Friday, 29 May at 2:30pm

Doors open 2:15pm 

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Regarded as Polish cinema’s first ‘cult film’, Piwowski’s The Cruise is also considered by many to be a satirical masterpiece. Shot in a quasi‑documentary style, with a cast featuring mostly non‑professional actors, the absurd plot parodies life in the (then) People’s Republic of Poland, reducing a weekend river cruise to a hilarious allegory of the entire Communist system.

Piwowski’s gift of observation, his sense of humour and an acute awareness of national pathology have made The Cruise one of Poland’s most popular and widely‑known films of the 1970s.

Voted #1 Favourite Polish Film by the readers of Poland’s biggest selling weekly news magazine Polityka.

“No previous Polish comedy filmmaker, including myself, had managed to establish such an instant and intimate relationship with the audience…” — Andrzej Wajda

“Among the many attempts at comedy, one stands out from the rest: The Cruise…” — Marek Haltof, Polish National Cinema

“A bitter comedy about a collective escape from freedom.” — Małgorzata Hendrykowska, Kino 3

Directed by Marek Piwowski
Screenplay – Janusz Głowacki, Marek Piwowski, Andrzej Barszczyński, Jerzy Karaszkiewicz
Director of Photography – Marek Nowicki
Music – Wojciech Kilar
Main Cast – Stanisław Tym, Jolanta Lothe, Wanda Stanisławska‑Lothem, Zdzisław Maklakiewicz, Jan Himilsbach, Jerzy Dobrowolski, Leszek Kowalewski, Ryszard Pietruski

Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI

Project partner: Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh