Programme
The Wedding Day
Wesele
2021 Poland, Latvia 135 min N-16
Added to my films
In a Polish village a daughter of a wealthy businessman is getting married. Soon lavish wedding turns into a turmoil of corrupt business deals, fury of unpaid workers and debauchery of drunken guests as well as the groom. A patriarch of the family observes all this and through his eyes the history of a WWII tragedy in the same village emerges mixing the events of 100 years ago with the present in a bitter look at the community who has not came to terms with its past.
“The wedding is repeatedly used in Polish literature, theater and cinema to portray the flaws of the society. With his first Wedding, Smarzowski spoke of the need for Poland to regain values after reinstatement of the independence and now he goes back with the urge to regain memory. The racy form and dark humor immerse spectators into the intoxicated vortex of celebration and thus provokes to and even over the point of discomfort. The end justifies the means here – it’s an impact of the ugly, the violent and the immoral in the community with the corrupted memory, heading straight at the broad audience.” (Ignė Smilingytė)
World Premiere: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, 2021
Awards: Best Director and Best Script, Tallin, 2021
“The wedding is repeatedly used in Polish literature, theater and cinema to portray the flaws of the society. With his first Wedding, Smarzowski spoke of the need for Poland to regain values after reinstatement of the independence and now he goes back with the urge to regain memory. The racy form and dark humor immerse spectators into the intoxicated vortex of celebration and thus provokes to and even over the point of discomfort. The end justifies the means here – it’s an impact of the ugly, the violent and the immoral in the community with the corrupted memory, heading straight at the broad audience.” (Ignė Smilingytė)
World Premiere: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, 2021
Awards: Best Director and Best Script, Tallin, 2021
Director's biography
Wojciech Smarzowski (b. 1963, Poland) graduated from the National Film School in Lodz. One of the most important contemporary Polish directors, his movies although controversial, were both critical and box office successes. Among his titles are debut The Wedding (2004), The Dark House (2009), Hatred (2016) and Clergy (2018), all screened at "Kino Pavasaris".
Director(s) - Wojciech Smarzowski
Screenwriter(s) - Wojciech Smarzowski
Actors - Agata Kulesza, Andrzej Chyra, Robert Wieckiewicz, Michalina Łabacz, Mateusz Więcławek, Maria Sobocinska
Producer(s) - Janusz Bogaczyk, Janusz Hetman, Wojciech Gostomczyk
Cinematographer - Piotr Sobociński Jr.
Editor(s) - Krzysztof Komander
Sound -
Composer(s) - Mikołaj Trzaska
Sales agent - Cinema Management Group
Distributor -
Production company -
Translation - Agnė Mackė
Dialogues - Polish
Subtitles - English, Lithuanian
Director's biography
Wojciech Smarzowski (b. 1963, Poland) graduated from the National Film School in Lodz. One of the most important contemporary Polish directors, his movies although controversial, were both critical and box office successes. Among his titles are debut The Wedding (2004), The Dark House (2009), Hatred (2016) and Clergy (2018), all screened at "Kino Pavasaris".
