fbpx

A view of Krakow will open the series Poets and Their Cities in Madrid

On 12 March (Wednesday) at 7.00 pm, a special Spanish-language show of the film Widok Krakowa (View of Krakow) directed by Magdalena Piekorz will be given at the Casa del Lector Auditorium in Madrid. The screening will inaugurate the series Poets and Their Cities. The poet Adam Zagainewski will be the guest of honour. The poet’s discussion with the Spanish literary critic Mercedes Monmany will be about the perception of Zagajewski’s works in Spain. The event is organised by the Polish Institute in Madrid. We are proud to remind you that the Polish episode of the series City(W)ritesWidok Krakowa – has been produced by the Krakow Festival Office, an was supported by the Krakow Film Commission.

Watching Magdalena Piekorz’s Widok Krakowa, viewers will be taken on a film trip to Krakow and Malopolska, guided by the Krakow-based poet Adam Zagajewski. He will show them his literary Krakow, his masters, his favourite spots and fellow writers. He will also talk about his creative path and about Polish literature at large. The great artists and writers associated with Krakow – Stanisław Wyspiański, Tadeusz Kantor, Stanisław Lem, Sławomir Mrożek, Wisława Szymborska, Czesław Miłosz – are also referred to in the film.

The film of Magda Piekorz depicts the literary face of Krakow which last year was honoured with the prestigious title of UNESCO City of Literature, joining the elite group of six earlier cities (Edinburgh, Melbourne, Iowa City, Dublin, Reykjavik and Norwich).

The project was born in co-operation with the series’ international co-ordinator Owen W. Thompson (producer of Pan’s Labyrinth, directed by Guillermo del Toro), as well as the Spanish production agencies Uhura Films and Flamenco Films which are responsible for the film’s international distribution and promotion.

Widok Krakowa is part of the international literary and film project City (W)rites, presenting literary capitals of Europe through meetings with writers associated with each city. Adam Zagajewski assumed the role of ambassador of Krakow and Malopolska. Magdalena Piekorz reveals that the poet will show ”his own” Krakow: his masters, favourite spots and his friends – writers. There will also be reminiscences of other prominent writers associated with the city who have passed way — Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz.

The Krakow Festival Office is the producer of the Polish episode of the series City(W)ritesWidok Krakowa of Magdalena Piekorz. The Krakow Film Commission also supported the production. Telewizja Polska SA and the Book Institute have been project partners. The production has also received funding from the Reading Promotion programme of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The funding is operated by the Book Institute.

Adam Zagajewski is ranked among the best recognised and world-renowned contemporary Polish poets; he is also among the most translated Polish poets and essayists. He is the winner of many prestigious international awards, including the Prix de la Liberté (1987), Vilenica Prize (1996), Nikolaus Lenau Preis (2000), Tomas Tranströmer Award (2000) and Neustadt Prize (2004). In 2002 he became a member of the Bavarian Academy of Arts and Literature. In December last year he was conferred the doctorate honoris causa at the Jagiellonian University.

Magdalena Piekorz – graduated from the J. Kieślowski Radio and TV Faculty of the Silesian University in Katowice. She is a script writer, film director and stage director. She has a PhD in cinematic art. She has made seven documentary films. Her first film – Dziewczyny z Szymanowa (Girls from Szymanów) – won her the Bronze Lajkonik at the 31st International and National Documentary and Short Film Festival in Krakow. For her Franciszkański spontan (Franciscan Spontainety) she received the Honorary Award of the Jury on the 2nd Review of Documentary Forms in Szczecin, and for her Przybysze (Newcomers) — the Grand Prix of Euroshorts’99. All films have been broadcasted on TV 1 under the series Czas na dokument (Time for Document). For a few years she has been making films abroad. First Znaleźć, zobaczyć, pochować (To Find, to Look, to Bury) – a film about the women of Bosnia who are waiting to hear the news about their family members after the war in former Yugoslavia, then Piemonte – a story of a small town in Istria, with only one resident, and most recently Chicago – a documentary series for TVN (co-director, 25 episodes.) She became famous for her feature film Pręgi (The Welts), to Wojciech Kuczok’s script. In 2011, she directed the concert Panna Madonna Legenda Tych Lat (A Virgin, Madonna, the Legend of Those Days ) — the tribute to the singer Ewa Demarczyk during the Opole Festival.
Media patron: lubimyczytac.pl.

The Polish episode of the series City(W)rites has been produced under the Reading Małopolska Project. It consists of a series of activities through which Malopolska, and its capital, Krakow intend to communicate their literary heritage and involve themselves in building a network of regions that are creative in the area of literature. The Project is supported by funding of the Malopolska regional Operational Programme 2007-2013.

Pic. Michał Sosna

Enter the search phrase: