Dobrawa Czocher | Germaine Dulac films

In the realm of fantasies, dreams, and nightmares, cinema finds one of its most potent metaphors and the wellspring of its wildest ideas. It is within the space of hallucination and imagination that heads locked in glass spheres, doors leading to nowhere and everywhere, perverse dreams, and shameless flattery of the urges of Eros and Thanatos come to life. At the forefront of this universe stands Germaine Dulac – a trailblazer in surrealist film, whose influence extends to filmmakers like David Lynch and Maya Deren. Her two most renowned films, The Seashell and the Clergyman, and The Smiling Madame Beudet, will grace the screen at Timeless Film Festival Warsaw on April 12, 2024, at the POLIN Museum, accompanied by the cello performance of Dobrawa Czocher. Czocher, whose music often delves into the oneiric realm, will provide a unique musical backdrop for this screening. In 2023, she released her album Dreamscapes (“dreamy escapes”), about which she writes: “it’s a journey through dream time; through the moment when we really meet our unconscious. What can we experience there and how does it affect our lives?”.

Germaine Dulac is a director to whom we owe not only subversive films based on otherworldly ideas but also a thoroughly feminist and contemporary filmmaker. Czocher’s musical blend, seamlessly combining classical and modern sounds, harmonizes with the surreal atmosphere of Dulac’s films.

Patrycja Mucha

Dobrawa Czocher, a Polish cellist and graduate of the Chopin University of Music and the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, has earned recognition through numerous music competitions and as a member of the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic Orchestra in Szczecin. Collaborating with composer and pianist Hania Rani, she released the albums Biały and Inner Symphonies, combining the artistic interests of both musicians. Czocher adeptly merges impeccable cello technique with boundless musical imagination and individual expression. She willingly navigates between the realms of classical and contemporary music, embracing both canons and avant-garde expressions. In 2023, she released her solo album Dreamscapes, a dreamlike musical journey through colors, textures and atmospheres.