We welcome Thursday with a smile!

We welcome Thursday with a smile! There are several reasons for it: timeless cinema graces the big screen, the evenings resonate with the sounds of Cinema Concerts, and conversations about films seem boundless. What delights will the next festival day bring?

Today, we start with music — a project born out of friendship, as the creators describe. Eiko Ishibashi, renowned for her music in Drive My Car, which won the screenplay award at Cannes and the Oscar for Best International Film, proposed another collaboration to Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. The result of their work is GIFT, a contemporary silent film that serves as a testament to the evocative power of sound, capable of exploring new layers of sensations and emotions.

The uniqueness of the GIFT project is highlighted by the fact that it is presented exclusively with live music, performed by its creator, Eiko Ishibashi. And this is exactly how you will be able to see (and hear!) GIFT today, at 8:00 PM, at the POLIN Museum during Timeless Film Festival Warsaw.

Ahead is the largest section of the festival — Classic Territories: World Cinemais brimming with discoveries and masterpieces from various corners of the globe. In collaboration with embassies, archives, festivals, and experts, we have curated a program designed to turn the canon upside down, showcasing works that function on the margins, and highlighting lesser-known films by established masters. Today, on the screens of Warsaw cinemas, you will experience titles such as The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short, Mouchette, The Housemaid, The Ear, and Memories of Underdevelopment.

We haven’t forgotten about the Polish installment of the aforementioned section – it promises to be touching, epic, and grotesque. The visual exuberance will be complemented by sharp, realistic storytelling. Here is a selection of the greatest achievements of Polish cinema, including Scream, Farewell to Autumn, The Saragossa Manuscript, Hospital of the Transfiguration, and Wojaczek.

Also today: a cinematic classic exploring the theme of cross-dressing, a title that continues to provoke the question of whether a man can champion feminism — Tootsie will be screened at Muranów Cinema at 6:30 PM. We invite you to attend the screening, and beforehand, we suggest listening to an episode of the SpoilerMaster podcast by Michał Oleszczyk dedicated to this film.

We will engage in discussions about timeless films with their creators:

• 4:00 PM, Atlantic Cinema, B
  About Some Meaningless Events, dir. Mostafa Derkaoui (guest: Mostafa Derkaoui)
• 6:00 PM, Muranów Cinema, Zbyszek
  Q watches powerful films, a meeting around Quentin Tarantino’s book Cinema Speculation (in collaboration with Marginesy publishing house); moderator: Rafał Zawierucha, guests: Jan Dzierzgowski, Sara Nowicka, Sebastian Smoliński
  (free admission, subject to availability of seats)
• 6:30 PM, Atlantic Cinema, B
  Wojaczek, dir. Lech Majewski (guest: Krzysztof Siwczyk)
• 19:15, Iluzjon, Mała Czarna
  Description Found Years Later, dir. Sławomir Rogowski and Stanisław Zawiśliński (guest: Sławomir Rogowski)

As dusk falls, the fun begins at the TFFW Festival Club – head over to Elementy and be sure to bring your pass so you can grab discounts at the bar.