PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact: Anna Tarnawska WDCPFF Artistic Director, Kosciuszko Foundation Development Manager, atarnawska@thekf.org

Washington DC, April 9, 2024 – The Washington DC Polish Film Festival (WDCPFF) will showcase eight new feature films and eight shorts. This diverse selection offers audiences in the nation's capital a glimpse into the latest trends in Polish cinema, reflecting urgent social changes and historical aspects of Poland and its citizens.  

The films will be shown from May 10 through 12 at downtown Washington's Landmark E Street Cinema. "Our objective is to bring the latest offerings of leading Polish filmmakers to the national capital audience. Some films boldly tackle pressing social themes relevant in many societies regardless of geographical severity. Additionally, several films presented at the Festival are made by women, highlighting the growing role of women in contemporary cinema," said Barbara Bernhardt, the Festival's Executive Director.

Remarkably daring, Woman of… (Kobieta z…) dir. by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert traces the struggle of a trans woman to lead her life in a hostile society. This moving film was written and directed by Szumowska and Englert during a period, now ended, of government disparagement and condemnation of the LGBTQ community. 

Treating gender identity in a lighter vein, the comedy If I Were You (Na Twoim Miejscu), dir. by Antonio Galdamez, tells the story of an argumentative couple who wake up one morning each in the body of the other. The wife must enter the male world, and the husband discovers what it means to be a woman. Deeper understanding and greater harmony ensue.

Doppleganger, dir. by Jan Holoubek and Little Rose 2 (Rozyczka 2), dir. by Jan Kidawa-Blonski draw on the Polish experience under Communism and focus on domestic spying, betrayal, and stolen identity. Like the best psychological thrillers, both films rise above their immediate circumstance to illuminate human characters and relationships under intense stress.

Scarborn (Kos), directed by Pawel Maslona, was voted the Best Film at Gdynia. Of particular interest to Americans, it follows the career of Tadeusz Kosciuszko after he helped win the American Revolutionary War and returned to Poland to lead an uprising against Russian domination. The comments of his American sidekick, a formerly enslaved Black person, and the regular allusions to American films, particularly Westerns, call attention to political and social parallels between the two countries. The three features presented on the Festival's third day testify to the great diversity of films currently produced in Poland.

Feast of Fire (Swieto Ognia), dir. by Kinga Debska, is the story of two sisters, an aspiring ballerina and a child physically disabled from birth. Each struggles with her body's limitations, and both triumph over them. At its premiere, the audience gave the film a standing ovation.  

In the In-laws 2 (Tesciowie 2), dir. by Kalina Alabrudzinska, Veronica and Lukasz overcome the opposition of both sets of parents to their happy marriage. A cast of some of Poland's leading comic stars wrings every bit of humor from the perverse situation. 

It is often said that Polish cinematographers are among the best in the world, and the images of nature on a wild, northern island steal the show in Ultima Thule, dir. by Klaudiusz Chrostowski. In this subtle film, with its submerged plot, a bitter man flees to the Shetland Islands, where he gradually finds peace and harmony in the rugged but beautiful natural scene. The lead is played by the emerging star Jakub Gierszal, who also plays the lead in Doppelganger.

The Festival's short films will spotlight emerging cinema creators' talent and contemporary essence. One such work, As it Was (Jak to było), directed by Anastasiia Solonevych and Damian Kocur, follows Lera's journey back to Ukraine a year after the outbreak of war. Along the way, she discovers that her family is not in Kyiv and won't arrive until the next day. 

For more details about each film and the accompanying shorts, and to check out the full schedule, visit the Festival website www.dcpolishfilmfest.org. Tickets are available for purchase online. All films will be shown in Polish with English subtitles.

Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Europa, Mr. Jones, and Green Border) serves as the Honorary Patron of the Washington Polish Film Festival. Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi) will chair the jury that selects the best film, actors, and director.

The WPFF is organized by the Kosciuszko Foundation, one of the country's oldest and largest Polish American organizations. It facilitates and promotes educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Poland.