Dorota Kędzierzawska
2021
Pora Umierać
Dorota Kędzierzawska
Danuta Szaflarska, Krzysztof Globisz
An impressionistic, black-and-white portrait of the day-to-day of a nonagenarian woman as she experiences the final act of her life. Danuta Szaflarska stars as Aniela, who lives in a massive yet rapidly-deteriorating wooden house, filled with souvenirs and treasures of eras gone by. Aniela runs into conflict in her dealings with others, particularly a nasty neighbor who sees her property as an eyesore and wants to do everything in his reach to buy it up and tear it down, and her married adult son, who - though kindly - triggers paranoia within Aniela (she cannot help but believe that he is scheming and planning to wheedle the property away from her). Driven aback by these individuals, Aniela finds one of her only sources of comfort and reassurance in her daily talks with her dog, Fila - and develops a great affinity for spying on the neighbors' doings whenever boredom creeps in.
Time to Die
Jestem
Dorota Kędzierzawska
Piotr Jagielski, Agnieszka Nagórzycka
"I am" tells the story of Kundel, a boy searching for his place in life, his identity. After running away from an orphanage where he is treated as an outcast among outcasts by both his peers and the adults in charge, and being rejected a second time by his alcoholic mother, who had earlier abandoned him, the resolute 11-year-old finds a "home" on a deserted old barge on the outskirts of his hometown. He is still an outcast, but he is an outcast on his own terms, rejecting both patronizing charitable gestures and coercion by local thugs. In the process he makes one true friend, a girl from an affluent family who is also an outcast, despite living in material comfort.
I Am
Crows
Dorota Kędzierzawska
Karolina Ostrozna, Kasia Szczepanik
A thin child of about 10, nicknamed "Crow" because she mimics the bird, has no friends and rejects a teacher's hug. At home, she is left on her own, her mom locks her out while entertaining a lover or is asleep. One morning, Crow sees a chubby, cherubic child hugged by both parents as the father leaves for work. When the toddler is left alone, Crow lifts her through the fence and kidnaps her.
Crows
Jutro bedzie lepiej
Dorota Kędzierzawska
Oleg Ryba, Yevgeniy Ryba
Three Russian street kids, who live on their wits in a train station, take off to the countryside hoping to make it across the border to a better life in Poland. They are alternately looking for tenderness and pushing it away because they sense that it is a sign of vulnerability they can ill-afford. Kędzierzawska has the rare ability to take the world of children on its own terms. There is not a false note in this dazzlingly beautiful and emotionally involving story of three kids trying to find their path to a new life. - Adelaide Film Festival
Tomorrow Will Be Better
Koniec Świata
Dorota Kędzierzawska
Antoni Majak, Emilia Ziólkowska
The monotonous everyday life of an elderly couple is recorded almost silently in a time frame of three days. A woman and a man who have lived their whole lives together no longer have anything in common, apart from habit and the arguments that separate them.
The End of the World
Diably, diably
Dorota Kędzierzawska
Danuta Szaflarska
Even in Poland today, Gypsies are viewed with profound suspicion -- not that things are that much better for them anywhere else in Europe. In this coming-of-age drama, Mala, an ordinary Polish girl who is about thirteen years old, is just beginning to wake up to the world around her. When she hears the adults of the village making disparaging remarks about Gypsies, that's exactly what it takes to motivate her to go out and visit them. She has a rich and rewarding encounter, until the authorities come into their camp to drive them off. No one is harmed, and Mala's life has been changed for the better by her adventures.
The Devils, the Devils
Żużel
Dorota Kędzierzawska
Tomasz Ziętek, Paweł Wilczak
Lowa is motorcycle racing champion: the object of women's desires and the envy of rivals on the track. Cheerful, kind to people, "ordinary", he has fun in life and what he does. But his sly smile conceals daily struggles with fear and the specter of injuries and accidents. It all becomes even more complicated when the beautiful Roma (Jagoda Porębska) stands on his way. Will she compete with his love of speed and of motorcycles? When the sport is not only a crazy, youthful passion, but also an escape from the gray reality, can he find a place for true love in his heart?
Speedway
