‘Revolution in Realism: The Forerunners As a prelude to the biggest retrospective of Romanian film ever to have graced the British screens, the Romanian Cinematheque in 1 Belgrave Square runs a series of special screenings focusing on the creative antecedents of the New Romanian Cinema. Join us for a month of timeless films that will…
| 13/05/2016
It’s now exactly 30 years since the death of Mircea Eliade (1907-1986), the world-renowned Romanian philosopher, religious historian and writer. This year also marks the ground-breaking publication in English of one of his first novels, The Diary of a Shortsighted Adolescent, by Istros Books. The Romanian Institute in London do a great job at marking…
| 12/05/2016
In 2014, a small, resolutely arty, black and white film delivered a seismic shock to Poland’s film industry, which had been wheezing along in uninspired fashion for years. The improbable story of a nun exploring her Jewish roots, Ida toured world festivals to widespread acclaim, eventually winning director Paweł Pawlikowski a foreign film Oscar. So…
| 15/04/2016
These Daughters of Mine, Polish documentary-maker Kinga Debska’s second feature film, explores the loss of one’s parents; and in this case, it’s both parents at the same time. But the film, whose Polish title translates as ‘My Daughters, the Cows’, is also the story of two sisters, now in their 40s – played by Agata…
| 14/04/2016
Life Must Go On, a new film directed by Maciej Migas and starring Tomasz Kot, Janusz Chabior, and Jacek Braciak, tells the story of Bartek, a recovering alcoholic diagnosed with incurable lung cancer and given three months to live. In one particular scene near the end of the film Bartek, spotlit against a dark background.…
| 13/04/2016
Karbala is Polish director Krzysztof Łukaszewicz most recent film, released only in 2015 and nominated several times at the Polish Academy Awards, finally winning for Best Cinematography. Based on real events, the film recounts the story of Polish NATO soldiers during Operation Iraqi Freedom in April 2004, when, surrounded by Iraqi rebels, they were trying…
| 08/04/2016
Jacek Bromski’s Anatomy of Evil, winner of the Gdynia Polish Film Festival in 2015, is certainly one of Kinoteka’s highlights this year. Allegedly based on a real events, it tells the story of Lulek, a former professional hit-man who, after a long stint in prison, is offered a job by his former prosecutor to redeem…
| 07/04/2016
After a lengthy absence from the big screen, Dariusz Gajewski marks his first foray back into feature-length production with Obce Niebo (Strange Heaven, 2015) – written, directed, and produced by the Polish cinematographer. Following a seven-year hiatus, Gajewski has successfully returned to the director’s chair to craft a film both modern and relevant, but also with a charming…
| 05/04/2016
This year’s Easter Monday marked the 80th birthday of Zdeněk Svěrák, one of the Czech Republic’s most popular actors and film makers. To celebrate the occasion, 80 cinemas around the world showed his films, including London’s small Deptford cinema, which was all made up for the occasion with balloons and paper chains, announcing, in his…
| 01/04/2016
Thursday 24 March 2016 was International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. To recognise this and mark the start of a new initiative backed by the Romanian Cultural Institute (RCI), Alina Șerban gave a performance of her one-woman show I Declare at My Own Risk – an autobiographical account of Șerban’s personal journey from…
| 31/03/2016