Jaśmina Polak

City of Warsaw, Poland, August 1st, 1944. Citizens have experienced inhuman acts of terror and violence during five long years of Nazi occupation. As the Soviet Army relentlessly approaches, the youngest and bravest among them rise up as one and face tyranny fighting street by street, but the price to pay will be high and hard the way to freedom…

In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so called “green border” between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU. Pawns in this hidden war, the lives of Julia, a newly minted activist who has given up her comfortable life, Jan, a young border guard, and a Syrian family intertwine.

Based on a script by Andrzej Żuławski, this is a fascinating on-screen dialogue between father and son that combines nostalgia and fury, the sublime with humor, and old-school style with a sharp, penetrating look at Polish reality. The eponymous bird talk is the language used by those excluded from the aggressive majority: a history teacher tormented by children, a teacher of Polish studies fired from his job, a girl who cleans a banker’s villa, a florist with a club foot and a student with a fascination for cinema. Pushed to the margins by the extreme right, they defend themselves with irony, songs and quotes from the classics.

Thirty year old Benek experiences a crisis mainly manifested by compulsive suicidal thoughts and dreams about death. Accidentally he meets a beautiful, magnetic and mouthy Lena. He is dazzled from the first moment and his admiration grows when Lena not only understands his suicidal preoccupation but shares a similar one. They embark on a crazy journey during which Benek realizes he is not the only man in Lena's life - in addition, the girl has cancer, and she is not attempting to treat it. Admiration mixes with fear - finally Benek promises to accompany her to the end...

A group of friends are taking their kids to a traditional long weekend getaway on the Danish island of Bornholm, just like they did for many years. An incident between the children will spark a new crisis in their relationship. Each couple seems happy, but are they really? Maybe they’re just keeping up appearances?

Kaja, a young and promising artist, is stuck in a creativity crisis. Overwhelmed by the pressure of the art market, with no support of her faithless partner, she organises a diabolic performance.

Michalina Wislocka, the most famous and recognized sexologist of communist Poland, fights for the right to publish her book, which will change the sex life of Polish people forever.

Teresa is suffering from postnatal depression after the birth of her son. In an effort to find comfort elsewhere she temporarily moves back with her husband to her parents’ house. However, the young woman’s family home conjures up memories of a previous relationship and a past love that perhaps has yet to be extinguished.