Wojciech Jerzy Has, prominent film director, screenwriter and producer, was awarded numerous film awards. Due to his unique artistic language he is often referred to as 'a visionary of Polish cinema'. In every film he has created his own world, the adventures of his protagonists were always of secondary importance compared to experience of the visual environment in which the action takes place.
Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), managed by the HKIFF Society, is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in Asia. Films presented as part of the review Has - Beyond the Master were screened in Agnès b. CINEMA in Hong Kong Arts Center. The retrospective was an excellent opportunity to make Polish cinema present in Hong Kong in a sustainable and effective way.
The programme HAS - Beyond the Master consisted of three parts:
1. The Master
Retrospective of five films directed by W. J. Has: The Saragossa Manuscript - adaptation of a novel by explorer Jan Potocki set during the Napoleonic Wars, The Hourglass Sanatorium based on the short story by Bruno Schulz and three intimate psychological dramas: The Noose, How to Be Loved, Farewells.
2. Learning from the Master
Traces - a documentary about W.J. Has by Robert Gliński, in which the director is portreyed by other artists, talking about their creative meetings with the Master.
3. Beyond the Master
Films directed by Has's students and filmmakers inspired by his work:
- Malgorzata Szumowska Stranger - a film about a young woman and her unwanted pregnancy
- Slawomir Fabicki Loving - a study of breakdown of a happy marriage
- Adrian Panek Daas - a story of Jakub Frank, an 18th century Jewish messiah
- Borys Lankosz Reverse - a black comedy about three generations of women
Organisers: Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Partner: National Film Archive