Now See This
Next up in the new monthly screening series “Ann Arbor Film Festival Presents…,” on Wednesday, July 10, is the award-winning film My Friend the Polish Girl. Directors Ewa Banaszkiewicz and Mateusz Dymek recently won both the Grand Prix and the Award for Best Photos (aka Best Cinematography) for the film at the 38th Festiwal Młodzi i Film in Koszalin, Poland.
Set in London, My Friend the Polish Girl is a fictional tale made to look like a documentary. The film explores the relationship between an American amateur filmmaker, Katie, and her subject: an unemployed Polish actress, Alicja. The film is provocative and, at times, disturbing. The power dynamic between the two characters puts privilege on display in a play of domination and control that comes with difficult repercussions for the vulnerable party. The film is understated and complex in its discourse with the vital cultural circumstance of immigration.
Filmmakers Banaszkiewicz and Dymek met at the Łódź Film School (aka the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theater) in Łódź, Poland. They began collaborating in 2007, and their work together has included not only films, but also a series of radio plays for the BBC in London, where they currently reside. My Friend the Polish Girl is the duo’s feature film debut.
At the July 10 screening, My Friend the Polish Girl will be presented with CUT COPY SPHINX, a short experimental film by Virginia Lee Montgomery, a Texas-based artist. Full of visual exploration and surprises, CUT COPY SPHINX has been described as “a surreal, sculptural short art film about metaphysics, myth, and destruction.” The film won a Jury Award at the 57th Ann Arbor Film Festival in March 2019.
The two films will show at 7:00 p.m. at the State Theatre (233 South State Street) in Ann Arbor on a Wine-Down Wednesday, featuring half-price wine by the glass. Tickets are free for AAFF members and Michigan Theater gold card members. There’s no better time to become a member or learn more about membership!
To secure your tickets and select your seats for the July 10 screening, click here.
To connect about this event with your friends on Facebook, please check out the Facebook event.
Hope to see you there!
