Escape to the Silver Globe
directed by Kuba Mikurda, Poland 2021, 94'
Year 1975. After a few years of forced emigration, young director Andrzej Żuławski returns to Poland. His situation in the country is unstable. After The Third Part of the Night (1971), a well-received debut, he made the shocking film The Devil (1972) that was immediately put on the shelf and turned the director into a persona non grata. To make matters worse, his family falls apart. His wife, Małgorzata Braunek, files for divorce. To regain his position and escape from his personal drama, Żuławski undertakes the titanic task to make the greatest film in the history of Polish cinematography: a science fiction epic On the Silver Globe. If he succeeds, he’ll reach the pantheon of Polish cinema. If not, his career in Poland will be over.
Andrzej Żuławski’s On the Silver Globe (1976/1987) could have become one of the most groundbreaking science fiction films ever made. The scale of production, a star-studded cast, revolutionary costumes and set design promised a masterpiece. Why then did the cinematography authorities of the People's Republic of Poland halt production two weeks before the final shot? Was it because of economic, political, artistic or personal reasons? What remains is a legendary film that continues to inspire filmmakers around the world, and the crew’s emotions, just as strong today as they were forty years ago. Escape to the Silver Globe is a film about the greatest mystery and the greatest unfulfilled dream of Polish cinema.
[distributor’s materials]
