The Polish Institute New Delhi is pleased to announce a series of film screenings organised in collaboration with India International Centre Film Club.

The screenings will commence on the 21st of April and conclude on the 8th of May. This special programme offers an opportunity to view four feature films by acclaimed Polish directors, along with two documentaries about extraordinary Poles connected with India: painter Stefan Norblin and Wanda Dynowska.

Each screening will be preceded by a brief introduction by distinguished speakers: film curator and festival organizer Mr. Raman Chawla; film critic and journalist Mr. Murtaza Ali Khan; film producer Ms. Sujata Sett.
Come and celebrate the richness of Polish cinema with us!
Entry is free and open to all.

Please find the detailed programme of the screenings below:

1. Feast of Fire, (94 min; 2023; Polish with English subtitles) 

Director: Kinga Dębska 

21 April 2025, 6.30 pm, C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

 Multiple award winner including the awards for Best Debut Actor, Best Supporting Actress &  Golden Kangaroo for Best Film, Polish Film Festival 2023; Audience Award for Best Film, Polish Film Festival in America 2023; Festival Awards for Best Actress, Best Director & Best Film, Ekran-Toronto Polish Film Festival, CA 2023; among others 

In Kinga Dębska’s heartwarming film, devoted sisters Nastka and Łucja must each contend with the very different constraints imposed upon them by their physical limitations. While Nastka has spent her life confined to a wheelchair following medical negligence that saw her starved of oxygen at birth, her sister has become a leading ballerina in one of Poland’s most prestigious and demanding companies. As Łucja’s entire career and indeed sense of self are put at risk by an injury, Nastka is encouraged by vivacious new neighbour Józefina to become part of the wider world, and to fight for experiences she might previously never have considered. 

2. Ultima Thule, (79 min; 2023; Polish with English subtitles) 

Dir. Klaudiusz Chrostowski, 2023, 79’m 

23 April 2025, 6.30 pm, C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

 Recipient of the Stanisław Różewicz Award for Best Director, Koszaliński Festiwal Debiutów Filmowych Młodzi i Film 2023; and Best Film Award, Polish Film Festival 2023 

 Ultima Thule, the end of the known world. Britain’s most isolated island of Foula serves as the backdrop for 30-year-old Bartek’s (Jakub Gierszał) solo journey as he leaves behind his family and career to find a sense of life. Armed with only a backpack and memories, he grapples with his past and contemplates his future in the wake of his father’s unexpected passing. Finding work with an eccentric local farmer, Bartek wrestles with his next steps while drawing inspiration from his father’s unrealised dreams. Along this transformative journey, he forges unlikely friendships and revels in the breath taking natural wonders of the remote island, aptly dubbed “The Furthest Point”. 

Remarkable minimalist feature debut by Klaudiusz Chrostowski delves into the importance of genuine human connections and transformative influence of the natural world. Recipient of the Best Film Award in the Micro Budget Competition of the 2023 Gdynia Film Festival, the film showcases Jakub Gierszał’s stellar lead performance. 

3. Song of Goats (Poland, Greece, Ireland, 104 min; 2023; English) 

Director: Andrzej Jakimowski 

28 April 2025, 6.30 pm, C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Multiple award winner including January Awards for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Score, & Best Feature Film, Rome Prisma Independent Film Awards 2024; January Award for Best Actress, Sweden Film Festival 2024; Best Film Award, Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival 2024; among others 

 Andreas arrives on a remote Greek island to sell a plot of land inherited from his uncle. But first he has to pay off a debt his uncle ran up with Yiannis, a local farmer. Andreas has not enough money. Stuck in the valley, he waits every morning for Yiannis’ granddaughter, Lena, to bring him bread and cheese. He falls in love with her. At this point he does not sense the danger hanging over the valley and the nearby village. An experience of death and misfortune will soon open his eyes to the fragility of this small world. 

4. Imagine (France/Poland/Portugal/Great Britain, 2012, 105’) 

Director: Andrzej Jakimowski

30 April 2025, 6.30 pm, C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Young students huddle together on a bench in the glaring sun, clutching their white canes, listening for the signs that can let them put together the puzzle of their existence – they are the blind children and young adults of a world-renowned specialized Lisbon clinic. Ian, their new spatial orientation instructor, wants to leave traditional boundaries behind and help them explore their surroundings without feeling vulnerable or frightened. Through unconventional means, he aims to stimulate their curiosity and imaginations.

Each of the feature films will be introduced by film curator, Mr. Raman Chawla.

5. CHITRAANJALI: STEFAN NORBLIN IN INDIA (India/Poland, 2011, 59’, English)

Director: Malgorzata Skiba 

2 May 2025, 6.30 pm, C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Film will be introduced by Mr. Murtaza Ali Khan, Indian film critic and journalist

The film tells the forgotten story of Polish artist, Stefan Norblin (1892-1952), who found safe haven in India during WWII and spent six eventful years working for the royal families of Morvi, Ramgarh and Jodhpur. The film is a tribute to the art of the Polish painter and brings back to limelight the fascinating landscape of the Art Deco period in Poland and in India.

6. “Enlightened Soul: The Three Names of Umadevi” (India/Poland, 2015, 52’, English)

Director: Tonmoy Das

8 May 2025, 6.30 pm, C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium

Film will be introduced by Ms. Sujata Sett, the producer of the movie. 

The film is a study of the life and works of Wanda Dynowska, a Polish theosophist, writer and social worker. After supporting her own nation’s freedom struggle until it attained independence in 1918, she travelled to India in 1935. Here, she would go on to support three more nationalist causes: the Indian Freedom Movement, the Polish Resistance against Nazi occupation, and the Tibetan Government in exile after Chinese occupation. She was also a prolific writer and translator, including among her many works a six-volume “Indian Anthology”. A close associate of several spiritual leaders, such as Bishop Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II), the Dalai Lama and Mahatma Gandhi. The Tibetans would call her Tenzin Chodon (the Keeper of the Faith), and Gandhi would name her Umadevi (the Bearer of Light). She made India her home until her death in 1971, only travelling home to Poland twice in the interim. Her last rites were delivered by a Polish Catholic priest, and her funeral was held in the Tibetan custom. Yet, today, she is virtually unknown in the country she chose to make her home. Her grave in the Tibetan enclave in Mysore bears her three names, the only marker of a great soul who gave all and more in service to humanity.

Umadevi’s was a life worthy of recognition and celebration. Her lifelong struggle in the service of her fellow man, her devotion to the ideal of spiritual unity and the essential freedom of all people are lessons that we all can aspire to.

These screenings are part of Europe Weeks 2025.