Wojciech Jerzy Has was born on 1 April 100 years ago. To celebrate the occasion, numerous events devoted to the achievements of this remarkable film director will be held in April 2025 in Spain and in the UK. To find out more about the Year of Jerzy Has, please visit iam.pl.
2025 - The Year of Wojciech Jerzy Has
In recognition of the achievements of the film director and to honour the importance of his work for the national and world heritage, the Senate of the Republic of Poland has named 2025 the Year of Wojciech Jerzy Has - a filmmaker, screenplay author, illustrator and long-time lecturer at the Leon Schiller National Film, Television, and Theatre School in Łódź, with an impressive list of professional achievements.
Cinema lovers from all over the world are well familiar with such titles as “Farewells”, “How To Be Loved”, “The Saragossa Manuscript”, “The Doll” or “The Hourglass Sanatorium”. Drawing upon the canons of the European cultural heritage, Has filled his works with a wide range of metaphors, establishing a dialogue with domestic mythology, complexes and political narratives. For him, Poland was a melting pot of numerous cultures, languages, historic experiences and forms of artistic expression. He interlaced historical tragedies with irony and melancholy - qualities that enabled the characters from his movies to survive in an inhumane world.
The first retrospective review of films by Wojciech Jerzy Has in Spain
To celebrate the 100th birthday of Wojciech Jerzy Has, the first retrospective review of his films will be held in Spain. The cycle will kick off on 9 April 2025, with a screening of “The Saragossa Manuscript” at Cine Doré in Madrid. All 14 feature films by Has that have been subjected to digital reconstruction will be showcased there.
A still image from “The Saragossa Manuscript” ©WFDiF
The Spanish review of films by Wojciech Jerzy Has will last from April to November, with individual events held in various cities all over the country. Selected titles will be shown in Oviedo (Teatro Filarmónica), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes), Santander (Filmoteca de Cantabria), Valencia (Institut Valencià de Cultura) and Saragossa (Filmoteca de Zaragoza), where an additional show by a flamenco guitarist Kamil Urbański will be organised, with the artist playing a concert inspired by Has’ masterpiece. The accompanying events will include also the following: a debate with the participation of Spanish writers Diego Moldes (author of the Spanish monograph about “The Saragossa Manuscript”) and Luis Alberto de Cuenca (renowned translator and poet), a seminar devoted to Jan Potocki’s book titled “The Saragossa Manuscript” and its film adaptation by Has, to be held at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. The journey exploring the world of the Polish film director will come to a conclusion with the screening of “The Hourglass Sanatorium” and “The Saragossa Manuscript” at the European Cinema Festival in Sevilla (Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla).
The said events will be proudly organised by the AVA Arts Foundation in cooperation with Filmoteca Española, the National Film Archive - Audiovisual Institute, the Polish Institute in Madrid and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The project is co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage under the Culture Promotion Programme and is also co-financed by the Polish Film Art Institute.
Retrospective review of Jerzy Has films in London, during the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival
A full retrospective review of films by Wojciech Jerzy Has is taking place in the UK as well. During the 23rd edition of the Kinoteka Polish Film Festival that will be organised by the Polish Cultural Institute in London, the audience will have an opportunity to enjoy a whole range of Has’ works, including 14 feature and 12 short films. Remastered versions of the films will be presented, offering a new take of Has’ love for nostalgia and the passing of time, all seasoned with a dose of sarcasm that is so typical of this renowned director.
A still image from “The Hourglass Sanatorium” ©WFDiF
The screenings will commence on 1 April 2025 with “The Saragossa Manuscript”. “The Noose” will follow on 2 April 2025, and both events will be accompanied by introductory remarks and a discussion with the participation of a Polish expert. On 3 April 2025, the Polish Hearth Club in London will host a screening of “Description Found Years Later. Wojciech Jerzy Has” by Stanisław Zawiśliński and Sławomir Rogowski - taking a multifaceted look at the life and creative activity of Jerzy Has. The closing gala will be held on 25 April 2025, with a screening of “The Hourglass Sanatorium”. Movie enthusiasts will be able to visit the screening halls of the British Film Institute Southbank and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. In the foyers of both above-mentioned locations, an exhibition of 16 original Polish posters promoting the movies by Has, curated by DI Factory, is presented.
Additionally, a series of Polish film screenings will be organised at 7 art houses in the UK, under the Kinoteka On Tour project. They will be held at Hull Independent Cinema (Hull), Ultimate Picture Palace (Oxford), Tyneside (Newcastle), Broadway (Nottingham), Showroom (Sheffield), Mockingbird (Birmingham), and Hyde Park Picture House (Leeds). Two classics by Wojciech Jerzy Has will be shown to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the director’s birthday: “Farewells” (1958) and “The Saragossa Manuscript” (1964).
The UK screenings of films by Wojciech Jerzy Has are part of the Poland - United Kingdom Cultural Season 2025. The Kinoteka Polish Film Festival marked the official launch of a series of cultural events organised by the British Council, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and the Polish Cultural Institute in London.
