WFO mon amour: Polish Docs About Space
The Educational Film Studio (WFO) commemorates its 75th anniversary this year, providing an excellent opportunity to delve into its extensive archives. Within these archives lie not only intriguing instructional films but also gems of documentary filmmaking, showcasing the talents of outstanding directors, cinematographers, and composers. Last year, Kuba Mikurda, Laura Pawela, and Marcin Lenarczyk brought attention to WFO’s treasures with the documentary Solaris Mon Amour, entirely crafted from the studio’s archives. The collection presented at Timeless Film Festival Warsaw draws inspiration from this film, serving as a tribute to both WFO and Solaris Mon Amour. Let’s embark on a journey to explore the mysteries of the cosmos!
Jakub Demiańczuk
partner
DATE
April 12, 2024
TIME
11:15 PM
VENUE
Kino Atlantic D
COPY / OTHERS
Q’n’A
Intro
Live music
Debate
DATE
April 14, 2024
TIME
9:00 PM
VENUE
Kino Iluzjon Mała Czarna
COPY / OTHERS
- Intro
???
– ???
Life of Stars
ENGLISH TITLE
Life of Stars
ORIGINAL TITLE
Życie gwiazd
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Józef Skrobiński
DURATION
14 min
YEAR
1955
COUNTRY
Poland
And the planets go crazy… The film shows how new stars are formed. This poetic film captures the beauty of motion and space (and the obligatory commentary from a Soviet scientist).
Jakub Demiańczuk
Sky and Earth
ENGLISH TITLE
Sky and Earth
ORIGINAL TITLE
Niebo i Ziemia
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Janusz Star
DURATION
11 min
YEAR
1964
COUNTRY
Poland
Popular science film about the progress of science and human thought. But the form is unusual: it features a fictionalized conversation between the director and a painter as they collaborate to create a model of the sky and earth.
Jakub Demiańczuk
Archeology
ENGLISH TITLE
Archeology
ORIGINAL TITLE
Archeologia
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Andrzej Brzozowski
DURATION
14 min
YEAR
1967
COUNTRY
Poland
A film about archaeological research at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. One of WFO’s most moving documentaries, and a central reference in Solaris Mon Amour.
Jakub Demiańczuk
A Pass to the Skies
ENGLISH TITLE
A Pass to the Skies
ORIGINAL TITLE
Przepustka w przestworza
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Antoni Orwiński
DURATION
12 min
YEAR
1971
COUNTRY
Poland
Training of astronaut candidates. Testing pilots’ endurance and resistance to rapid changes in pressure. Reminiscent of scenes from Inquest of Pilot Pirx[1].
[1] Inquest of Pilot Pirx is a joint Polish–Soviet 1979 film directed by Marek Piestrak, based on the short story The Inquest by Stanisław Lem from his 1968 short story collection Tales of Pirx the Pilot.
Jakub Demiańczuk
Artificial Planets and Satellites
ENGLISH TITLE
Artificial Planets and Satellites
ORIGINAL TITLE
Sztuczne planety i księżyce
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Józef Skrobiński
DURATION
11 min
YEAR
1962
COUNTRY
Poland
The film explains the principles of building and launching sputniks. A souvenir of the time when the space race between East and West was gaining momentum.
Jakub Demiańczuk
ABC of Astronautics
ENGLISH TITLE
ABC of Astronautics
ORIGINAL TITLE
ABC Kosmonautyki
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Janusz Star
DURATION
10 min
YEAR
1966
COUNTRY
Poland
The film teaches the meaning of basic terms in the field of astronautics using everyday examples of an average family.
Jakub Demiańczuk
Sports on the Moon?
ENGLISH TITLE
Sports on the Moon?
ORIGINAL TITLE
Sport na Księżycu?
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Janusz Star
DURATION
8 min
YEAR
1968
COUNTRY
Poland
The film tries to answer the question of how to move on the Moon, as well as how to recreate lunar gravity on Earth (don’t try this at home!).
Jakub Demiańczuk
A Folk Vision of Space
ENGLISH TITLE
A Folk Vision of Space
ORIGINAL TITLE
Ludowa Wizja Kosmosu
LANGUAGE
Polish
SUBTITLES
English
DIRECTOR
Bolesław Pawica
DURATION
17 min
YEAR
1986
COUNTRY
Poland
A film record of the state of consciousness of rural communities. Despite the development of knowledge and technology, as well as the changes in civilization, their ideas about the cosmos and the forces of nature do not differ from the views of their ancestors centuries ago.
Jakub Demiańczuk
