Sydney Film School

Tuesday, July 13 2010

7:00 pm

As a gateway between Eastern and Western film cultures, Sydney Film School has a growing community of international students and maintains strong international relations with schools, practitioners and film institutions around the world.

Each semester the SFS Festival highlights one region from around the world. Till this date the Sydney Film School Festival has screened ten short films from ten international film schools including those from Denmark, China, Croatia, Singapore, Japan, France, Thailand, Hong Kong, Greece and Indonesia.

The 12th SFS Festival turns the spotlight on Poland and screens two short films made by icons of world cinema - Polanski’s “Two Men with a Wardrobe” and Kieslowski’s “The Office”.

Two shorts were produced by the prestigious Polish Lodz Film School and directed by its now-famous students Roman Polanski and Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Both films - Polanski’s “Two Men with a Wardrobe” and Kieslowski’s “The Office” were made when they were 25 years old and are some of their earliest works.

Made in 1958 “Two Men with a Wardrobe” was Polanski’s second student film and the first Roman Polanski film to be screened publicly. It proved to be one of his most famous, winning him five international awards including Honorable Mention at the 1959 Oberhause International Short Film Festival and Golden Gate Award for the best short at the 1958 San Francisco International Film Festival. 

Like most of Polanski's early works the film could be described as ‘unusual stuff’ featuring his now well-known black humour. Filmed without dialogue, it is an excellent example of absurdist cinema.

“Two Men with a Wardrobe” is also said to be the first Polish student film to be released commercially.

Director Krzysztof Kieslowski is today a towering figure of Eastern European cinema most famous for his “Three Colours” trilogy. In 1966, while studying at the Polish Lodz Film School he made a 6 minute black and white documentary  “The Office” (Urzad), a satire on the impenetrability of bureaucracy.



“The Office” was Kieslowski's second film, and the first one that turned him to the documentary format.

Shot with a hidden camera at the counter of the (state-owned) Social Security office, the film is a very interesting attempt to go beyond imposed filmic and social schemas.

Both short films will be screened as a special feature of the Sydney Film School Graduation Night, on Tuesday 13th of July at 7pm and will be introduced by the Acting Consul General of Poland, Ms. Ewa Krajewska.

Sydney Film School is happy to highlight the beauty of Polish cinema!

Event is free and open to the general public.