FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER Announces Details on Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the schedule for Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema, a 21-film series created and organized by Scorsese's non-profit organization, The Film Foundation in partnership with Propaganda Foundation, DI Factory and CRF, distributed by Milestone Films in cooperation with Janus, featuring classic works from some of Poland's most accomplished and lauded filmmakers, spanning the period from 1957-1987. Curated by Scorsese from a selection of new digital restorations, the series premieres at the Film Society, February 5-16, and will travel to 30 cities this year. Each film will be presented in brilliantly re-mastered and newly subtitled DCPs.

"Poland has long been home to one of the richest national cinemas, and the period surveyed in this program was an especially fertile one," said Dennis Lim, the Film Society's Director of Cinematheque Programming. "We are proud to be partnering with the Film Foundation and Milestone to launch this major national tour. Handpicked by Martin Scorsese, this is an extraordinary selection of films, ranging from classics to rarities, all worthy of discovery and re-discovery."

Highlights include the Opening Night presentation of Andrzej Wajda's Palme d'Or winner and Academy Award-nominee MAN OF IRON (1981) about the workers' strike in Gda?sk that led to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and Krzysztof Zanussi's CAMOUFLAGE (1976), a comic story of a contentious relationship between a young linguist and an associate professor; Alexander Ford's BLACK CROSS (1960), a blockbuster (and the most-viewed Polish film in history) set against a backdrop of medieval battles; Wojciech Has's mystical film adaptation of THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1964), a prize-winner at the Edinburgh and San Sebastian film festivals; Andrzej Munk's EROICA (1957), a look at the contrast in lives between that of a street-wise bon-vivant and those of righteous Polish officers incarcerated in a German camp during WWII; and Zanussi's 70s philosophical essay on film incorporating animation, experimental techniques and documentary footage, THE ILLUMINATION (1972).

Other notable films include Jerzy Kawalerowicz's MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (1960), NIGHT TRAIN (1959), PHARAOH (1965), Krzysztof Kieslowski's BLIND CHANCE (1981) and A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (1987), Wajda's ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958), INNOCENT SORCERERS (1960), THE PROMISED LAND (1974) and THE WEDDING (1972), and Zanussi's THE CONSTANT FACTOR (1980).

The genesis of Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema began in December 2011 when Scorsese received an honorary doctoral degree from The Polish National Film, Television, and Theatre School in ?ód?, Poland. While there Scorsese met with the Polish organizer of the series, J?drzej Sabli?ski-a digital restoration expert now with DI Factory, which provides data processing to motion picture studios and filmmakers. They both discussed the progress of digital film restoration in Poland and how The Film Foundation could help. In the months following his visit, the idea of a North American tour of a series of restored Polish classics came together, with 21 titles selected by Scorsese from the list of digitally restored films. The Film Foundation executive director Margaret Bodde worked with Sabli?ski to develop the program and recommended Milestone Film as the North American distributor for the series.

Tickets and a discount package for the series will go on sale Thursday, January 16. Single screening tickets are $13; $9 for students and seniors (62+); and $8 for Film Society members. Discount packages start at $30; $24 for students and seniors (62+); and $21 for Film Society members. Discount prices apply with the purchase of tickets to three films or more. Visit FilmLinc.com for more information.

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS

Opening Night Selections
CAMOUFLAGE (Barwy ochronne) (1976) 101 min
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
Country: Poland
The shallowness and cynicism of the academic milieu and the hypocrisy of idealism are depicted in the relationship between a young linguist and a diabolical associate professor. A Universal story by one of the most renowned contemporary Polish directors.
Wednesday, February 5 at 6:00PM - Director Krzysztof Zanussi will attend the screening
Friday, February 7 at 7:30PM

MAN OF IRON (Cz?owiek z ?elaza) (1981) 153 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Country: Poland
Wajda's Palme d'Or-winning, Oscar-nominated masterpiece follows the workers' strike in Gda?sk in August 1980 that led to the formation of the Solidarity trade union.
Wednesday, February 5 at 8:30PM


