Poland’s 90s rave culture comes to London with Kinoteka 2019

London’s Polish film festival is returning for its 17th year with a heady mix of emerging film, cutting-edge documentaries, and interactive masterclasses across the UK capital.

Running from 4-18 April, Kinoteka 2019 will celebrate what organisers call another “spectacular year” for Polish film.

They say that the latest programme encompasses the breadth of contemporary Polish filmmaking: from the brutal realism of Piotr Domalewski’s Silent Night, to Filip Bajon’s epic costume drama The Butler.

The festival will launch with a special screening of Another Day of Life, an animated adaptation based on the memoirs of Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński, who documented the devastating fallout at the start of Angola’s bloody civil war in 1975.

A special event will also celebrate the country’s latest cinematic successes, with Paweł Pawlikowski’s Oscar-nominated Cold War set to be screened alongside a dedicated immersive dining experience at the capital’s Baltic Restaurant & Bar.

Outside of the silver screen, a new collaboration with London’s Tate Modern will also see a dedicated Tate Late taking in the best of 1990s Polish rave culture.

Curated by Łukasz Mojsak, Zofia Krawiec, and Łukasz Rondud, 140 Beats Per Minute: Rave Culture and Art in 1990s Poland will present a two-part programme of films and works defining the historic era.

“The 1990s was a time of economic and social transition in Poland. Following the end of communist rule, the country opened up to the free market and the West. This led to an acceleration in wealth and trade. Large parts of society felt left behind or threatened by an unknown, ruthless capitalism,” say the trio. “The perfect stage was set for Polish rave culture. For Polish ravers, underground events were an opportunity to experience euphoric escapism and allay material anxieties, if only for 24 hours.”

To see the full Kinoteka programme, click here.