Polish Cinema for Beginners is a film club based in Wrocław with the aim of bringing Polish cinema to an international audience. The podcast, hosted by Pranav Kelkar, runs with the same motive, and illuminates Polish movies and the world behind them.
Each month, we will explore Polish cinema in two ways: through conversations about specific films (with spoiler-free introductions and post-watch discussions, inspired by the PCFB screening format) and through deeper dives into directors, cinematography, music, film history, trends, and everything that shapes Polish cinema.
Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease, with Hania Kroczek
Polish Cinema for Beginners turns to Krzysztof Zanussi's Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease (2000) — a title lifted straight from some graffiti the director spotted on a Warsaw wall, and about as blunt a joke as you can make about mortality. At its centre is Tomasz, an atheist doctor in his sixties who spent his life avoiding questions of faith and death, that is until a terminal diagnosis makes them unavoidable. What could easily have been a heavy meditation on dying instead plays out with dry, unexpected humour and a clear refusal of sentimentality. Joining us to unpack it is Hania Kroczek, a film educator, critic, and journalist based in Wrocław. Listen in as we dig into the questions Zanussi raises, the perspectives he shows, and the ways he shows them.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a film episode. Each film episode follows the same format: a spoiler-free introduction, a break to watch the film, and then an open discussion.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at polishcinema.com.pl (https://app.notion.com/p/polishcinema.com.pl) and follow us on our socials at facebook.com/polishcinema (https://app.notion.com/p/facebook.com/polishcinema) and instagram.com/polishcinema (https://app.notion.com/p/instagram.com/polishcinema) to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at radioluz.pl (https://app.notion.com/p/radioluz.pl) and on their social media instagram.com/radio_luz (https://app.notion.com/p/instagram.com/radio_luz).
31 Aug 2026
Women in Polish Cinema, with Ewa Mazierska
From the archetypes that defined female characters on screen to the directors who pushed back against them. In this episode of Polish Cinema for Beginners we turn the lens on the women of Polish cinema — who they were, how they were depicted, and what it took to make films in an industry dominated by men. Taking us through this landscape is Ewa Mazierska — Professor of Film and Cultural Studies at the University of Central Lancashire, and co-author of Women in Polish Cinema, the definitive English-language study of the subject.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a topic episode. Each topic episode discusses a different aspect related to Polish cinema, without focusing on any specific film production.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at polishcinema.com.pl (polishcinema.com.pl) and follow us on our socials at facebook.com/polishcinema (facebook.com/polishcinema) and instagram.com/polishcinema (instagram.com/polishcinema) to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at radioluz.pl (radioluz.pl) and on their social media instagram.com/radio_luz (instagram.com/radio_luz).
31 Jul 2026
The Double Life of Véronique, with Annette Insdorf
For the third episode of Polish Cinema for Beginners we journey into the ethereal world of connections and eerie emotions through Krzysztof Kieślowski's international breakthrough, The Double Life of Véronique (1991). This is a film about two people, Weronika from Poland and Véronique from France, and how their lives intertwine. Our guide into this very surreal film is Annette Insdorf — professor at Columbia University, celebrated film historian and interviewer, and one of the world's leading authorities on Kieślowski. Listen in to our conversation as we talk about this magnificent film which is sure to leave you in a state of wonder.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a film episode. Each film episode follows the same format: a spoiler-free introduction, a break to watch the film, and then an open discussion.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at polishcinema.com.pl (polishcinema.com.pl) and follow us on our socials at facebook.com/polishcinema (facebook.com/polishcinema) and instagram.com/polishcinema (instagram.com/polishcinema) to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at radioluz.pl (radioluz.pl) and on their social media instagram.com/radio_luz (instagram.com/radio_luz).
30 Jun 2026
Interwar Polish Cinema, with Łukasz Biskupski
In this month's episode of Polish Cinema for Beginners we're going back to the very beginnings of Polish cinema — the interwar period. Even though we're only focusing on about two decades, there's a lot to cover. Who were the biggest movie stars? Why did the Poles like melodramas? And what even makes a movie Polish? Along to answer these and many more of our questions is Łukasz Biskupski — a cultural historian and film studies scholar from the University of Łódź.
Note from the producer: In the episode, Łukasz mentions that Poland was “colonised” which isn’t applicable here given the context surrounding the word. A more accurate word would be “partitioned”.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a topic episode. Each topic episode discusses a different aspect related to Polish cinema, without focusing on any specific film production.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at polishcinema.com.pl (polishcinema.com.pl) and follow us on our socials at facebook.com/polishcinema (facebook.com/polishcinema) and instagram.com/polishcinema (instagram.com/polishcinema) to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at radioluz.pl (radioluz.pl) and on their social media instagram.com/radio_luz (instagram.com/radio_luz).
31 May 2026
Ashes and Diamonds, with Adam Kruk
Polish Cinema for Beginners is back with an absolute classic. Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds (1958) is one of the most electrifying breakthroughs in European cinema — a film shot in the rubble of post-war Poland that somehow feels as urgent today as it did then. The guest on this episode is film critic and Polish Cinema for Beginners founder Adam Kruk. We go into the release and reception, the themes, the imagery, and so much more.
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This podcast is part of Polish Cinema for Beginners — a project by the Wrocław Film Foundation, bringing Polish cinema closer to international audiences. Co-produced by Academic Radio LUZ, with special thanks to their Department of Culture.