ASHES AND DIAMONDS (Popió? i diament) (1958) 103 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Country: Poland
At the end of WWII, a young Polish resistance soldier reaches a crossroads when Nazi rule is replaced by a communist regime that is not what he and his compatriots have been fighting for.
Sunday, February 9 at 6:45PM

AUSTERIA (1982) 107 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Country: Poland
On the first night of WWI, refugees seek sanctuary from the Russian army in a country inn owned by a Jewish family in this intimate drama set against the turbulence of history.
Sunday, February 16 at 9:00PM

BLACK CROSS (Krzy?acy) (1960) 173 min
Director: Aleksander Ford
Country: Poland
In this historical blockbuster, the tragic love of Zbyszko and Danusia plays out amidst the Polish-German conflict that lead to the battle of Grunwald.
Monday, February 10 at 8:00PM

BLIND CHANCE (Przypadek) (1981) 123 min
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Country: Poland
Kie?lowski explores the autonomy of human choices by presenting three alternative versions of the life of 20-year old Witek, whose whole future depends on whether he can catch a train.
Friday, February 14 at 9:30PM
Sunday, February 16 at 2:00PM

THE CONSTANT FACTOR (Constans) (1980) 91 min
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
Country: Poland
A young man who dreams of climbing the Himalayas finds himself compromising his ideals when he takes a job at an international trade company in Zanussi's award-winning Cannes hit.
Tuesday, February 11 at 9:15PM
Saturday, February 15 at 9:00PM

EROICA (1957) 85 min
Director: Andrzej Munk
Country: Poland
Munk contrasts the absurd life of a street-wise bon-vivant with a somber picture of righteous Polish officers incarcerated in a German camp in his ambiguous two-part wartime symphony.
Friday, February 7 at 9:45PM

THE HOUR-GLASS SANATORIUM (Sanatorium pod Klepsydr?) (1973)
124 min
Director: Wojciech Has
Country: Poland
Holocaust themes augment this adaptation of Jewish author Bruno Schulz's visionary and poetic reflection on the nature of time and death, which won the Jury Award at Cannes.
Friday, Feb 14 at 7:00PM
Sunday, Feb 16 at 4:30PM

THE ILLUMINATION (Iluminacja) (1972) 93 min
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
Country: USA
One of the most interesting works of 1970s Polish cinema. A young provincial man comes to the capital to study physics and must tackle life's Universal questions in this philosophical essay comprising animation, experimental methods and documentary footage.
Friday, February 7 at 2:30PM
Thursday, February 13 at 6:30PM

INNOCENT SORCERERS (Niewinni czarodzieje) (1960) 88 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Country: Poland
In 1950s Poland, two young people meet in a bar and go from small talk to bed, but as dawn approaches what seemed to be a meaningless episode in their lives gets more complicated.
Sunday, Feb 16 at 7:00PM

JUMP (Salto) (1965) 105 min
Director: Tadeusz Konwicki
Country: Poland
In this Polish Western, a man on the run seeks refuge in a ghost town halfway between dream and reality, whose desperate inhabitants can't decide if he's a prophet or a common liar.
Sunday, February 9 at 9:00PM

THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER (Ostatni dzie? lata) (1958) 62 min
Director: Tadeusz Konwicki
Country: Poland
A man and a woman who cannot communicate meet on an empty beach in this subtle tale of a confrontation of two lonely people from which a true closeness cannot result. The film was awarded the Grand Prix in Venice for documentary and short films, as well as the Grand Prix of the EXPO in Brussels and the First Prize of MFF in London.
Monday, Feb 10 at 6:30PM

MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (Matka Joanna od Anio?ów) (1960)
110 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Country: Poland
A young, virtuous exorcist is sent to a mysterious monastery inhabited by beautiful nuns who are said to be possessed by demons in this thrilling and philosophical portrait of human vice.
Saturday, February 8 at 9:00PM
Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00PM

NIGHT TRAIN (Poci?g) (1959) 98 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Country: Poland
A subtle game of emotions between two travelers-changing from mutual aversion to closeness without hope of a future-plays out amidst the human microcosm of a night train.
Sunday, February 9 at 4:30PM

