Jacek Petrycki retrospective

9 films
Petrycki is a realist with an extraordinary talent for noticing poetry in everyday life. Whether in documentary or feature films, he approaches cinematography with a documentarian’s eye. He isn’t afraid of tackling difficult subjects; in one interview, he admitted that in documentaries, sometimes one must address frightening realities, and if it serves a purpose, it cannot be avoided. Throughout his career, he has not only honed his skills in cinematography but has also contributed to promoting Polish documentary cinema on the international stage.

  • Benek Blues

    dir. Katarzyna Maciejko-Kowalczyk
    dok1999

    The film's protagonists are condemned to lie down. The son was immobilised by overlapping medical conditions that deformed his body and took away the power in his legs. The father has been incapacitated by a stroke. Both necessarily live in a fascinating symbiosis. With tenacity and dignity, they fight against physical limitations and weakness. The film shows humanity and the strength of interpersonal bonds put to a very severe test.

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    film still Benek Blues

  • First Love (Pierwsza miłość)

    dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
    dok1974

    The camera follows a young unmarried couple during the girl’s pregnancy, through their wedding, and the delivery of the baby.

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    film still First Love

  • My Notes from the Underground (Moje zapiski z podziemia)

    dir. Jacek Petrycki
    dok2011

    The documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at the activities of the anti-communist underground in Poland in the 1980s.

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    film still My Notes from the Underground

  • Poste Restante

    dir. Marcel Łoziński
    dok2008

    Before a letter reaches the addressee, it must go through dozens of hands and procedures. But not always is it possible to deliver it to the person whose address features on the envelope.

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    film still Poste Restante

  • Practice Exercises (Ćwiczenia warsztatowe)

    dir. Marcel Łoziński
    dok1986

    An inconspicuous street survey on young people presents the spectrum of manipulation available to television. Thanks to image and sound edition it is possible to turn the original picture and message of contributions around. Łoziński first records a variety of answers to the question about the condition of young people at present provided by random passers‐by and then shows how the material obtained may be manipulated, depending on the filmmaker’s needs.

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    film still Practice Exercises

  • Such a Place (Takie miejsce)

    dir. Andrzej Titkow
    dok1985

    A poetic impression of Krakow's Jewish district, Kazimierz.

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  • The Betrayed

    dir. Clive Gordon
    dok1995

    For his cinematography in this film, Jacek Petrycki won a BAFTA award from the British Academy of Film. The harrowing story of the mothers of Russian soldiers sent to attack Grozny in 1994, who search for their missing sons.

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    film still The Betrayed

  • The Microphone Test (Próba mikrofonu)

    dir. Marcel Łoziński
    dok1980

    An employee of the radio broadcasting system at a Warsaw cosmetics plant tries to include more serious contents in his everyday programme.

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    film still The Microphone Test

  • The Return of Agnieszka H. (Powrót Agnieszki H.)

    dir. Krystyna Krauze, Jacek Petrycki
    dok2013

    The film is a light-hearted and, in many places, humorous story about the student years of Poland's most famous director Agnieszka Holland, who studied at FAMU from 1966 to 1971, during the period of political breakthroughs. The artist actively participated in the events of the Prague Spring and the student protests against the so-called normalisation in Czechoslovakia.

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    film still The Return of Agnieszka H.
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