Cinematic Poland is an initiative of the Andrzej Wajda Film Centre and the International Cooperation Office UG created with the foreign academic community in mind. Screenings of Polish films will help familiarise visitors with our culture and history. The Medical University of Gdańsk has joined the UG project.
The first screening in the Cinematic Poland series is the Oscar-nominated Cold War (2018), directed by Paweł Pawlikowski. We invite you to the Andrzej Wajda Film Centre (auditorium of the University of Gdańsk Library) on October 19 at 6 p.m. Admission is free.
'Our Cinematic Poland activities promote full inclusivity and internationalisation, providing access to film screenings for all members of the academic community. To ensure that the project reaches as many people as possible, we decided to invite friendly universities to participate,' says the head of the International Cooperation Office, Magdalena Sawicz.
'We are grateful to our partner, the University of Gdańsk, for allowing us to participate in this valuable initiative,' said the Manager of the University Internationalisation Office of MUG Ewa Kiszka. ‘The Medical University of Gdańsk is a university open to the world and people. The representatives from over 70 countries study and work with us. Strengthening communication and integration of our university communities through, in this case, cultural events is extremely valuable.’
The Cinematic Poland programme includes not only the classics of Polish cinematography but also the most acclaimed films produced in the 21st century. 'After each screening, information about the work and an opportunity for discussion will be provided by lecturers from the University of Gdańsk, above all employees of the Department of Film and Media,' says Weronika Wolska from the Andrzej Wajda Film Centre at the University of Gdańsk.
Screenings will occur monthly throughout the academic year (at 6 p.m.). The series will open with a showing of the film Cold War this Thursday (19.10.2023).
‘Multiculturalism means the coexistence within a community, for example, an academic one, people of different cultures, traditions, customs, religions, languages, origins and different value systems. That is why we are very happy to introduce the international part of our community to the world of Polish cinematography,' adds Ewa Kiszka.
Shot from the film
19.10.2023 Zimna wojna (Cold War), dir. by Paweł Pawlikowski
Venue: auditorium of the University of Gdańsk Library
Admission: Free
A story of difficult love between two people who cannot live without each other but at the same time cannot be together. The events shown in Cold War take place in the 1950s and 1960s, in Poland and in awakening Europe, with a unique soundtrack in the background, which is a combination of Polish folk music with jazz and the songs of Parisian bars of the past century.
Shot from the film
16.11.2023 Przypadek (Blind Chance), dir. by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Venue: auditorium of the University of Gdańsk Library
Admission: Free
The film shows three different life stories of one man, Witek Długosz, which depend on coincidence. In the first sequence, Witek tries to catch a train to Warsaw, and his further life depends on it. If he makes it, he meets an old communist activist on the train, who pulls him into the orbit of power. If he knocks down a Sokist on the platform, not only will he fail to make it, but he will still be punished and thus join the political opposition. In the third variant, he meets a familiar girl on the platform, which will end in marriage and choosing an apolitical career as a scientist. All variants have their finale at Okęcie airport, from where Witek is to fly abroad...
Shot from the film
14.12.2023 IO (EO), dir. by Jerzy Skolimowski
Venue: auditorium of the University of Gdańsk Library
Admission: Free
Viewed from the perspective of an animal, the world seems a mysterious enigma. EO, a grey donkey with sad eyes, meets good and bad people on his way and experiences joy and pain alike. His fate is ruled by chance, which turns happiness into despair in a second and sadness into unexpected bliss. But EO never for a moment loses his innocence.