| Wednesday,
September 24 – Saturday, September 27
Directors
in Focus: The Films of Lech Majewski
Co-presented
by International Film Circuit
 Lech
Majewski is a Polish artist known for films and videos original
scores. A graduate of the Lodz Film School, Majewski is also
a poet, painter and stage director celebrated for opera and
theatrical events. His stylized moving-image works eschew language
in favor of music and fantastically expressive landscapes, both
domestic and topographical. His imaginative features – whether
based on legends, like The Knight and Angelus,
or on such real-life figures as Jean-Michel Basquiat and the
poet Rafal Wojaczek – are distinguished by a unique sensibility
hovering between not only the absurd and the metaphysical, but
also the beautiful and the profane.
Lech
Majewski in person with The Knight and Garden of Earthly Delights
Wednesday,
September 24 at 7pm
The
Knight (Rycerz)
dir.
Lech Majewski, Poland, 1980, 35mm, 81 mins, color, Polish w/
English subtitles
Director
Lech Majewski in person
A
haunting, austere ballad about a knight’s quest for a gold-stringed
harp, whose sound is said to bring peace and harmony. Medieval
icons inspire the film’s imagery. "A haunting, austere
parable directed with assurance by Lech Majewski who has a flair
for starkly poetic compositions. His film retains its spare,
arresting visual style throughout.” Janet Maslin, The New
York Times
Thursday,
September 25 at 7pm
Garden
of Earthly Delights
dir.
Lech Majewski, Poland, 2004, 35mm, 103 mins, color
Director
Lech Majewski in person
 In
this intense tale of passion and mortality, a beautiful but
dying London art historian, obsessed with Hieronymus Bosch’s
Garden of Earthly Delights, spends her last months in Venice
with her lover. Winner Best Narrative Feature at the 2004 Rome
International Film Festival. "A luminous, highly erotic
treatise on art, love and death.” Andrea Gronvall, Chicago
Reader
Friday,
September 26 at 7pm
Gospel
According to Harry
dir.
Lech Majewski, Poland, 1992, 35mm, 88 mins, color
 Starring
Viggo Mortensen, this maverick allegory takes place, according
to Majewski, when “the Pacific has dried up and California has
become a desert. A couple tries to make the best of it but life
is hard; even sex hurts. The only person who enjoys himself
is Harry, the tax collector.”
Saturday,
September 27 at 5pm
Angelus
dir.
Lech Majewski, Poland, 2000, 35mm, 103 mins, color, Polish w/
English subtitles
 A
colorful eye and dark humor create a tale of a young male virgin
who must be sacrificed to save the world. Majewski portrays
a community responding to World War II and Stalinism with primitive
metaphysics. "Angelus is a fascinating film that
recalls the work of Tarkovsky, while standing alone as a unique
expression of Majewski's creative impulse. The result is a film
of uncommon beauty, celebrating the pursuit of art and enlightenment
in all its myriad forms." Darryl Macdonald, Seattle International
Film Festival
Saturday,
September 27 at 7pm
Glass
Lips (Blood of a Poet)
dir.
Lech Majewski, Poland, 2007, 35mm, 97 mins, color, Polish w/
English subtitles
 A
young poet recalls traumatic episodes from his life while locked
away in an asylum. Majewski originally presented this work at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2006. The installation
entitled Blood of a Poet was composed of thirty-three
video art pieces exhibited on multiple screens. The feature
Glass Lips is drawn from these thirty-three elements.
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