Osmdesát dopisu (Eighty Letters)
Movie screening (film with English subtitles)

Zachęta | cinema room (entrance from Burschego street)
free entry

Film screened with English subtitles.

Eighty Letters is autobiographically based. The source of the film are the memories of the director and the surviving correspondence between his parents. The story takes place in Czechoslovakia in 1987. The father has defected to England and the mother and her son are planning to leave the country to be reunited with him. Husband, wife, child – even at a distance they are still together, but the forced break-up of any family is an abnormal situation. The events of the film are viewed from the boy’s perspective, the exasperated gaze of one lacking experience, his initiation in the course of this single day - the film.  It is the day when the youth gets a glimpse of adulthood and overcomes fear. His mother’s movements are part of an intensified daily routine, as she maps it out hour by hour. It is a battlefield situation for her. She is on her way, her son catches up with her on that path, but she must act alone if they are to achieve completeness together.

Project cofinanced by the City of Warsaw:
wawa

event accompanying the exhibition
  • 14.05 – 21.08.2016
    The Travellers

    The exhibition looks at travel in a region where freedom to travel was, until recently, a luxury available only to the very few. The revolution of 1989 and the subsequent opening to the world and globalisation processes allowed citizens of the former Eastern Bloc personal mobility on an unprecedented scale. Participation in international exchanges contributed to the region’s identity today as much as the new political and economic order.

    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
Upcoming events
all
  • 30.03 (Mon) 18:00
    FACHLAB × KRYSTYNA WOJTYNA-DROUET
    A fashion show inspired by the artist’s work
    Zachęta | Main HallZachęta | Main Hall
  • 31.03 (Tue) 19:00
    A test at Your Mother's
    Alina Cafe & Bar in ZachętaAlina Cafe & Bar in Zachęta
  • 01.04 – 12.04.2026
    Own rooms
    (in Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 01.04 (Wed) 15:00
    Fabric Abstraction. Open Workshop for Adults (in English)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 01.04 (Wed) 18:00
    Utkane (dir. Maria Oblicka; Alexander Cabeza-Trigg) 2026
    Film premiere
    Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)
  • 02.04 (Thu) 12:15
    Thursday guided tours of current exhibitions
    (in Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 02.04 (Thu) 17:00
    Dark and cold
    (in Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 02.04 (Thu) 18:00
    Archive under supervision
    (in Polish)
    Zachęta | Cinema Room (entrance through the exhibition)Zachęta | Cinema Room (entrance through the exhibition)
  • 04.04 (Sat) 12:15
    Curator's tour by Jędrzej Zakrzewski
    (in Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 08.04 (Wed) 18:00
    Se(a)ns sztuki
    Wiek Niewinności (reż. Martin Scorsese, 1993)
    Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)
  • 09.04 (Thu) 12:15
    Thursday guided tours of current exhibitions
    (in Polish)
    Zachęta – National Gallery of ArtZachęta
  • 09.04 (Thu) 18:00
    Rewolucja 21 (2022)
    Screening of the film
    Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)Zachęta | entrance from ul. Burschego (down the stairs)