Film. My Friend the Polish Girl

From Cannes and Telluride nominee Ewa Banaszkiewicz and Mateusz Dymek comes a fiction film that takes the form of a first-time filmmaker’s documentary. MY FRIEND THE POLISH GIRL (87 min., 2018) borrows from cinema verite and video bloggers to create a rare naturalism in style and performance. The fiction film watches as an experimental documentary told through the eyes (and lens) of amateur filmmaker Katie: an American rich kid following Alicja, an erratic unemployed Polish actress. Set in a post-Brexit-vote London, Katie’s colonising, disruptive presence in Alicja’s life mirrors the treatment of migrants in the UK: welcomed, used, then discarded. A raw, sexual, and visually brash film exploring the abusive power and control over someone’s intimacy. Directed by Ewa Banaszkiewicz.

Founded in 1963, the Ann Arbor Film Festival is internationally recognized as a premier forum showcasing the most creative and unique films of today’s preeminent moving image artists who cross boundaries, defy expectations, and experiment with concepts and techniques. The six-day festival presents 40 programs with more than 200 films from over 20 countries of all lengths and genres.