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2 September 2010

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Inferno
Television feature film directed by Maciej Pieprzyca, 2002
languages: Polski  / English 
author: Ewa Nawój
 

"Inferno" was produced by Polish State Television in cooperation with the Studio im. Karola Irzykowskiego (Karol Irzykowski Studio) under the "Pokolenie 2000" / "Generation 2000" series, designed to provide young directors with an opportunity to make their debut features. The film was directed by Maciej Pieprzyca (b. 1964), a graduate of the Screenwriting Program at the Łódź Film School (1990) who went on to obtain a directing degree from the Radio and Television Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice in 1993. Pieprzyca is also known as the director of the television series "Samo Życie" / "Life Itself," and as the author of a number of documentaries, including "Jestem mordercą... / I am a Murderer...", in which he explored the mysterious story of the "Vampire of Katowice," a man perhaps wrongly sentenced to death during Communist times in Poland. Pieprzyca's feature film debut resembles this documentary. Just as in "I am a Murderer...", so in "Inferno" we are confronted by a shocking crime that gains much media attention, a murder that actually occurred. And just as in his documentary, Pieprzyca uses the traces and consequences of the crime to reconstruct the path that lead up to it. However, "Inferno" is ruled by the laws of a narrative feature and not by those of a documentary. This story of three high school girls, of whom two prove to be murderers of the third, ventures beyond the documentary frame, though its director recreates the social background of the crime in almost documentary fashion. The gloomy school corridors, classrooms, restrooms and basements on the day of the prom, the nervous rhythm of the images and the pulsating music and lights are a metaphorical representation of the heroines' mindset. The evil that is released during the prom also comes from within them. It is no accident that the film's title references one of the sections of Dante's "Divine Comedy". In one of the opening scenes, a nun teaching a class in religion quotes Saint Augustine in saying that hell is not a sea of flames but a place where man finds himself beyond the boundaries of reason.

The film's highly precise screenplay and editing reinforce its message, though simultaneously rendering it somewhat too literal.

  • "Inferno", Poland, 2002. Directed by: Maciej Pieprzyca. Screenplay by: Bartosz Kurowski, Maciej Pieprzyca. Director of photography: Marek Traskowski. Featuring: Katarzyna Bujakiewicz, Barbara Kurzaj, Monika Kwiatkowska. Time: 66'.
Awards:
  • 2002 - Cierlickie Lato Filmowe / Cierlice Film Summer, "Złoty Debiut" / "Golden Debut" Award
  • 2003 - Houston Film Festival, "Bronze Award"; Festival of Feature, Television and Video Films in Avanca, Honorable Mention

Author: Ewa Nawój

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On Monday, September 20, the first Polish arena for the Euro 2012 Cup will open in Poznań. The official ceremony will be honoured with a concert featuring Sting performing with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by Steven Mercurio.
Until September 25 (except for Sundays and holidays), the John the Baptist Archcathedral in Warsaw will host daily organ recitals as part of the 7th edition of the "Grand Organ of the Archicathedral" Festival.
"Dotyk człowieka/Beruehrungen" is the title of the exhibition presenting works of six Polish contemporary artists displayed at the German Embassy in Warsaw (Jazdów street): on view until September 27.
On October 17, the National Museum in Poznań will host the first public presentation of Claude Monet's "Beach in Pourville". The painting was stolen ten years ago. The painting returned to the museum in January 2010 after the folice found the thief.
Jazz pianist Chick Corea will give his only Polish solo concert on November 8 in Zabrze.
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