Krzysztof Zanussi: A Life in Film

A special screening with the Polish director of his autobiographical film: At Full Gallop

Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center

An interesting detail from Krzysztof Zanussi's biography is that, before launching his career as an accomplished filmmaker, writer and theorist, he studied physics and philosophy. And one could say that in some sense his artistic work is also a scientific/philosophical enterprise, inasmuch as it strives to analyze the basic factors of human experience, and to understand how the human subject is formed in interaction with reality.

Nowadays, this is not so common. Much contemporary cinema is not especially interested in "seeing" the world, but rather in "amplifying" the artist's imagination, and in creating alternative mental universes. This reflects a general trend in our culture: reality per se is not very interesting, because it is viewed as ultimately meaningless and transitory. Therefore, we are the ones who have to "give it a meaning." On the contrary, Zanussi's work is filled with wonder about the existence of the world, and filled with questions about the meaning of reality and the possibility of eternity. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Zanussi' s work cannot be defined by or limited to any trend or neatly categorized. His works are and will remain, as he himself once said, “a kind of human speech.”

For a list of Zanussi's films click here.

Tickets available at AFI Silver

For more information, email dc@crossroadsculturalcenter.org
or call (240) 731-4985.

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