The Polish Portrait
“The Polish Portrait” is a film telling the story of the life and work of Bolesław Barbacki, a painter and social activist from Nowy Sącz, who left an imperishable mark on the face of the city with his activities of the interwar period. In the film our artist comes back to his studio as a ghost. Studying the objects collected there, he takes us into the past, on a journey through the memories about his vibrant life that he got to live in the time crucial for Poland: since the dawn of the 19th century to the calamity of the Second World War. Bolesław painted realistic portraits, creating a panoramic overview of images of Poles – women, men and children. He was also very socially active, his whole life was strongly connected with Nowy Sącz, he worked and created for this city. Memories of Barbacki and images of his haunting of the empty studio are intertwined with interviews, in which historians and social and cultural activists of Nowy Sącz tell us about the artist’s life, his legacy and influence on the history of the town.
”THE POLISH PORTRAIT”, Nomina Rosae Foundation, 2019
Directed by: Barbara SZEWCZYK
Idea and screenplay: Maria MOLENDA
Cinematography: Przemysław BRYNKIEWICZ
”The Polish Portrait”, dir. B. Szewczyk, 2019
Set design: Natalia GIZA
Costumes: Maria MOLENDA
Music: Sebastian Jan KONDRATOWICZ
Sound: Bartosz IDZI
Editing: Michał AA. POKROPEK
Make-up: Anna PAWLIK
Animations: Barbara SZEWCZYK
Color grading: Magdalena NIZEL
Production manager: Łukasz CHMIELEWSKI
Starring: Arkadiusz DETMER
with Justyna STASIK, Karolina KONICKA, Krzysztof POMIETŁO, Dorota WODZIEŃ, Daniel OLEKSY, Patryk ŁUKASIK, Tomasz KRUCZEK, Hubert KRUCZEK, Mikołaj BIROS, Maja BEDNAREK, Monika PACUT, Justyna JACHOWICZ, Oliwia DURLAK
With participation of experts: Agnieszka FILIPEK, Antoni MALCZAKA, Maria MARCINOWSKA, Maria Teresa MASZCZAK, Janusz MICHALIK, dr Maria MOLENDA, dr Łukasz POŁOMSKI, Edyta Ross-Pazdyk, Czesław Leszek SAROTA, Monika ŚLEPIAK, dr Robert ŚLUSAREK, Anna TOTOŃ
Donators:
FAKRO
IWONA CIESIELKA
CHARLES MERRILL
JULIE BOUDREAUX
SĄDECKIE WODOCIĄGI
Special thanks to:
LESZEK ZEGZDA
MONIKA ŚLEPIAK
and DANUTA & MAREK MOLENDA
The film project was financially supported by the Nowy Sącz City Hall. The film was created within the “FILMOTEKA MAŁOPOLSKA” project financed by the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków with funds of the budget of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Its coproducers are Małopolskie Centrum Kultury SOKÓŁ and Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków
