LOMBARD – THE PAWNSHOP
Łukasz Kowalski | Poland 2022 | 81 Min. | Polish with Engl. subtitles
MONDAY, 08.05. | 9pm
Votiv Kino, Gr. Saal | TICKETS
Austrian Premiere
In presence of Łukasz Kowalski
Mixers, lamps, shoes: the warehouse-sized second-hand store of the two eccentric pawnbrokers Jola and Wiesiek, that is filled to the rafters, offers everything the heart desires. Times are hard in the former industrial town of Bytum, and the store often becomes a place of refuge for stranded existences. But the threat of bankruptcy tempers the mood among the employees, and Jola and Wiesiek’s relationship hangs in the balance. Wiesiek makes one last attempt to save the business.
Poland’s largest pawnshop is the backdrop for this docu-comedy full of black humor. With a refined sense for interpersonal dynamics, Łukasz Kowalski succeeds in making a heartily funny film against a gloomy social background.
Director: Łukasz Kowalski
Camera: Stanislaw Cuske
Editing: Adriana Fernandez Castellanos, Filip Kowalski, Jakub Darewski, Kosma Kowalczyk
Music: Krzysztof Janczak
Sound: Katarzyna Szczerba
Production: Anna Mazerant, Łukasz Kowalsk
presented by
AWARDS
Docs Against Gravity 2022 (Grand Prix International Competition)
Polish Film Awards Eagles 2022 (Best Documentary)
24th Festival International MUSIC & CINEMA 2023 (Best Feature, Grand Prize for the Best Original Score)
L’Europe autour de l’Europe, 2023, France (Special Mention)
29th Astra Film Festival 2022, Romania (Grand Prix) Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights 2022, Greece (Special Mention)
SCREENINGS
DocAviv The Tel Aviv Documentary Film Festival, Israel, 2022
62nd Krakow Film Festival, Poland, 2022
Sydney Underground Film Festival, 2022, Australia, 2022
20th DocLisboa International Film Festival, Portugal, 2022
65th International Festival of Documentary and Animated Film DOK Leipzig, Germany, 2022
26th Ji.hlava International Documentary FIlm Festival, Czech Republic, 2022
One World Film Festival 2022, Slovakia, 2022
One World Slovakia, 2022, Slovakia, 2022
IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2022, The Netherlands, 2022
DocPoint Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, Finland, 2023
CPH:DOX* | Copenhagen Int. Documentary Film Festival, 2022, Danmark, 2022 (competition)
Visions du Réel International Film Festival Nyon 2022, Switzerland, 2022 (competition)
19 Millennium Docs Against Gravity 2022, Poland, 2022 (competition)
70th Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia, 2022 (competition)
13th Makedox Creative Documentary Film Festival, Macedonia, 2022, 2022 (competition)
International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, 2022, India, 2022 (competition)
Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights, 2022, Greece, 2022 (Special Mention)
CinEast Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg 2022, 2022 (competition)
29th Astra Film Festival, Romania, 2022 (Grand Prix)
36th Braunschweig International Film Festival, Germany, 2022 (competition)
39. Kasseler Dokfest Documentary Film and Video Festival, Germany, 2022 (competition)
L’Europe autour de l’Europe, 2023, France, 2023 (Special Mention)
24th Festival International MUSIC & CINEMA Marseille, France, 2023 (Grand Prize for the Best Original Score)
BIOGRAPHY
Łukasz Kowalski – director, journalist, creator of television programmes. He graduated from the Department of Philology at the University of Silesia in Katowice and Wajda School in Warsaw.
Since 2007 he is professionally associated with TVP – Polish Television. Author of over 170 short documentary films and intervention and investigative reportages broadcast on many TVP channels. He won many awards in the most prestigious nation-wide journalist competitions.
Since 2018 co-owner of 4:30 Studio, a boutique production company based in Katowice.
He participated in many master classes, workshops, and professional trainings (also abroad) in the field of media and film direction.
