horror, drama / France, FRG / 1981 / 124’
age limits: 18 +
16.09 (Saturday) / at 1:30 p. m. / Sala Widowiskowa
After the screening there is a meeting with Xawery Żuławski.

You are the maker of your own evil.
Marek and Anna’s marriage is going through a major crisis. Anna wants a divorce, but Marek still loves her and wants to know what is behind her decision. An investigation reveals that his wife has a lover, whom she soon also leaves. Both men are abandoned for something completely different. Something terrifying.
Thus begins Andrzej Żuławski’s most recognizable movie, radiating an aura of an extraordinary work of art. Horror on one side, art-house cinema on the other. In “Possession”, fear is not materialized in the way known from mainstream movies, yet remains an unspoken mystery. The director takes us on a journey to the most savage and frightening depths of human soul. For this purpose, Żuławski does not stop at anything, as if he were possessed himself – with an obsession to find the truth, to reach a profound understanding of human nature. This uncompromising approach brought acclaim to the actors as well. Isabelle Adjani’s performance was awarded Palme d’Or for Best Actress. Her success was, however, earned with an inhumane mental effort. The French actress admitted that it took her several years to recover from filming and that she would never accept a similar role. Yet the result is staggering.

direction: Andrzej Żuławski
script: Andrzej Żuławski, Frederic Tuten
direction of photography: Bruno Nuytten
editing: Marie-Sophie Dubus, Suzanne Lang-Willar
music: Andrzej Korzyński
cast: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent
language: English
subtitles: Polish