To celebrate the start of our retrospective of Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski, members are invited to join us on Friday 21 August for a special launch event.
For the occasion, our Atrium Bar team will be serving up slices of traditional Polish cake, accompanied by a shot of the country's iconic hazelnut vodka, to sip alongside.
Following these sweet treats, we'll head into the screen for Possession, arguably the director's most well-known film, starring none other than Isabelle Adjani and the late Sam Neill. The screening will be introduced by Daniel Bird, who will provide a bit more context about the film, as well as the season as a whole.
Tickets for this event are £17 each, which includes a complimentary serving of cake and hazelnut vodka, as well as an allocated seat for the screening. They are restricted to 2 per member, so you can bring a guest, even if they're not a member of the cinema.
* Please note, a coffee or tea alternative will be available to replace the vodka. We will have a vegetarian cake option available, but our supplier sadly cannot provide a vegan alternative for this event.
Event timings:
19:00-20:30 Cake and hazelnut vodka in the Atrium Bar
20:30-20:45 Introduction by Daniel Bird
20:45-22:50 Screening of Possession
About the film:
After returning home to West Berlin, international spy Mark is blindsided when his wife, Anna, abruptly requests a divorce without explanation. As he attempts to uncover the cause of her sudden detachment, he begins to monitor her, eventually discovering that she is hiding a series of complex and unsettling secrets. As Mark digs deeper, he is confronted with a progression of inexplicable and increasingly volatile events. His investigation descends into a psychological downward spiral, forcing him to navigate the blurring lines between his crumbling personal life and a reality that begins to defy logical explanation.
Set in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, infused with Cold War-era paranoia and tension, Possession is a film that defies classification. One of the most tortured portraits of a disintegrating marriage ever presented on screen, visionary director Andrzej Żuławski masterfully blends horror and thriller conventions into an utterly unique cinema experience, drawing on his own traumatic divorce and creative blacklisting in his native Poland.
About Daniel Bird:
Daniel Bird is a writer based in France. Since interviewing him as a student, he has worked frequently with Andrzej Żuławski, helping with the North American release of the director's cut of Possession, as well as assisting with subtitling, restorations, and script editing. Alongside curated programmes at Ciné Lumière and the Horse Hospital, Daniel has also worked with some of Żuławski’s key collaborators including composer Andrzej Korzyński, cinematographer Andrzej J. Jaroszewicz, and costume designer Magdalena Teslawska.