KINOTEKA Polish Film Festival takes place in London each spring. Organised by the Polish Cultural Institute in London, the festival celebrates the best of Polish cinema and culture. Each year audiences can enjoy a selection of film and documentary screenings, both classic and contemporary, as well as talks and Q&As with the filmmakers. A selection of interactive forums and classes is always on offer, as well as live music and art exhibitions. Now in its 14th year, the programme is the most refined it has ever been.

The Opening Night Gala at The Barbican marks the beginning of the festival with a screening of Jerzy Skolimowski’s critically acclaimed 11 Minutes, followed by a Q&A with the director.

Then it’s time to dive in with the latest selection of New Polish Cinema screenings at Regent Street Cinema. These 10 films from the past year have been chosen for their success with audiences and critics alike. Questions of life and the meaning of it are dealt with in Małgorzata Szumowska’s Body, whilst the newly married protagonist in Marcin Wrona’s Demon searches for the answers as to why there is a skeleton in his new back yard. Modern day issues are abound as an actor struggles with alcoholism and terminal illness in Maciej Migas’ Life Must Go On, whilst a couple in Strange Heaven tackles Swedish bureaucracy to get their daughter back.

This year KINOTEKA presents three curated retrospectives taking place at The Barbican, BFI Southbank, Close-Up, and ICA. They look back on the life and works of three of Poland’s most cherished filmmakers - Agnieszka Holland, Jerzy Skolimowski and Andrzej Żuławski.

The festival offers a few special one-off treats this year, including the screening of People With No Tomorrow at Regent Street Cinema. One of the oldest Polish films in existence, this silent film will be accompanied live by Szamburski/Zakrocki/Wypych who were especially commissioned to write the music.

The re-mastered and re-edited version of Jerzy Hoffman’s The Deluge is will be shown in London this year. The story is an adaptation of Nobel Prize winner, Henryk Sienkiewicz’s, novel. Regent Street Cinema will host the special screening as well as playing host to the Closing Night Gala screening of Goodbye, See You Tomorrow by Janusz Morgenstern. Following on from the film’s classic score by Krzysztof Komeda, there will be a swing-dance party at the Polish Embassy with live music from the ever youthful, ever brilliant Wojciech Mazolewski Quintet.