"Scary stories" - film program

The Adam Mickevičius Institute, the Romuva cinema, the MK Čiurlionis National Museum of Art and the Polish Institute in Vilnius present a film program accompanying the exhibition "Kraupios iztorii: Aleksandra Waliszewska and Symbolism of Eastern and Northern Europe".

Program:
March 10 18:00 p.m. – Wolf (Wilczyca), dir. Marek Piestrak, Poland, 1982
March 29 18:00 p.m. – White deer (Valkoinen peura), dir. Erik Bromberg, Finland, 1952
April 5 18:00 p.m. – Valerie and the Week of Miracles (Valerie a tyden divů), dir. Jaromil Jireš, Czechoslovakia, 1970
April 20 18:00 p.m. – bow tie (Leptirica), dir. Đorđe Kadijević, Yugoslavia, 1973
May 9 18:00 p.m. – Daughters of the Dance Floor (Córki dancing), dir. Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Poland, 2015

Program leaflet.

With the museum wristband, we invite you to purchase a ticket to the session at a special price of 3 euros. You can also visit the National MK Čiurlionis Art Museum at a 50% discount with a film series ticket. The discount is valid when buying tickets only at the cinema or museum box office (not valid online).

Film screenings accompanying Aleksandra Waliszewska's exhibition in Lithuania

In the painting of Aleksandra Waliszewska, the narrative element is very strongly felt, the artist creates her worlds on the border between reality and dream, reality and unreality. By inserting elements of various mythologies, the artist creates her fairy tale cosmos. As a result, her art is reminiscent of cinema, which at its core is the art of storytelling and world-building. The films shown in the film program accompanying the exhibition are not so much related to the artist's work as, one could say, grew from the same stem, and their mutual connection is based on intuition. Two works have been selected for it: one is older than the other Arthouse, both genre, horror and symbolist films of the "New Wave", others are contemporary European films created on the same basis as Waliszewska's works: original works, but those that fit into the framework of hybrid genre cinema, i.e. belong to the intermediate genre of horror and fairy tale.

The films shown in the screenings have elements that reflect two main themes: they explore the liminal phase of Van Gennep's rites of passage, which is primarily related to puberty, the step from adolescence to adulthood ("Valerie and the Miracle Week", "Dance Floor Daughters"), marriage and love romance ("White deer", "Peteliškė"), death ("Wolf", "Peteliškė") and with the pre-Christian beliefs of certain regions, conveyed according to folk horror genre rules ("White Deer", "Wolf", "Butterfly"). The regional aspect of these films is extremely important, since the exhibition itself also uses a geographical category: there are both the Baltic Sea region - Finland, Poland, and Central Europe - the former Czechoslovakia and Poland, as well as the Balkans with the defunct Yugoslavia. Next to strong Slavic vampires and other werewolves (such as the lycanthrope in "Wolf" or the beast and butterfly in "Peteliškė") we see sirens, more associated with the Mediterranean basin, and Finno-Ugric cultural motifs.

More about each movie:

Wolf (Wilczyca), dir. Marek Piestrak, Poland, 1983

A woman on her deathbed casts a spell on her husband: if her life ends, she will visit him after death! The woman's words are terrifying because, according to rumors, she "married with wolves" when she was alive. Is the curse stronger than death?

"Wolf" perfectly reflects the 9th century. Polish horror cinema of the XNUMXs: lots of nudity and violence. One of the country's most famous horror films now looks stunningly new. The work, based on history and old folk beliefs, is the work of the master of genre Polish cinema, Marek Piestrak, the author of the cult films "Pilot Pirks Quota" and "Snake Valley Enchantment".

White deer (Valkoinen peura), dir. Erik Bromberg, Finland, 1952

The young Sami Pirita marries her lover, the reindeer herder Aslak. When the man leaves every time to herd his flock, the woman becomes more and more afraid of loneliness. She turns to a local Sami shaman for help. This one must help her rekindle the passion in Aslak's heart. Unfortunately, this means that Piritha must turn into a vampire that transforms into a white deer.

The classic film balances between folk horror and folk tales. Finnish director Erik Bromberg's film, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was awarded the Golden Globe, is full of references to pre-Christian shamanic Sami religions and folk traditions.

Valeria and the week of miracles (Valerie a tyden divů), dir. Jaromil Jireš, Czechoslovakia, 1970

Valeria's earrings are stolen while she sleeps. Will the girl be able to get them back? And what role do the girl's mother and grandmother play in this story?

One of the most visionary Czechoslovak "New Wave" films. Screen adaptation of Vítězslav Nezval's prose. The only surrealist work in which gothic horror is intertwined with magical realism. Young Valeria, like Alice in Wonderland, stands on the threshold of the adult world and travels between the real world and the other side of the dream mirror.

Leptirica, dir. Đorđe Kadijević, Yugoslavia, 1973

Young Strahinja, after the big lord did not agree to give his daughter away for him, goes out into the world. He stays in a haunted mill and the new miller has to fight evil spirits. Will the country boy marry his sweetheart in the end?

The first Yugoslav horror film, a cult work, is attributed folk horror genre. The story of Sava Savanović, the most famous vampire of the Balkans. Adaptation of Milovan Glišić's novel, directed by Đorđe Kadijević, full of folklore details.

Daughters of the Dance Floor (Córki dancingu), dir. Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Poland, 2015

Agnieszka Smoczyńska's bravura acting debut. Fabulous 9th century. A vision of the Polish People's Republic of the XNUMXs, a world of dance floors and nightclubs indulging in cigarette smoke and vodka. Two sirens enter this country, conquering the Warsaw music scene. However, sirens belong in water, not on land. Will they be able to reconcile their wild nature with human desires?

An impressive hybrid of genres: a mixture of a fairy tale, a horror film and a musical. At the same time, it is one of the most wonderful films about coming of age, becoming a woman and the dangers of an attractive adult life.

The exhibition at the MK Čiurlionis Art Museum runs from February 3 to May 22.

Look for movie screenings in our repertoire here.
You can find more information about the exhibition here. 

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