PHARAOH (Faraon) (1965) 152 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Country: Poland
This epic production, complete with huge battle scenes and stunningly choreographed musical pieces, focuses on a young Ramses XIII as he takes over rule of the ancient Egyptian empire.
Friday, February 7 at 4:30PM
Sunday, February 9 at 1:00PM

THE PROMISED LAND (Ziemia Obiecana) (1974) 170 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Country: Poland
Wajda's fascinating portrait of the industrial city of Lodz during the birth of gritty 19th century capitalism is also a tale of the strength of masculine friendship.
Saturday, February 15 at 1:30PM

THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (R?kopis znaleziony w Saragossie) (1964) 183 min
Director: Wojciech Has
Country: Poland
Based on one of the greatest works of world literature, a mountain-crossing turns into a sequence of supernatural and frightful events for the skeptical Alphonse van Worden.
Wednesday, February 5 at 2:00PM
Saturday, February 8 at 5:30PM

A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (Krótki film o zabijaniu) (1987) 86 min
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Country: Poland
The paths of three men-a cabbie, a lawyer, and a killer-cross on a somber March day in this psychological and ethical study of murder that launched Kie?lowski's international career.
Thursday, February 13 at 8:30PM

TO KILL THIS LOVE (Trzeba zabi? t? mi?o??) (1972) 92 min
Director: Janusz Morgenstern
Country: Poland
As Neil Armstrong lands on the moon, two young Poles kept out of university by communist quotas discover love and life in a big city, dreaming of an independence they cannot enjoy.
Saturday, February 15 at 7:00PM

THE WEDDING (Wesele) (1972) 107 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Country: Poland
Characters from all walks of life come together at a 19th century wedding party and things take a turn for the uncanny when ghosts from their pasts mingle with the joyful celebrations.
Saturday, February 15 at 4:45PM


PUBLIC SCREENING SCHEDULE

All screenings in the Walter Reade Theater unless otherwise noted
165 West 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (EBMFC)
144 West 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)


Wednesday, February 5
2:00PM THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (183 min)
6:00PM CAMOUFLAGE (106 min)
8:30PM MAN OF IRON (153 min)

Thursday, February 6
No Masterpieces of Polish Cinema screenings

Friday, February 7
2:30PM THE ILLUMINATION (93 min)
4:30PM PHAROAH (152 min)
7:30PM CAMOUFLAGE (101 min)
9:45PM EROICA (85 min)

Saturday, February 8
5:30PM THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (183 min)
9:00PM MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (110 min)

Sunday, February 9
1:00PM PHARAOH (152 min)
4:30PM NIGHT TRAIN (98 min)
6:45PM ASHES AND DIAMONDS (103 min)
9:00PM JUMP (104 min)

Monday, February 10
6:30PM THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER (62 min)
8:00PM BLACK CROSS (173 min)

Tuesday, February 11
7:00PM MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (110 min)
9:15PM THE CONSTANT FACTOR (91 min)

Wednesday, February 12
No Masterpieces of Polish Cinema screenings

Thursday, February 13
6:30PM THE ILLUMINATION (93 min) **(EBMFC)
8:30PM A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (86 min) **(EBMFC)

Friday, February 14
7:00PM THE HOUR-GLASS SANATORIUM (124 min) **(EBMFC)
9:30PM BLIND CHANCE (123 min) **(EBMFC)

Saturday, February 15
1:30PM THE PROMISED LAND (170 min)
4:45PM THE WEDDING (107 min)
7:00PM TO KILL THIS LOVE (92 min)
9:00PM THE CONSTANT FACTOR (91 min)

Sunday, February 16
2:00PM BLIND CHANCE (123 min)
4:30PM THE HOUR-GLASS SANATORIUM (124 min)
7:00PM INNOCENT SORCERERS (88 min)
9:00PM AUSTERIA (107 min)


Film Society of Lincoln Center
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the renowned New York Film Festival, a curated selection of the year's most significant new film work, and presents or collaborates on other annual New York City festivals including Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, LatinBeat, New Directors/New Films, NewFest, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema and Rendez-vous With French Cinema. In addition to publishing the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, The Film Society recognizes an artist's unique achievement in film with the prestigious Chaplin Award. The Film Society's state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year round programs and the New York City film community.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, Jaeger-LeCoultre, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stonehenge Partners, Stella Artois, the Kobal Collection, Trump International Hotel and Tower, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com and follow @filmlinc on Twitter.

