KINOTEKA: Closing Night Gala - The Cruise (Film & River Cruise)

For the closing night of KINOTEKA, there will be a screening of the cult Polish comedy The Cruise, launching the first UK release of the film by Second Run DVD.

After the show, the audience will experience a boat ride on the river Thames with a specially commissioned immersive theatre performance and live music.

The Cruise

Regarded as Polish cinema’s first cult film, Piwowski’s The Cruise is considered by many to be a satirical masterpiece. Shot in a quasi-documentary style, with a cast of mostly non-professional actors, the absurd plot parodies life in the (then) People's Republic of Poland, reducing a weekend river cruise to a hilarious parody of the entire Communist system.

Piwowski's gift of observation, his sense of humour and an acute awareness of national pathology have made The Cruise one of Poland’s most popular and widely-known films of the 1970s.

Cast: Stanisław Tym, Jolanta Lothe, Wanda Stanisławska-Lothe

The Cruise, dir. Marek Piwowski, Poland 1970, 65 mins.

A Cruise down the Absurd

A live boat cruise experience with Gideon Reeling and Maciej Obara International.

You are invited to join the actual boat ride on the Thames A Cruise Down The Absurd with live, part scripted and part improvised performance by upcoming British theatre group Gideon Reeling that will immerse you in a world of Marek Piwowski’s cult Polish comedy The Cruise. Prepare yourself for a 1970s themed evening full of full of absurdist humour and slapstick gags that will make you cry with laughter. All this in a groovy jazz beat of the Krzysztof Komeda and Wojciech Killar's classics performed by world-famous Obara International quartet. This event is one-off special commission by the 13th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival supported by Stock Spirits and DFDS Seaways.

There will be two bars selling drinks on the boat.

Immerse yourself in surreality, confusion and the absurd!

Boarding will be at 8.30pm and the boat will depart at 9pm from Tower Pier. There will be a bus transfer arranged for joint ticket holders from the ICA to the Tower pier. No latecomers will be admitted.

Part of the closing night of the 13th KINOTEKA Polish Film Festival, featuring the a screening of the cult Polish comedy The Cruise, launching the first UK release of the film by Second Run DVD. See the full programme.

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Please note that the ICA are acting as a third-party agent for the off-site element of this event and so, cannot accept responsibility for any damages, accidents or loss. For any further information regarding the cruise or bus travel please contact the festival direct: london.pci@instytutpolski.org