The ceremonial opening of the Festival: Jacek Sienkiewicz (PL) live for „Ménilmontant” (1926)

The ceremonial opening of the Festival: Jacek Sienkiewicz live for „Ménilmontant” (1926)

6.12.2023, 20:30
Kino Forum, ul. Legionowa 5
tickets: 30 zł/40 zł

Jacek Sienkiewicz, one of the most important figures of the Polish electronic scene, will take us on a melancholic journey to the Parisian Ménilmontant district of the 1920s. Dimitri Kirsanoff’s poetic impression of crime, love and loneliness is one of the greatest and underrated works of early avant-garde French and world cinema!

Ménilmontant
dir. Dimitri Kirsanoff, 1926, 38′

The story of two sisters who flee from the countryside to the city after the tragic death of their parents. After a few years, they move to Paris, where they find work in a florist’s shop. They share a flat, enjoying big city life. When the younger sister (Nadia Sibirskaïa, phenomenal in the opinion of critics of the time) falls in love with a Parisian thug and playboy (Maurice Ronsard), the older sister (Yolande Beaulieu) feels lonely and jealous. Soon, the man loses interest in the younger one and starts an affair with the older sister. Ultimately, both become victims of the same man…
Estonian director Dimitri Kirsanoff created a total work – he wrote the script for it, directed it and filmed it. Unusually for the time, the film’s plot is conveyed solely through images, without subtitles. The director used a wide range of avant-garde editing techniques, with an additional lyrical and melancholic use of scenery, especially the eponymous working-class Parisian neighbourhood. All this added up to a dazzling masterpiece that is still moving today.

Jacek Sienkiewicz – one of the pioneers and most important figures of the Polish electronic scene of the last two decades. Starting with early acid and rave sounds, and in recent years leaning towards advanced, sonic experiments, he is the author of several albums and more than 50 vinyl singles, the content of which is stretched between typical party techno productions and abstract ambient impressions. Always walking his own path, he develops his unique, distinctive sound outside the dominant trends. For over 20 years, he has been running the Recognition label, through which he discovers and promotes uncommon Polish artists. Sienkiewicz is also the author of many releases and remixes released on other European labels, and has collaborated with many renowned artists (including Ricardo Villalobos, Max Loderbauer, Atom TM), with whom he regularly records and performs.
In recent years, he has also been developing interdisciplinary projects such as improvised concerts, installations or innovative video works, as well as experimental compositions referring to contemporary music, including reinterpretations of composers associated with the famous Polish Radio Experimental Studio.
https://soundcloud.com/jaceksienkiewicz