Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival

Ann Arbor, MI

NOVEMBER 5TH, SATURDAY

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
ages 7 and older

Screening Room 4

9:30 am
Childrens’s Book Fair


10:00 am
Opening of the Children’s Program

Announcement of the AAPFF Poster Contest Winner
and Awards Ceremony.

10:15 am
Detektyw Bruno/Detective Bruno
dir. Magdalena Nieć, Mariusz Palej, family, 2022, 105 min. 

The story of eight-year-old Oscar, a big fan of the show “Detective Bruno”. The boy lives in the family orphanage and on his birthday, he finds an envelope with a clue leading to the last gift hidden by his parents. He decides to hire the best detective he knows to help him solve the mystery – actor Bruno Księski playing the role of the detective. However, this Bruno is not a real detective. He is a burn out, cynical actor who dislikes children and experiences a great image crisis.He is a burned out, cynical actor who dislikes children and experiences a great image crisis.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
ages 3 and older
Screening Room 1

10:00 am 
Opening of the Children’s Program

10:05 am
Żubr Pompik/Pompik the Bison
dir. Szymon Adamski, Maciej Kur, Marzena Nehrebecka, Tessa Moult-Milewska, Agnieszka Sadurska, animation, 2021, 35 min. 

Somewhere in the depths of a vast, wild, and green forest lives Pompik the bison. One should call him a little bison, because Pompik is much smaller than any other bison. Not even mentioning that he is weaker, slower, and not so agile as the others. He is not a perfect match for traditional bison games like horn pushing, scrimmage in the bushes or bison tag. Instead, he has other interests. Pompik is the most curious animal in the entire forest.

 

10:40 am
INTERMISSION and CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR

11:00 am
Wiking Tappi /Tales of Tappi the Viking
dir. Marian Cholerek, Andrzej Piotr Morawski, Tessa Moult-Milewska, animation, 2021, 33 min. 

In the wonderful, magical Whispering Forest, which stretches along the banks of the Ice Gulf, lives Tappi the Viking. He is not a true Viking, because he never brandishes a sword. His greatest weapon is a smile, kindness, and ingenuity.

DOCUMENTARY FILMS PROGRAM
Screening Room 1

Kulisy

1:00 pm
Kulisy/Backstage and video-message from director Ada Smyk
dir. Ada Smyk, documentary film, 2021, 20 min

Backstage at the National Opera in Warsaw. Worn hands carve wooden props, bend sheets of metal, and dye tones of silk. Not a word is spoken. The Kubrick-esque images of the craftspeople speak for themselves. Backstage is a tribute to the invisible labor of costume makers, upholsterers, dyers, metal workers, shoemakers, wig designers, carpenters, and all the other craftspeople who devote their lives to art but are almost always obscured by the incandescence of the stage.

 

1:30 pm
Na wstrzymanym oddechu/Holding Your Breath
dir. Katarzyna Sikorska, documentary film, 2021, 14 min. 

Wojtek is an S11 class swimmer, a Paralympic silver medalist, and European and World Champion. He was meant to be the first blind free diver in Poland. However, the pandemic prevents him from finishing his course in single breath diving, and competing in the Olympics and other championships. This causes him to reconsider his career in sports.

1:45 pm
Taka twoja uroda/That’s the Beauty of You
dir. Katarzyna Górniak, Magda Łucyan, documentary film, 2021, 38 min. 

The film draws attention to a serious disease, endometriosis, of which social awareness is very low. It gives sick women a voice that no one has given them before. It authenticates both them and their suffering against the environment that has so far downplayed them. Raising awareness of the disease gives sick women a chance for social acceptance, serious treatment by doctors, correct diagnosis and effective care.

2:25 pm
INTERMISSION

2:40 pm
Simona/Simona
dir. Natalia Koryncka-Gruz, documentary film, 2022, 90 min. 

Simona Kossak, who was she, really? The legendary researcher who lived surrounded by wild animals in the Białowieża Forest? Why did she escape her family home – the famous Kossak dynasty? What was the life of the first ever Polish eco-activist like in the 1970s? Unique photos and recordings from the archives of Simona and her life partner Lech Wilczek take us to the primeval forest and allow us to experience a unique life away from civilization.

EVENING PROGRAM
Screening Room 1

Noc za dnia

5:30 pm
Noc za dnia/When the Night Comes
dir. Katarzyna Sikorska, short narrative film, 2021, 23 min. 

During the First World War Maria finds out her husband Jan is in the hospital. It turns out the man does not recognize her. Maria has doubts whether Jan has actually lost his memory or is lying to avoid punishment for potential desertion. The many understatements and secrets cause confusion. Night mixes with day, for both the audience, and our heroes. Maybe it’s all a dream, maybe a figment of a traumatized mind.

Q& A
with dir. Katarzyna Sikorska

6:10 pm
INTERMISSION

6:30 pm
Sonata/Sonata
dir. Bartosz Blaschke, drama, 2021, 118 min. 

Grzegorz, diagnosed as an autistic child, lives in his hermetic world, unable to establish contact with others. When he turns fourteen, it turns out that the cause of isolation is not autism, but hearing loss, which hides great musical talent. Thanks to the auditory implant, Grzegorz begins to learn sounds, words, and music with which he falls in love.

8:30 pm
INTERMISSION

9:00 pm
Czarna owca/Black Sheep
dir. Aleksander Pietrzak, comedy, 2021, 107 min. 

Magda and Arek create a harmonious marriage with 25 years of experience, caring for their sick grandfather. They live with their son, Tomek, who is in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend Asia. Seemingly everything is fine, typical family. And yet, Magda, a teacher in a Catholic high school, hides the fact that she prefers women, Arek has not been able to find a job for a long time, and Tomek, a popular YouTuber, is mainly driven by his interests. When crises, conflicts and desires finally explode, everyone begins to live on their own.