Classic animation, beautiful restorations, and contemporary fiction from one of the homelands of great cinema

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LOVING VINCENT

The animated Loving Vincent audaciously chronicles Vincent van Gogh’s life and art, telling the story of a postman’s son trying to unravel the circumstances surrounding the painter’s mysterious death. This historical whodunit consists of 65,000 oil-painted frames crafted by 125 painters working from live-action footage shot by the directors with their cast—it’s immersive and transporting. Poland 2017, 94 min Directors Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman

Thursday, Oct. 5   7:00 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center

THE SANDGLASS

Loosely adapted from the work of Bruno Schulz, this exceptional film probes the illusory alliance between life and death when a young man travels to a remote sanatorium where time has become detached from reality. Winner of the 1973 Cannes Film Festival’s Jury Prize, The Sandglass is a stunning achievement, and screens at MVFF in a beautifully restored digital print. In Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew, and Latin with English subtitles. Poland 1973, 124 min Director Wojciech Has

Screening will include an introduction and book signing by Annette Insdorf, author of Intimations: The Cinema of Wojciech Has.

Sunday, Oct. 8   2:45 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center

SPOOR (POKOT)

A mountainous Polish village provides the setting for thrice Academy Award®-nominated director Agnieszka Holland’s unusual murder mystery. When several hunters meet violent ends, a plucky schoolteacher has a theory about the crimes, but the police are skeptical. Winner of the Alfred Bauer Prize at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. In Polish with English subtitles. Poland/Germany/Czech Republic/Sweden/Slovakia 2017, 128 min. Director Agnieszka Holland

Sunday, Oct. 8   12:00 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center
Monday, Oct. 9   6:45 pm  |  Larkspur

Click here to view trailer

UNDER THE RADAR: 70 YEARS OF POLISH ANIMATION

For filmmakers in Poland, animation has been a creative means of liberation, with films that could go under the radar—and sometimes over the top—in this unique collection of shorts from the Communist era to the present. The first screening features live animation by Poland’s most treasured animator, Mariusz Wilczynski, accompanied by live music by Trance Mission.

*Live performance at this screening only. Program is free (ticket required).
**Live performance replaced with a Mariusz Wilczynski retrospective (regular ticket price)

Saturday, Oct. 7   8:45 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center
Monday, Oct. 9   9:00 pm  |  CinéArts Sequoia

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