Feature film directed by Marek Lechki, 2002.
A solitary, decaying housing block at the periphery of a city in Upper Silesia. The film's protagonist, Goździk (Clove), has been living here for twenty-five years, that is, since birth. Clove has no regular employment and he is not a student. He plays hockey for the local district league team. His father lost his coalmining job a year ago and now spends his days fishing in a pond where there have not been any fish for years. Only Clove's mother makes an effort to salvage their home. However, this situation does not depress Clove, who feels in no way burdened by it. Perhaps this is because Clove is capable of finding joy in everything and strives to share this joy with everyone. He actually likes this place, this building and the people who inhabit it, even more so because his neighbors include some truly colorful and quirky characters. Additionally, Clove's friend Cichy (The Silent One) lives in the next building over. Cichy spends his days in a garage, fixing up an old automobile that he aims to use one day to disappear from this place and travel as far as possible. This could not be further from Clove's mind, especially when one day a beautiful girl moves into his building.
"The strength of this film lies in the contrast between its narrative reticence and the story's emotional tone. Lechki consistently strips his picture of all external adornments. He draws viewers into the leisurely rhythm of events, which are shown from Clove's point of view: Mrs. Kurkowa flees a rat in her apartment, Mr. Leon dreams of spending the night with Ms. Jola, Clove's mother worries about their perennial lack of money, an uncle arrives and then departs... and all this while Clove's father goes on fishing. These are ordinary, trivial, everyday matters, yet their commonness hardly hurts. Within Clove's space, everything acquires a somewhat different, seemingly grander dimension (...) To state it in the most elevated tones, 'My Town' is an original statement about man's existence in the world in which it is his destiny to live. Fortunately, Marek Lechki decidedly avoids hitting any lofty notes. He examines a fragment of the world honestly and with warmth, though his view may be colored by a slight note of melancholy. And although at the most general level the picture - as we can see - hardly fills us with joy, at the individual level it certainly brings hope." (Maciej Maniewski, "Kino")
- Moje miasto / My Town. Poland, 2002. Written and directed by: Marek Lechki. Director of photography: Przemyslaw Kaminski. Production designer: Joanna Bialousz. Music by: Bartosz Straburzynski. Editing: Robert Mankowski. Executive producer: Fundacja Sztuki Filmowej (Film Art Foundation). Featuring: Radosław Chrzesciański (Stanisław "Gozdzik"), Agnieszka Banach (Zosia), Dorota Pomykała ("Goździk's" mother), Krzysztof Stroiński (Stefan, "Gozdzik's" father), Andrzej Mastalerz ("Cichy", "Goździk's" friend), Krystyna Tkacz (neighbour Halina Kurkowa), Stanisław Brudny (neighbour Leon), Elzbieta Karkoszka ("Cichy's" mother), Jerzy Łapiński (uncle Jasio), Liliana Krupska (neighbour Jola), Marcin Lamprecht ("Bolek" Dabrowski), Artur Krol ("Lolek" Dąbrowski), Ewa Leśniak (neighbour Jezierska). Production: Telewizja Polska - Agencja Filmowa. Color. Time: 60 min.
Awards:
- 2002
- Festival of Polish Feature Films, Gdynia - Special Jury Prize, Best Screenplay, Award of the Chairman of Polish State Television, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Dorota Pomykała
- KSF "Młodzi i film" ["Youth and Film" Koszalin Film Meetings], Koszalin - Best Screenplay Award of the Association of Polish Filmmakers, Best Actor in a Starring Role for Krzysztof Stroiński - 2003
- International Festival of Documentary and Short Films, Kraków - "Srebrny Smok" / "Silver Dragon" for Best Feature Film
- Polish National Festival of Documentary and Short Films, Kraków - Honorable Mention for "warmth in the portrayal of man and his longings"