They say it's good to lie in good company, but even though talking to Joanna Birek is always pleasure, I couldn't help but criticize Bong's 'Mickey17' - contemporary humanities' superficial digest and an exceptionally shallow political parody. Östlund in space, basically.

Another meeting in Lektura Kina series took place. My guest was Barbara Giza, editor of the publication 'Wisła Film Convention 1949'. A lively discussion on the doctrine of socialist realism in Polish cinema was accompanied by the screening of 'Młodość Chopina' (1952, A. Ford).

As you can see in the photo, it is impossible to talk about Belpaese and avoid making a characteristic gesture. Earlier this month, together with Istituto Italiano Cultura di Varsavia, we opened a review of commedia all'italiana with a screening of Fellini's 'I vitelloni'.

We closed the Quentin Dupieux retrospective with a premiere screening of “Daaaaaalí”. We discussed with the audience its fractal structure, intertextual references, humor, and the megalomania of the author of “The Persistence of Memory”. Watching the film again, it reminded me of Jane Arden’s...

I wrote a piece about Snow's third culture in the context of themes and aesthetics of contemporary cinema. I combined academic jargon and Kluszczynski's typology with references to cult memes to present works by Devos, Wittmann, Paravel & Castaing-Taylor and Deborah Stratman.

German Film Week is underway at National Centre for Film Culture. Yesterday we watched Matthias Glasner's 'Sterben'. Olga Wesołowska, my academic colleague, gave a lecture and after the screening we had a lively discussion with the audience. It reminded me of Rilke's 'Solitude'.

The last few days in our cinema were dictated by the Miguel Gomes retrospective. Really enjoyed rewatching 'Tabu' on the big screen.

Last week I showed my students an excerpt from Lynch's best film. We were actually discussing correlationism, philosophy of access and nonhuman agency in cinema, but I couldn’t resist referring to the film, which was partly made here in Łódź.

Even though the old power plant in Łódź, which Lynch fell in love with, eventually passed into the hands of the city (long story), I believe that the current shape of the National Centre for Film Culture, located there and of which I am a curator, would appeal to him. RIP.

I was finally able to share this SRK clip from Swades with my students. I still find it extremely thought-provoking. There's always more to crossing the screen boundary (e.g. Keaton, Godard) than just the destruction of illusion or its apotheosis - each time the transgression is ideological.

Yesterday, we watched 'La Haine' - cinéma de banlieue classic by M. Kassovitz. After the screening we talked about, among other things, the famous classification of cinema by Comolli & Narboni, split diopter shots in Ruiz films, and the animated series Lascars. It was cool.

Hyped about that one. Also, 'Hope Is of a Different Color. From the Global South to the Łódź Film School' edited by my colleague Monika Talarczyk is a highly recommended read.

I wrote an article on Jacqueline Audry, where I tackled her whole filmography with a special focus on her adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's 'Huis-clos' (1954), starring Arletty, Gaby Sylvia and Franck Villard. It took the TV phenomenon of L. de Funès, for the movie to be released on DVD in Poland.

I just managed to catch up on a movie I missed almost a year ago in Berlin due to being 30 seconds late and the staff being overzealous - an essay on Sappho and Pavese - so I can finally share my top 20 favorite films of 2024. Highly recommended. 😉

If anyone thought they would give me a course on contemporary cinema and I wouldn't include Godard in it, they were sorely mistaken.

On the occasion of 'tokyo.sora' screening as part of Five Flavours festival at the National Centre for Film Culture, Hiroshi Ishikawa came to Łódź, fascinated by the cinematic tradition of our city. What a privilege to host such an event. And what a beautiful movie!

Yesterday, we started the 18th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival with a conversation about Stanley Kwan's 'Rouge' and wondered about the role of momentary "blinks", blackness among shots incredibly rich in color. I was fascinated by the film structure of gazes in this Euridice story à rebours.