Homegrown Excellence: Digitally restored classics of Polish cinema at Timeless Film Festival Warsaw

Timeless Festival serves as a rendezvous point: a gathering of beloved classics, undiscovered cinematic gems, and Polish cinema that can rarely be admired on the big screen. In our Classic Territories: Polish Cinema section, we showcase a curated selection of 13 feature films. Many screenings will be complemented by engaging discussions with the filmmakers themselves.

Come April, audiences will have the opportunity to experience some of the most iconic works by Marek Koterski, Barbara Sass, Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, Tadeusz Junak, Janusz Zaorski, Mariusz Treliński, Marek Piwowski, Wojciech J. Has, Sylwester Chęciński, Edward Żebrowski, and Lech Majewski after meticulous digital restoration!

We’re in for screenings of cult Polish classics, but we’ll also be wandering down the less-traveled paths of Polish cinema. Among these, we will see two contrasting portraits of Warsaw: the tear-jerking Scream (1982) by Barbara Sass and the gangster comedy Foul Play (1976) by Marek Piwowski. We will also revisit two cult films from the 1960s: Our Folks (1967) by Sylwester Chęciński and The Saragossa Manuscript (1964) by Wojciech Jerzy Has, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The section also highlights original examples of dialogue between cinema and literature: the portrayal of the eponymous poet in Lech Majewski’s Wojaczek (1999), Edward Żebrowski’s harrowing adaptation of Stanisław Lem’s novel Hospital of the Transfiguration (1978), and Tadeusz Junak’s Palace (1980), based on the prose of Wiesław Myśliwski.

At Timeless, we will also engage with filmmakers shaping the recent history of Polish cinema. Marek Koterski will grace the anniversary screenings of The House of Fools (1984), while Janusz Zaorski will talk about the behind-the-scenes of A Room with a View on the Sea (1977). Mariusz Treliński, accompanied by Jan Frycz, will introduce viewers to Farewell to Autumn (1990), steeped in Witkacy’s catastrophism, and Magdalena Łazarkiewicz will share insights into The Last Schoolbell (1989), one of the most significant Polish films centered on young people.

Timeless audiences will have the pleasure of meeting Dorota Stalińska (Scream), Krzysztof Siwczyk (Wojaczek), Hanna Mikuć (from Stanislaw Różewicz’s Woman in a Hat, 1984), Marek Piwowski, and Maja Komorowska, who handpicked one of her favorite films for the festival program: Krzysztof Zanussi’s Behind the Wall (1971), the only feature in the section still awaiting digital restoration.

All titles will be presented with English subtitles, catering to foreign audiences who may be experiencing these works for the first time.

Expect a mix of touching, epic, and grotesque narratives, where visual exuberance meets sharp, realistic storytelling. Prepare for difficult emotions, family stories, immortal comedies, and offbeat excursions into the past.