Stanislaw Lem on Film at Anthology Film Archives in NYC

A giant of Polish literature, and of science fiction writing worldwide  though in fact his work transcends the constraints of any particular genre  Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006) produced dozens upon dozens of novels, stories, and essays throughout his nearly 60-year career. Best known for the writings that qualified, at least ostensibly, as science fiction, his body of work is dizzyingly multi-faceted, encompassing memoirs, reminiscences of his wartime experiences, and philosophical texts, while the science fiction narratives themselves often take wildly experimental forms and extend freely into the realms of philosophy and satire.

However, his work is characterized, one thing is for sure: Lem's novels and stories have inspired (and continue to inspire) numerous filmmakers, with cinematic adaptations emerging from throughout the world, often helmed by some of the most important filmmakers past and present: from Andrei Tarkovsky and Andrzej Wajda to the Quay Brothers and Steven Soderbergh.

Organized in collaboration with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, this series offers a generous selection of these Lem-inspired cinematic works. Anchored by three different versions of SOLARIS,  Tarkovsky's and Soderbergh's celebrated films are joined by an earlier 1968 Russian television adaptation that has rarely if ever screened in the U.S. The selection also includes an additional ten films whose diverse range of genres, tones, and stylistic approaches are entirely appropriate to Lem's own body of work.

Christopher J. Caes, Lecturer in Polish at Columbia University, will introduce selected screenings throughout the series, and will also moderate a panel on Stanislaw Lem at Columbia on Thursday, November 2. Organized by the Polish Cultural Institute and the Department of Slavic Languages, the panel will include Chris Caes and Michael Kandel (Lem's English translator). More info about the panel TBA.

Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue , New York, NY

Upcoming Screenings

• STANISŁAW LEM ON FILM: SHORTS PROGRAM
  November 1 at 7:00 PM
  November 11 at 9:15 PM
• THE INVESTIGATION + MASKA
  November 1 at 9:00 PM
  November 11 at 7:15 PM
• Jindřich Polák
  IKARIE XB-1
  November 3 at 7:00 PM
• Kurt Maetzig
  FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS
  November 3 at 9:15 PM
  November 10 at 6:45 PM
• Andrei Tarkovsky
  SOLARIS (Andrei Tarkovsky)
  November 4 at 4:00 PM
  November 9 at 8:15 PM
• Edward Zebrowski
  HOSPITAL OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
  November 4 at 7:30 PM
  November 8 at 9:00 PM
• Steven Soderbergh
  SOLARIS (Steven Soderbergh)
  November 4 at 9:30 PM
  November 10 at 9:15 PM
• Marek Piestrak
  PILOT PIRX’S TEST
  November 5 at 3:30 PM
  November 8 at 7:00 PM
• Lidiya Ishimbaeva & Boris Nirenburg
  SOLYARIS
  November 5 at 5:30 PM
• Ari Folman
  THE CONGRESS
  November 5 at 8:45 PM
  November 11 at 4:30 PM
• Borys Lankosz
  AUTOR SOLARIS
  November 9 at 6:45 PM