KINOTEKA Polish Film Festival takes place in London each spring. Organised by the Polish Cultural Institute in London, the festival celebrates the best of Polish cinema and culture. Each year audiences can enjoy a selection of film and documentary screenings, both classic and contemporary, as well as talks and Q&As with the filmmakers. A selection of interactive forums and classes is always on offer, as well as live music and art exhibitions. Welcome to 15th edition of Kinoteka Polish Film Festival !

The festival opens with the UK premiere of the late Andrzej Wajda’s last film Afterimage (17 March, Regent Street Cinema), an insightful depiction of Władysław Strzemiński, the famous Polish avant-garde painter. As much a celebration of the brilliant work of one man, Wajda’s final film is a commentary on the inherent suffering of any true artist.

This year’s KINOTEKA main retrospective programme is dedicated to the memory of Andrzej Wajda, the giant of post-war Polish cinema and unarguably the most influential and celebrated Polish filmmaker ever, who passed away last October. Described by Martin Scorsese, who has acknowledged his influence as “a master filmmaker”, Wajda was awarded an honorary Oscar® for five decades of directorial achievements in 2000.

The Regent Street Cinema hosts KINOTEKA’s New Polish Cinema strand, showcasing the best of contemporary Polish cinema and representing a cross section of cinematic styles and genres. You can expect the latest Polish productions as The Last Family, Blindness, The Lure and many more.

The new KINOTEKA strand ‘Undiscovered Masters of Polish Cinema’ offers audiences an opportunity to discover this unsung pioneer of Polish film Wanda Jakubowska who was one of the first and most historically important Polish female directors, and started her career in the 1930s. Her work has had a huge influence, especially the authenticity of The Last Stage on the Holocaust films that followed, including Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. The ICA screens The Last Stage (1 April) as well as a rare screening of her psychological drama Encounters In The Dark (1960) (2 April).

KINOTEKA will celebrate Polish Animation with an extra special Closing Night Gala event at the Barbican on 5 April. The art-rock sextet British Sea Power will perform a specially commissioned live score alongside a selection of the best Polish animation-shorts chosen by the band, celebrating Polish Animation Classics. This unique evening will feature Yan Scott Wilkinson on vocals/guitar, Neil Hamilton Wilkinson on vocals/bass/guitar, Martin Noble on guitar/keyboards, Matthew Wood on drums, Abi Fry on viola/keyboards and Phil Sumner on keyboards/cornet/guitar.