Progress

After the screening on April 7 (Muranów cinema) and April 12 (Iluzjon cinema) there will be a meeting with the director.

Exactly 50 years ago, on March 30, 1975, Progress hit the screens—a wildly funny satire on peasantomania, the cult of progress, and Poland’s ever-awkward class identity. Half a century later, the film feels even more perceptive and relevant than it did upon release.

Based on the novel by Edward Redliński, this comic fable follows Marian Grzyb (played by the brilliant Marian Opania), a peasant’s son returning to his village of Wydmuchowo with a compulsive mission to lead it out of darkness into the bright meadows of human progress. When he comes up with the idea of transforming the village into a luxurious bathing resort for city-dwellers, he inadvertently invents gentrification. And once the urbanites arrive,  the locals prove to be far better at performing peasantry than even Grzyb expected. What ensues is a Gombrowicz-esque masquerade, exposing class identity in Poland as anything but straightforward.

With a stellar cast (Opania, Rożniatowska, Dykiel, Nalberczak, Perepeczko, and more), stunning cinematography by Jan Hesse capturing the Vistula-side charm of Mięćmierz, and an unforgettable parody of mid-Gierek-era household appliances, Progress is an overlooked gem of Polish cinema. In today’s era of “folktales,” it’s time for its rediscovery.

Michał Oleszczyk

Janusz Zaorski (born 1947) is a distinguished Polish director, screenwriter, and producer, known for blending social realism with historical insight. His breakthrough came with The Mother of Kings (1982), a poignant story of life under communism, awarded at Berlinale. Lake Constance (1986) depicted the hardship of wartime exile, while The Football Poker (1988) became a cult satire on Polish football. Often addressing political and social themes, his cinema remains a vital voice in Polish filmmaking, continuing to inspire new generations of directors.

section partner

screening partner

section partner