Eastern European Film Weeks at KU Leuven: “Only the Wind” & “The Hourglass Sanatorium”
This October, the Forum on Central and Eastern Europe, in cooperation with Cinema ZED and with the support of the Polish Institute Brussels and the Liszt Institute, launches the Eastern European Film Weeks in Leuven.
Eight films – fiction and documentary, classics and contemporary works – take viewers across the diverse landscapes and histories of the region. Each screening will be introduced by academics offering insight and context, making the series not only a cinematic journey but also an invitation to deeper understanding.
Eastern European Film Weeks
8-30 October 2025
Cinema ZED
Vesaliusstraat 9C
3000 Leuven
The program features two Polish films: “Only the Wind” (PL: “Tylko wiatr”) directed by Zofia Kowalewska and “The Hourglass Sanatorium” (PL: “Sanatorium pod klepsydrą) directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has.
“Only the Wind” (PL: “Tylko Wiatr”), dir. Zofia Kowalewska, 2021
At 92, Zdzisław sets out on an extraordinary 5,000-kilometer journey with his 25-year-old granddaughter to a remote village in Kazakhstan. For him, it’s a return to the place where, as a teenager, he was exiled by the Soviets during World War II. More than seventy years later, he goes back in search of the land of his youth—and of his first love, whom he was forced to leave behind. His devoted granddaughter travels by his side, uncovering along the way the truth hidden behind the bedtime stories she heard as a child.
8 October, 20:00
The film will be introduced by Kris Van Heuckelom, professor at the Faculty of Arts.
After the screening, there will be a discussion with the film’s director.
Tickets
“The Hourglass Sanatorium” (PL: Sanatorium pod klepsydrą”), dir. Wojciech Jerzy Has, 1973
Józef visits his dying father at a remote mental institution, where time itself doesn’t seem to exist, and the line between dreams and memories becomes indistinguishable. Loosely based on the works of Bruno Schulz, the film is considered a classic of Polish cinema.
21 October, 17:00
The film will be introduced by Kris Van Heuckelom, professor at the Faculty of Arts.
Tickets
