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Presented by the Film Programmes Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and curated by Law Wai-ming, "Repertory Cinema 2015 - Moral Anxiety¡DPolish Cinema" will feature 14 works of the Cinema of Moral Anxiety. The series will show films by eight Polish directors, namely Feliks Falk, Agnieszka Holland, Filip Bajon, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Piotr Andrejew, Janusz Kijowski, Ryszard Bugajski and Barbara Sass, and the screenings will be held at the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) from September 25 to October 25.
To complement the screenings, curator Law and film critics Cheng Chuen-wai and Ka Ming will host a seminar entitled "Moral Anxiety¡DPolish Cinema" at 4.30pm on September 26 at the HKFA Cinema. It will be conducted in Cantonese with free admission.
In addition, the Film Programmes Office will hold a series of master study courses to enhance audiences' understanding of Polish cinema and its relationship with the political and cultural background of Poland. Three courses entitled "The Search for Meaning in a World of Absurdity: Is it Possible to Have Art Without Compromise?" (October 3), "Polish Film, Politics and Culture during the Iron Curtain Era" (October 10) and "The Anxiety and Moral Reflection of the 70s Polish Cinema" (October 17) will be conducted by Associate Professor of the Department of Government and International Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University Dr Kenneth Chan and film critics William Lau and Long Tin respectively. The courses will be held in the Function Room (AC2) at Level 4 of the Administration Building of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre at 2.30pm. All courses will be conducted in Cantonese and the fee per session is $80.
In the 1970s, the Polish intellectuals joined forces with the unions to pave the way for Solidarity to enter the historical stage. Filmmakers also shifted their lenses to focus on the average people living under the confines of ideals and reality, producing a series of works commonly known as the Cinema of Moral Anxiety. Usually set at locales far away from the centre of power, the stories are often told in metaphors and give rise to a unique style of creation. Besides the two established filmmaking gurus Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Zanussi, the movement also nurtured young prominent directors like Feliks Falk, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Kieslowski, creating a lasting impact on Polish and world cinema.
Feliks Falk was one of the leaders of the Cinema of Moral Anxiety as well as a member of the Wajda X Film Unit. His establishing film "Top Dog" (1977) won the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival 1979. A satire of corrupted society, the film depicts country towns full of stiff bureaucrats and artistes with agendas, where a travelling MC betrays his long-term friends and lover to become a TV host. Another important film by Falk, "Opportunity" (1979), features the struggles between two teachers divided by their ideologies, and uses the school as a metaphor for Polish society, which places superiority over humanity ideals. The film won Best Actor and Best Screenplay at the Polish Film Festival 1979 and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Special Mention) at the Locarno Film Festival 1980. "Capital, or How to Make Money in Poland" (1989) is a comedic work that ridicules collective greed. In the film, a university professor returns home after teaching in the US for two years, and finds Poland has turned into a capitalistic country in which money is the goal. His old schoolmates have all entered the business world and the professor also takes the plunge, but his business mind cannot even match that of his son in primary school and all sorts of absurdities start to unfold.
Agnieszka Holland had worked as the assistant director to Zanussi and Wajda and also wrote scripts for other exiled Polish filmmakers. Her remarkable debut "Provincial Actors" (1978) added a female angle to the Cinema of Moral Anxiety and won Best Actress at the Polish Film Festival 1979. Featuring a rehearsal of the 19th century Polish play "Liberation", the film captures the actor's futile pursuit of his artistic vision and disappointments in life, which fuel tension with his wife. It also sheds light on the real-world anxieties that creative artists suffer in Polish society. "Fever" (1980) was Holland's last film before moving abroad. The story tells of a stolen bomb from a secret factory falling into the hands of a group of activists and leading to a failed revolution, during which some suffer from nervous breakdowns and some are arrested and sentenced to death. It won the Golden Lion at the Polish Film Festival 1981 and the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival 1981.
Filip Bajon's works are more literary than social, and his directorial debut "Aria for an Athlete" (1979) earned him Best Debut Director at the Polish Film Festival 1979 and Best New Director (Special Mention) at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 1980. Based on the true story of a bodybuilder in the early 20th century, the film features a boxer who enters show business as a travelling wrestler in fake matches and is kicked out by a show owner for refusing to lose to popular players. The boxer later builds his fame on the world stage but his drive to succeed also leads him to a duel to death. While telling the story about a fighting man who loves opera, the film also depicts the surreal world of circus, cabaret and film entertainment.
Krzysztof Kieslowski was probably the most well-known Polish director towards the end of the last century. His second fiction feature, "Camera Buff" (1979), was recognised at many international film festivals, making him an important figure in the Cinema of Moral Anxiety. The film features a new father buying a camera to film the growing up of his daughter, and he becomes obsessed with shooting films of different topics but later loses support from people around him. Through the world of amateur documentary filmmaking, the film reflects the problem of Eastern European filmmaking and censorship, and it claimed several awards including the Golden Lion at the Polish Film Festival 1979 and the Golden Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival 1979. "Blind Chance" (1981) has a refined script structure, which brings about three choices of fate from the act of a medical student catching a train. He may become an elite in the system or an outspoken opposition member, or marry his schoolmate and have children. The film won the Silver Lion and Best Actor at the Polish Film Festival 1987. Further to the metaphysical form in "Blind Chance", Kieslowski's cross-genre work "No End" (1984) is a hybrid of psychology, court drama and ghost story, which departs from his realist style. In the film, a savvy political lawyer dies suddenly, leaving behind an unfinished case to his teacher who has long neglected politics. Meanwhile, the devastated widow finds a previously unknown side of her husband and struggles to relieve herself from pain.
Piotr Andrejew participated in the establishment of the Polish Filmmakers Association in 1975 and became its first president. His works caught much attention when he was still a student and his debut film "Clinch" (1979) is regarded as part of the Cinema of Moral Anxiety. The story follows a former Polish boxing champion who wishes to establish a boxing club in a small town where many residents are railway engine builders. While he takes on the young Palka as his protˆmgˆm, Palka is also hoping to seek a better future through boxing but quickly finds out that the boxing world is full of lies and deceit. The distinct visual style of contrasting the railway lines with the boxing ring, coupled with the action scenes, adds to the stimulus for the senses. The film won Best Editing at the Polish Film Festival 1979.
Janusz Kijowski is regarded as the inventor of the term "Cinema of Moral Anxiety". The release of his first fiction feature was delayed due to censorship. Sharing a similar theme as the debut, Kijowski's second work, "Kung-fu" (1979) also highlights an individual facing unjust treatment by the system. After continuous criticism towards management, a factory engineer is fired on the excuse of his row with a security guard. Although he is reinstated to his job with help from an old schoolmate, life brings him further deadlock. The film won Best Debut Director and the Critics Award at the Polish Film Festival 1979 and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Locarno Film Festival 1980.
Ryszard Bugajski made his first feature, "A Woman and a Woman" (1979) at the Wajda X Film Unit. The film centres on two female friends who work for the same garment factory but conflicts arise from the introduction of a new technique, causing one of them to be dismissed. Despite having their own achievements, the two become caught up in awkwardness as they cross paths many years later. "Interrogation" (1982) tells of interrogation during the Stalin era and reveals the absurdity of the secret police system. The film was banned from official release until 1989, and reaped multiple awards at the world's film festival circuit, including the Audience Award and the Critics Award at the Polish Film Festival 1989, the Special Jury Prize at the Polish Film Festival 1990, Silver Hugo Best Feature Film at the Chicago International Film Festival 1990 and Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival 1990.
Unlike the politically charged films by most Polish filmmakers at the time, Barbara Sass' works mainly focus on women and gender struggle. Adapted from a classic Polish feminist novel, "The Girls of Nowolipki" (1985) features four primary schoolgirls facing the crossroads of their lives and the tale of their growing up in the pre-World War I period. Set in the Nowolipki district in Warsaw, the film is a social picture of Poland as well as women's fate.
"No End" is classified as Category III; only persons aged 18 and above will be admitted. All films are in Polish. "Fever", "Blind Chance" and "Interrogation" have Chinese and English subtitles while the other films have English subtitles only.
Tickets for the screenings and master study courses are now available at URBTIX. Screening tickets are priced at $55. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 and above, people with disabilities (and one accompanying minder), full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Credit card bookings can be made at 2111 5999, or on the Internet at www.urbtix.hk. Detailed programme information can be found in programme brochures and leaflets at all URBTIX outlets. For programme enquiries, please call 2734 2900, or browse the webpage at www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en_US/web/fpo/programmes/2015rc/index.html.
Ends/Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:03
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