New episodes alternate between films and topics, so there's always something to learn about Polish cinema. This is a film episode. Each film episode follows the same format: a spoiler-free introduction, a break to watch the film, and then an open discussion.
Find out more about Polish Cinema for Beginners at polishcinema.com.pl (polishcinema.com.pl) and follow us on our socials at facebook.com/polishcinema (facebook.com/polishcinema) and instagram.com/polishcinema (instagram.com/polishcinema) to stay updated on our events and new episode releases.
Find out more about Academic Radio LUZ at radioluz.pl (radioluz.pl) and on their social media instagram.com/radio_luz (instagram.com/radio_luz).
26 Aug 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: How To Be a Woman - discussion
PCfB#14: 'How To Be a Woman' continues with a recording of our discussion ON THE AIR of Radio Wrocław Kultura!
Miłosława Bożek, Kuba Żary, Krzysztof Majewski and our special guest Anna Lalka talked about women in polish cinema - how our cinema is presenting women on the screen.
26 Aug 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: How To Be a Woman
The videoessay entitled 'How To Be a Woman', make up for a short lesson on the history of polish female cinema. We will discover its most important creators and try to compare the situation of women in the cinematography of the Polish People's Republic with that of today. We will listen to strong voices, which resonate in cinemas all around the world. We give You the 5th edition of the 14th season of Polish Cinema for Beginners!
13 Aug 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: Polish Church - discussion
PCFB#14: "Polish Church" continues with a recording of our discussion ON THE AIR of a Radio Wrocław Kultura.
Miłosława Bożek, Krzysztof Majewski and Kuba Żary talked about polish church - how our cinema was presenting this topic.
13 Aug 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: Polish Church
The topic of Polish religiousness has often appeared on Polish screens recently and in very different ways. A lot of religious films are made and they are doing well – ‘Broken Ear of Corn’, produced by the media empire owned by fundamentalist father Rydzyk, is an attempt to transplant Christian Films, popular in the USA, into Polish ground. The Oscar-nominated "Corpus Christi" became a great success last year. The film by Jan Komasa, tells the story of aboy from a reformatory who impersonates a priest and... strangely he heals relations in a village in eastern Poland. The film was appreciated by both progressive and conservative environments. However, Wojciech Smarzowski's "Clergy" serves as our starting point for the discussion.
29 Jul 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: Four Walls Around Us - discussion
PCfB#14: 'Four Walls Around Us' continues with a recording of our discussion ON THE AIR of Radio Wrocław Kultura!
Kuba Żary, Krzysztof Majewski and our special guest Paweł Czajkowski talked about Polish families - how polish cinema was presenting the model of Polish family over the years.
23 Jul 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: Four Walls Around Us
Is it true, as they say, that you only get along well with your family in the picture? In the film "The Last Family" -one of the most famous Polish titles of recent years -the head of the family, painter Zdzisław Beksiński, records his loved ones all the time, compulsivelyfilmingthe events in his apartment with a VHS camera. Even if there’s not much happening here. He lives with his wife anddying mothers of both, but their son Tomek, a translator and a popular radio presenter, is also constant visitor at theirflat. It all makes kind of an interesting family...
Join us for the 3rd installment of Polish Cinema for Beginners, as we take a closer look at the construct of polish family and the way it is portrayed in polish cinema. 'The Last Family", dir. by JAN P. MATUSZYNSKI will be our starting point for a broad discussion on the psychological aspect of a family and its evolution throughout the years.
15 Jul 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: What Poles do in the shadows - discussion
PCfB#14: 'What Poles do in the shadows' continues with a recording of our discussion ON THE AIR of Radio Wrocław Kultura!
Kuba Żary, Krzysztof Majewski, Miłka Bożek and our special guest Adam Kruk talked about what Poles do in the shadows - how polish cinema was presenting the subject of sexuality over decades.
9 Jul 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: What Poles do in the shadows
What Poles do in the shadows? Quite a lot. Although today less and less things are considered embarrassing - it wasn't always like that. Polish culture, including cinema, was fortified by a whole range of taboos. The film we will look at in this episode - "United States of Love" by Tomasz Wasilewski was made four years ago. It tells the story of Poland from three decades ago, especially the story of women.
The intricate construction of "United States of Love" led the film to winning the Silver Bear at the Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival for its script. The award made the film interesting for distributors from many countries. On the screen we can see intertwined stories of four "women on the verge of a nervous breakdown". However, "United States of Love" does not have the southern charm of Almodovar's film, but the weight of Europe on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain, which has just fallen with a bang.
30 Jun 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: All that Hate - discussion
PCfB#14: 'All That Hate' continues with a recording of our discussion ON THE AIR of Radio Wrocław Kultura!
Kuba Żary, Miłka Bożek, Krzysztof Majewski and our special guest Martyna Stec talked about hate - regarding its representation in polish cinema, causes, after-effects and appearence in everyday situations.
25 Jun 2020
Polish Cinema for Beginners: All That Hate
‘The Hater’ spent only a week on the screens in Polish cinemas. Not because audience didn’t like it – on the contrary, the cash result from the opening weekend were very promising, the film could be one of the biggest cash successes of 2020. However, on March 12th, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, cinemas all over Poland went closed and thus the cinema life of the film ended prematurely. Fortunately, it quickly entered VOD platforms and Netflix bought the rights to show it all over the world.
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