The Women’s Cinema series, set against the backdrop of the city’s Old Market Square, will run from June 20 to 28, placing women’s voices and experiences at the center, on screen and in dialogue.
Among the featured guests are celebrated directors Agnieszka Holland, Kinga Dębska, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Maria Zbąska and Olga Chajdas, as well as actors including Dorota Kolak and Marta Ojrzyńska Maria Dębska, daughter of Kinga.
Each screening will be followed by a conversation with the filmmakers and guest experts, offering psychological, cultural and social perspectives.
Discussions will be moderated by film journalist and critic Anna Serdiukow.
Serdiukow describes the series as "a space for the exchange of thoughts and emotions, whether you're a longtime admirer of Agnieszka Holland or someone who wandered in by chance."
The festival, she adds, has always been about "encounters: with art, with people, and with unexpected ideas."
The lineup includes films that touch on intimate and often unspoken themes, ranging from motherhood and addiction to sexuality, social exclusion and class.
The program opens on June 20 with Imago by Olga Chajdas, inspired by the life of punk musician Ela "Malwina" Góra and her complex relationship with her daughter.
Other highlights include Other People by Aleksandra Terpińska, a hip-hop musical about urban alienation; The Lure by Agnieszka Smoczyńska, a surreal take on female sexuality and transformation; and Playing Hard by Kinga Dębska, a frank look at alcoholism among women.
Holland’s landmark films A Woman Alone and Europa Europa will also screen, the former anchoring a discussion on marginalization and systemic failure, the latter screened without a talk but referenced in a contemporary opera and stage piece inspired by the director’s work.
The series will close on June 28 with Salt Lake, a bold exploration of desire, maternal bonds and emotional dependency by Katarzyna Rosłaniec.
In keeping with the Malta Festival’s tradition as a platform for dialogue and discovery, the Women’s Cinema series invites audiences not only to watch, but to talk, ask, challenge and reflect.
As organizers put it: “This is cinema as conversation, cinema as encounter.”
Each evening promises not just a screening but a space for thoughtful, often intimate conversation.
Screenings will begin at 9:00 p.m. each evening in the open-air Quadro Passage, with English subtitles provided for international audiences.
Free tickets are available one day before each event, and on the day itself, from the festival center.
More information is available at malta-festival.pl.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP