Polish Cinema for Beginners

Polish Cinema for Beginners turns to Krzysztof Zanussi's Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease (2000) — a title lifted straight from some graffiti the director spotted on a Warsaw wall, and about as blunt a joke as you can make about mortality. At its centre is Tomasz, an atheist doctor in his sixties who spent his life avoiding questions of faith and death, that is until a terminal diagnosis makes them unavoidable. What could easily have been a heavy meditation on dying instead plays out with dry, unexpected humour and a clear refusal of sentimentality. Joining us to unpack it is Hania Kroczek, a film educator, critic, and journalist based in Wrocław. Listen in as we dig into the questions Zanussi raises, the perspectives he shows, and the ways he shows them.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a film episode. Each film episode follows the same format: a spoiler-free introduction, a break to watch the film, and then an open discussion.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at ⁠⁠⁠polishcinema.com.pl⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on our socials at ⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/polishcinema⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/polishcinema⁠⁠⁠ to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at ⁠⁠⁠radioluz.pl⁠⁠⁠ and on their social media ⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/radio_luz⁠⁠⁠.

From the archetypes that defined female characters on screen to the directors who pushed back against them. In this episode of Polish Cinema for Beginners we turn the lens on the women of Polish cinema — who they were, how they were depicted, and what it took to make films in an industry dominated by men. Taking us through this landscape is Ewa Mazierska — Professor of Film and Cultural Studies at the University of Central Lancashire, and co-author of Women in Polish Cinema, the definitive English-language study of the subject.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a topic episode. Each topic episode discusses a different aspect related to Polish cinema, without focusing on any specific film production.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at ⁠⁠polishcinema.com.pl⁠⁠ and follow us on our socials at ⁠⁠facebook.com/polishcinema⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠instagram.com/polishcinema⁠⁠ to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at ⁠⁠radioluz.pl⁠⁠ and on their social media ⁠⁠instagram.com/radio_luz⁠⁠.

For the third episode of Polish Cinema for Beginners we journey into the ethereal world of connections and eerie emotions through Krzysztof Kieślowski's international breakthrough, The Double Life of Véronique (1991). This is a film about two people, Weronika from Poland and Véronique from France, and how their lives intertwine. Our guide into this very surreal film is Annette Insdorf — professor at Columbia University, celebrated film historian and interviewer, and one of the world's leading authorities on Kieślowski. Listen in to our conversation as we talk about this magnificent film which is sure to leave you in a state of wonder.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a film episode. Each film episode follows the same format: a spoiler-free introduction, a break to watch the film, and then an open discussion.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at ⁠⁠polishcinema.com.pl⁠⁠ and follow us on our socials at ⁠⁠facebook.com/polishcinema⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠instagram.com/polishcinema⁠⁠ to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at ⁠⁠radioluz.pl⁠⁠ and on their social media ⁠⁠instagram.com/radio_luz⁠⁠.

In this month's episode of Polish Cinema for Beginners we're going back to the very beginnings of Polish cinema — the interwar period. Even though we're only focusing on about two decades, there's a lot to cover. Who were the biggest movie stars? Why did the Poles like melodramas? And what even makes a movie Polish? Along to answer these and many more of our questions is Łukasz Biskupski — a cultural historian and film studies scholar from the University of Łódź.
Note from the producer: In the episode, Łukasz mentions that Poland was “colonised” which isn’t applicable here given the context surrounding the word. A more accurate word would be “partitioned”.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a topic episode. Each topic episode discusses a different aspect related to Polish cinema, without focusing on any specific film production.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at ⁠polishcinema.com.pl⁠ and follow us on our socials at ⁠facebook.com/polishcinema⁠ and ⁠instagram.com/polishcinema⁠ to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at ⁠radioluz.pl⁠ and on their social media ⁠instagram.com/radio_luz⁠.

Polish Cinema for Beginners is back with an absolute classic. Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds (1958) is one of the most electrifying breakthroughs in European cinema — a film shot in the rubble of post-war Poland that somehow feels as urgent today as it did then. The guest on this episode is film critic and Polish Cinema for Beginners founder Adam Kruk. We go into the release and reception, the themes, the imagery, and so much more.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a film episode. Each film episode follows the same format: a spoiler-free introduction, a break to watch the film, and then an open discussion.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at polishcinema.com.pl and follow us on our socials at facebook.com/polishcinema and instagram.com/polishcinema to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at radioluz.pl and on their social media instagram.com/radio_luz.