Face to Face with Krzysztof Zanussi

A dialogue with the great filmmaker with a retrospective of his work and films

Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center

For our "Face to Face" series, we have the privilege of introducing Krzysztof Zanussi, the distinguished Polish director.

An interesting detail from Krzysztof Zanussi's biography is that, before launching his career as an accomplished filmmaker, writer and theorist, he studied physics and philosophy. And one could say that in some sense his artistic work is also a scientific/philosophical enterprise, inasmuch as it strives to analyze the basic factors of human experience, and to understand how the human subject is formed in interaction with reality.

Nowadays, this is not so common. Much contemporary cinema is not especially interested in "seeing" the world, but rather in "amplifying" the artist's imagination, and in creating alternative mental universes. This reflects a general trend in our culture: reality per se is not very interesting, because it is viewed as ultimately meaningless and transitory. Therefore, we are the ones who have to "give it a meaning." On the contrary, Zanussi's work is filled with wonder about the existence of the world, and filled with questions about the meaning of reality and the possibility of eternity. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Zanussi' s work cannot be defined by or limited to any trend or neatly categorized. His works are and will remain, as he himself once said, “a kind of human speech.”

For a list of Zanussi's films click here.

The event is free and open to the public

About this Event

Date: Monday, November 4, 2013
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’
24 West 12th Street
New York, NY
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About the Speaker

Krzysztof Zanussi
Filmmaker

Invitation

click here

Video

Part I

Q&A

Photos - click on image below