Polish movies dominate 2014 box office

Tomasz Kot plays Dr. Zbigniew Religa in Gods. Image: Next Film (press materials)

Gods (Bogowie), a witty feel-good movie about Poland's first successful heart transplant, was the most watched film in Polish cinemas last year, garnering over 2 million viewers.

Director Lukasz Palkowski's film likewise won over the jury at September's Gdynia Film Festival, the key annual showcase of new Polish films.

Tomasz Kot's expansive performance as the late doctor Zbigniew Religa has made the actor a household name in Poland, and Kot has been deluged with scripts since the release of the film.

In second place at the box office was Warsaw 44 (Miasto 44), a vivid portrayal of the 1944 Warsaw Rising against the Nazi German occupiers, as seen through the eyes of young insurgents.

Hotshot young director Jan Komasa spent eight years bringing the project to fruition, and over 1.7 viewers packed into cinemas to catch the film.

The third biggest box office success in 2014 was Wladyslaw Pasikowski's Cold War spy drama Jack Strong, which explores the plight of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, who defected to the West.

The movie marked the latest in a series of acclaimed performances by Marcin Dorocinski, who played the colonel.

Polish cinema suffered a funding crisis after the fall of the Iron Curtain, but the founding of the Polish Film Institute (PISF) ten years ago proved to be a key factor in rejuvenating the industry. (nh)

Source: tvp.info