Milestone Films
Milestone was started in 1990 by Amy Heller and Dennis Doros and has since gained an international reputation for releasing classic cinema masterpieces, groundbreaking documentaries and American independent features. Thanks to the company's work in rediscovering and releasing important films such as Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep, Kent Mackenzie's The Exiles, Lionel Rogosin's On the Bowery, Mikhail Kalatozov's I Am Cuba, Marcel Ophuls's The Sorrow and the Pity, the Mariposa Film Group's Word is Out, and the films of Shirley Clarke, Milestone has long occupied a position as one of the country's most influential independent distributors. The company's many awards include five Archival and Film Heritage Awards from the National Society of Film Critics; two commendations from the New York Film Critics Circle; the International Film Seminars' prestigious Leo Award; and honors from the Fort Lee Film Commission, Il Cinema Ritrovato, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and Anthology Film Archives. Doros has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of the Moving Image Archivists since 2008 and established the organization's press office.

The Film Foundation
Created in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation (film-foundation.org) is dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history. By working in partnership with the leading archives and studios, the foundation has saved over 600 films. In addition to the preservation, restoration, and presentation of classic cinema, the foundation teaches young people about film language and history through The Story of Movies, the organization's groundbreaking educational program that is currently used in over 100,000 classrooms. Joining Scorsese on the board of directors are Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Curtis Hanson, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Alexander Payne, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg. The Film Foundation is aligned with the Directors Guild of America. Margaret Bodde is executive director and Jennifer Ahn is managing director of the foundation.

Propaganda Foundation
Propaganda Foundation is an independent organization aimed at cultural development in the fields of contemporary art, theater, and film. Established in 2009, Propaganda focuses on projects that approach issues of cultural identity, peripheral areas of art, and the international exchange of culture. The foundation maintains ongoing exhibition programs in its own gallery space in Warsaw, acts as an independent publisher, and coordinates collaborative projects with similar international institutions. An art curator with many years of experience, Jacek Sosnowski is president of Propaganda Foundation.

DI Factory
Co-founded by J?drzej Sabli?ski, CEO. As a member of film industry since 1993, Mr. Sabli?ski worked as sales director of motion picture products for Eastman Kodak. Later, as president of The Chimney Pot, Warsaw, he initiated the development and introduction of digital image processing services. Mr. Sabli?ski supervised post production and digital image processing for more than 100 feature films. In 2008 he introduced the process of digital feature film restoration in Poland and oversaw the digital restoration of more than 30 films, including The Saragossa Manuscript, Pharaoh and Promised Land.

CRF
CRF (Digital Film Repository) manages the remastering and distribution of digital collections and has helped coordinate the digital remastering for KinoRP Project. The Digital Film Repository has participated in the digital remastering of more than 120 films.

The films featured in Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema
are represented by three Polish studios:

Film Studio Kadr is where Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Munk, Kazimierz Kutz and Tadeusz Konwicki created some of their most important films. Since it launched a new chapter of its operations in 2008, Kadr's lineup of productions has included Borys Lankosz's Reverse; Jan Komasa's Suicide Room; Marek Koterski's Man, Chicks Are Just Different; Leszek Dawid's You Are God; and most recently, Lukasz Barczyk's superproduction, Influence.

Tor Film Production was founded in 1967 and has produced TV series, miniseries, documentaries and more than 100 feature films. The studio also provides services for many foreign production companies. Stanis?aw Róz?ewicz was Tor's longtime artistic director (1967- 68 and 1972-80). Since 1980, filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi has served as the studio's director.

Zebra Film Studio was established in 1988 by founder and director Juliusz Machulski, who is well known as a filmmaker, writer and producer of many popular Polish films. Zebra Film Studio represents 130 feature films, 39 television films and 22 television series. The studio participates in both national and international co-productions.