The 100th birthday of Stanisław Lem. Film premiere and discussion at NCK
- 'Stanisław Lem, whose birth centenary we are celebrating this weekend, is one of the most appreciated and most... underestimated Polish writers of the 20th century,' says dr Maciej Dajnowski from the Faculty of Philology at the University of Gdańsk. On the 100th birthday of the author of Solaris, people of culture and science will discuss his life and work, the idea of freedom, solidarity and openness in literature and art in the Old Town Hall in Gdańsk. The premiere of an animated film entitled Lem i Mrożek - reaktywacja has also been announced.
The year 2021 is the Year of Stanisław Lem. September 12, 2021, marks exactly 100 years since the day on which one of the most outstanding Polish and European writers, essayists, futurologists and philosophers of the 20th century was born.
The programme of the project at the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre entitled It Hurts Only When I Laugh... will include a discussion with the participation of the actor Mirosław Baka, prof. Henryk Cześnik from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, and dr. Maciej Dajnowski from the Faculty of Philology of the University of Gdańsk.
- 'Stanisław Lem, next to the famous Nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz and much more hermetic fathers of our avant-garde - Witkacy, Bruno Schulz, Witold Gombrowicz - enjoys the greatest recognition among the international community of readers,' argues dr Maciej Dajnowski. - 'At the same time, Poles are still not aware (and perhaps never will be) of the unique artistic and intellectual phenomenon of "Lem's comet" - the image of a talented, widely read (and purchased) creator of science fiction persists. Lem was also, but by no means exclusively, such a creator,' he adds.
- 'Given the richness and multidimensionality of both the author of "Solaris" and his literary work, I will try to emphasise this diversity, the breadth of horizons and, in a sense, the impossibility of reducing Stanisław Lem's writing to a single denominator,' announces dr Maciej Dajnowski. The keyword of his speech will be Witkacy's metaphor of unity in multiplicity, which perhaps better reflects the harmonious, thoughtful and purposeful character of Lem's legacy than a hybrid.
The anniversary year has become a pretext for many celebrations that remind us of the writer's contribution to Polish culture and our intellectual life. - 'One of them will be the premiere of a film by Marek Wojtasik and Paweł "Paulus" Mazur "Lem and Mrożek. Reaktywacja", based on the two writers' correspondence published by Znak in 2011,' announces dr Maciej Dajnowski.
- 'The screenplay for the film is based on the correspondence of Stanisław Lem and Sławomir Mrożek. Outstanding and dissimilar writing personalities will meet here. Lem, Mrożek, Błoński and Szczepański constituted an important, though unofficial, opinion-forming group of the time, over which another mythical authority and model - Gombrowicz - hovered,' – announced the organisers.
Sala Mieszczańska of the Old Town Hall in Gdańsk, ul. Korzenna 33/35, September 12, 2021, 5.30 p.m. The event will be broadcast on the website of the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre.
