26th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival
November 8–10, 2019

The 26th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival

and the 2019 Submissions

We have good news!

The 26th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival will take place November 8 – 10, 2019.
The 2019 Submissions are now open, and we are seeking a selection of the best new documentary and short narrative films.

Prizes are awarded in three categories:
Ewa Pięta Award for the Best Documentary Film
Andrzej Dolata Award for the Best Debut
Best Short Film Award for the Best Short Narrative Film

The submission deadline is August 1, 2019. Please visit our Film Competition page to read the Submission Rules 2019 and to submit your film.

We look forward to seeing your latest productions!

The 25th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival Retrospective

We celebrated the Festival in a special way through rich programming and exciting events with distinguished guests.

We started with the Gala Reception to mark the achievement of 25 years of the Festival, and to express appreciation to all who contributed to the Festival’s success: organizers, sponsors, and most of all, the viewers.

The Festival coincided with the 100th Anniversary of Poland’s Regained Independence and we joined world-wide celebration with a series of Polish historical films presented in the weeks preceding the Festival.

In all, the Festival’s program included 18 films: 7 feature films, 2 animations, 4 short films and 5 documentaries, with many showings at full-capacity.

We welcomed 7 guests, film director Krzysztof Zanussi, Sławomir Grünberg, Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz and Filip Bajon with his film team – Olga Bieniek, Marlena Kreńska and Marzena Mróz.

Our Documentary and Short Film Competition received a record of 55 submissions. The winners were Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz (Best Documentary), Mateusz Gołębiewski (Best Debut) and Pat Howl Kostyszyn (Best Short Film).

The Festival’s organizers thank the viewers and sponsors for their continued participation and financial support.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the 2019 Festival!

The Festival Opening Gala 2018

2018 Award Winners Announced

The Jury of the 25th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival
is pleased to announce the winners for the 2018 Documentary and Short Film Competition:

Ewa Pięta Award for the Best Documentary

Niebo bez gwiazd / A Sky Without Stars
dir. Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz

Andrzej Dolata Award for the Best Debut

Praca / Labor
dir. Mateusz Gołębiewski

Best Short Film Award

Tamtej nocy / Off the Hook
dir. Pat Howl Kostyszyn

Film Competition 2018

The Jury of the 25th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival
is pleased to announce the documentary and short films selected for screening at the upcoming 25th Festival:

Ciche godziny / Quiet Hours, dir. Paul Szynol

Modus Operandi / Modus Operandi, dir. Remigiusz Biernacki

Niebo bez gwiazd / A Sky Without Stars, dir. Katarzyna Dąbkowska-Kułacz
Ostatni misjonarze / The Last Missionaries, dir. Simon Target

Podróż Bogdana / Bogdan’s Journey, dir. Michał Jaskulski, Lawrence Loewinger

Praca / Labor, dir. Mateusz Gołębiewski

Świtezianka / The Nixie, dir. Julia Bui Ngoc, Mai Bui Ngoc

Tamtej nocy / Off the Hook, dir. Pat Howl Kostyszyn

Universam Grochów / Universam Grochów, dir. Tomasz Knittel

100 Years of Poland's Regained Independence

POLISH HISTORY IN FILM MASTERPIECES

To celebrate the 100th years of Poland’s regained independence, the Polish Filmmakers Association is presenting a series of films with a historical theme. The idea behind the project is to disseminate knowledge of Polish art and history by presenting films of outstanding artistic quality. The films selected show various historical periods, and offer insight into Polish history from the viewpoint of several generations, ranging from Andrzej Wajda, now a classic figure of Polish cinema, to Jan Komasa, a representative of our youngest filmmakers. Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival is proud to host and co-sponsor the series Polish History in Film Masterpieces.

MICHIGAN THEATER
603 E LIBERTY ST
ANN ARBOR

SCREENINGS:

MORE ABOUT THE FILMS

NOCE I DNIE / NIGHTS AND DAYS

dir. Jerzy Antczak

1975, drama, 245 min.

This epic family drama based on Maria Dąbrowska’s novel Noce i dnie tells the story of the Niechcic family. In 1914, in the war-torn Kaliniec, Barbara Niechcic remembers her youth, love, marriage and family life in the countryside.

ZIEMIA OBIECANA / THE PROMISED LAND

dir. Andrzej Wajda

1974, drama, 169 min.

Drama based on a novel by Władysław Reymont. Set in the industrial city of Łódź, The Promised Land tells the story of a Pole, a German, and a Jew struggling to build a factory in the raw world of 19th-century capitalism.

PIANISTA / THE PIANIST

dir. Roman Polański

2002, drama, 142 min.

A Polish Jewish pianist struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto during the World War II.

POPIÓŁ I DIAMENT / ASHES AND DIAMONDS

dir. Andrzej Wajda

1958, drama, 97 min.

It is May 1945, and Nazi Germany has just surrendered. The war is over, but not in Poland. As the German soldiers vacate, the remaining Russian forces and Polish resistance fighters must work out the hierarchies of power in “liberated” Communist Poland.

CZŁOWIEK Z MARMURU / MAN OF MARBLE

dir. Andrzej Wajda

1976, drama, 160 min.

In repressive Poland, documentary filmmaker Agnieszka works on a film about Birkut, a bricklayer who had briefly been hailed as a hero of the proletariat in the 50s, but then disappeared into obscurity. In piecing together details about the bricklayer’s mysterious life, she discovers that his involvement in organized labor had been viewed negatively by party bosses, and that her own investigations could put her in danger.