Numerous awards from international film festivals such as the Berlinale, the London festival, Cannes, and the recent Oscar for Pawel Pawiloski’s IDA, and renowned directors like Andrzej Wajda, Krzyszrof Kieslowski, and Roman Polanski have given Polish filmmaking a global reputation.  With co-financing from international partners, support from the Polish Film Institute, regional film funds and the European Union through its MEDIA and Europe-Images initiatives Poland has been producing forty feature films every year in addition to numerous documentaries and animated productions, including numerous ventures with other countries.  Among the three hundred films released annually in Poland, Hollywood productions retain their dominance. That being said, there is still a healthy demand for domestic films because they meet the demand for Polish comedies and features on Polish history and currents issues, an interest well reflected in the selection for this year’s program.

The Polish New York Film Festival is supported by the Polish Embassy in the United States and the European Film Academy and funded by Polish agencies and private sources.  Since its founding 12 years ago it has presented more than 250 productions to a discerning and growing audience including a fairly large proportion of individuals of Polish origin. Held at the Anthology Film Archives from April 27 – 30, it presented 12 productions including several US premieres with expert Q&A sessions and networking events under the guidance of its director Hanna Hsartowicz. The 2016 edition was held in memory of K. Kieslowski, who died 20 years ago, and presented his 1991 masterpiece THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE.

Among the remarkable productions screened were

RAGING ROSE, Julia Kowalski, France / Poland, 2015

The feature is Kowalski’s first full length film and premiered last year in the ACID series at Cannes. The film’s theme is framed by the reception and experience of foreign Polish workers in France as exemplified by Jozef who comes to Nantes as a craftsman looking for his son, Roman, whom he abandoned many years earlier. Roman believes that Jozef is dead as informed by his estranged mother. In France Jozef find work repairing a home. By miraculous coincidence Rose, a schoolmate of Roman’s lives in the home. Jozef gives Rose a letter for Roman. When Rose tells Roman that his is alive, Roman refuses to believe her and rejects then letter. Despite her failures as a go-between for Jozef and his son, Rose falls passionately in love with Roman, who rejects her advances.  Rose and Roman engage in antagonistic exchanges but eventually travel to Poland to seek out Jozef. In this fast moving narrative cornered by Rose, Josef and Anton the actors provide a compelling performance. The film exemplifies the antagonism aimed at foreign workers and their children.

RIGHTEOUS, Michael Szczrebic, Poland, 2015

Inspired by the true story of Irena Sandler who received the Righteous Among the Nations Award, this feature traces the fate of a Jewish girl, Hania, whose family was killed in 1942 by German forces and her rescue as a six-year-old by Irena. When Hania returns to Poland from her home in Israel to give Irena the Righteous award Irena refuses to accept it. Through flashbacks to Hania’s past, interviews with villagers still recalling the war period, and visits to the places where the slaughters took place both Hana and Irene change. By better understanding what happened, Hania loses her bitterness and scorn for those who did not help and Irena realizes she has to accept the award. The film shows the prevailing anti-Semitism that existed in the village, exploitation of the Jews, and the collaboration that exposed and led to the killing of Jews. Some righteous people remained who helped Jews even though they faced severe prosecution by the Germans and other Poles.

THESE DAUGHTRES OF MINE, Kinga Debska, Poland, 2015

Debska’s feature is a well-designed character study of two sisters who are fundamentally different and face a family crisis. Their mother is dying and their father is slowly going through the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. One, Marta, played by Agta Kulesca, who starred in the Oscar winner IDA, working in the film and television industry, has a strong pragmatic perspective. She is not prone to overt emotional expressions and reflects this in her every move. The other, Kasia, is a sensitive and emotionally caring teacher with occasionally spontaneous outburst.  Marta is bitterly resigned to the reality of the situation while Kasia seems possessed of an unshakable optimism, regardless of how grim the situation may appear. Kasia seeks out possible cures for her parents and is unwilling to accept what the doctors tell her. Their difference is so strong that Marta suggests that one of them must have been adopted.  Neither has a happy or enduring family life. Marta has an apparently well-adjusted daughter but has gone through several failed relationships. Marta is her father’s clear favorite, which causes great resentment from Kasia who is married to a loafer that exploits her. There are constant conflicts between the sisters about how to care of the dying parents, how to resolve the estate, and what the avenues of their lives may hold. The acting and storytelling is formidable and well-staged against the bleak background of death.

BODY, Msalgorzata Szumowska, Poland, 2015

BODY received the sliver bear for best director at the Berlinale, the best editor award at the European Film Awards competition, the Golden Lion for best feature film at the Polish Film Festival as well as other awards. Contrasting three characters with fundamentally divergent outlooks and motivations the film is a striking example of black comedy with surreal overtones in which absurdity seems to prevail. As the numerous awards indicate the film has superb direction and acting which brings coherence to the story in spite of all the juxtapositions and strange turn of events. The contrast between the three key figures living in contemporary Poland cannot be bigger. Janusz works as an inspector and coroner and treats the dead bodies he encounters in a detached manner no matter how grizzly the causes of death may be. They range from the investigation of an infant’s apparent murder whose parts were stuffed in a railway toilet, the identification of his wife’s body in a water logged cemetery to a man hanging from a tree declared dead but walking away. Janusz has no emotional response to his corpses. His daughter Olga, who lives with him, is anorexic, walking on her hands while home and engages in binge eating and vomiting. Returning from work the father finds Olga apparently lifeless on the bathroom floor and brings her to the emergency room.  In the hospital we meet Anna the most puzzling character of the story who takes care of Olga. She is a psychotherapist treating anorexic female teenagers using, at least for Poland, some unusual group therapy methods ranging from primal therapy to role playing and reversal. Most importantly, Anna is a medium in her private life, connecting the living with the dead. Living with a large dog and the crib of her son who passed eight years earlier Olga tells her mother the son is doing well. Death does not exist for her and in meeting with bereaved people she alleviates their sufferings by reading massages she received from the ‘dead’ and writing them down rapidly without opening her eyes. From her perspective no one dies and the dead just take on a different form, a view anticipated in the beginning of the film when a man who committed suicide just gets up and walks away. After learning from Anna about her avocation Janusz takes Olga out of the hospital. Unknown to Janusz, Olga did experience some relief from her treatment. She dreamed of her mother and cried for the first time after a primal exercise. When Janusz finds a written message from his dead wife he arranges a séance in his home. Holding hands through the night over candle light Janusc, Olga, and Anna cannot get in touch with the mother. Olga admits that she wrote the message, which Anna defends by saying that her good intentions are what count. For the first time in the film Januszc and Olga are seen laughing, smiling at each other, suggesting a better life together.  BODY is a film that needs to be seen several times to truly appreciate its value.

The 2016 edition of the New York Polish Film Festival certainly met the expectations of a fist class showcase of Polish films.

Claus Mueller,  filmexchange@gmail.com