Andrzej Munk Studio Plot: Piotr and Alina are a couple in their thirties, living in a big city, and trying to fulfill their dreams. Alina works in a casino but aspires to be a director one day. Piotr works for the alternative radio and organizes help for opposition in Belarus. The day of their engagement is supposed to be joyful, when two families and two generations meet. All of a sudden, it becomes a collision of attitudes and viewpoints. Alina and Piotr need to decide which way they want to follow in their lives.
On Credit / Na kredyt (2009, 30 min) Director: Przemyslaw Nowakowski Producer: The Polish Filmmakers Association – The Andrzej Munk Studio Plot: A contemporary version of a medieval legend about lovers separated by a curse. The curse for Agnieszka and Lucek is an apartment mortgage. The payment forces them to work harder and they stop seeing each other, since their work hours overlap. They hit on the idea of sending each other video messages. As time passes, Lucek sinks dangerously into this artificial world and loses touch with Agnieszka. Then he meets Wera.
What the Doctors Say / Co mowia lekarze (2009, 24 minutes) Director: Michal Wnuk Producer: The Polish Filmmakers Association – The Andrzej Munk Studio Plot: “18-years old, 168 cm tall, 49 kg weight, no diseases, no addictions” – this is the portrait of a perfect organ donor. Using this information, anesthesiologist Dr. Glik, who is dealing with professional burnout, declares the death of an 18-year old as suicide. The victim’s mother, however, is wary of doctors and sparks a crusade for the truth.
Held Mail / Poste Restante (2008, 14 minutes) Director: Marcel Lozinski Plot: What happens to letters addressed to Santa? To deceased relatives? To God? Academy Award-nominated director Marcel Lozinski captures with beautiful photography the birth, delivery and reincarnation of undeliverable letters in Poland.
Pro Toto (1987, 9 minutes) Director: Andrzej Titkow Plot: The director, in one of the interviews, declared that he believes in a principle pars pro toto – expressing the whole through a part. He is ahead of his time in this elegy to trees, beautifully capturing the living spirit of these forest giants and documenting their life after death. The title comes from the Latin: part (taken) for the whole. A beautiful, poetic film with a strong message.
Cathedral / Katedra (2002, 7 minutes) Animation Director: Tomasz Baginski Plot: An explorer visits what appear to be the ruins of a gothic cathedral. There seem to be some strange statues, though, whose faces follow him as he makes his way to the end; the sun comes out, and he stops at the edge of a cliff.
Fallen Art / Sztuka spadania (2004, 4 minutes) Animation Director: Tomasz Baginski Plot: A desolate God-forsaken base in the Pacific is where shell-shocked soldiers and model officers who are no longer useful to the army are abandoned. Far away from any civilized code of conduct, they live out their depravities.