My Friend the Enemy

Would you save your neighbour?
IDFAlaurel
Film now available for streaming at guidedoc TV

Polish survivors of a massacre by Ukrainian nationalists in 1943
return to the lands from which they fled.
Stories of horrific events and of how
some Ukrainians risked their lives to save their Polish neighbours.

 

SCREENINGS
29 September 2016
19.30 - 21.00

Screening with Q & A event

accompanying EASTERN EUROPE INITIATIVES CONGRESS
room S1 - Lublin Conference Centre, ulica Grottgera 2, 20-029 Lublin


20 September 2016
17.05

AL JAZEERA BALKANS TV BROADCAST

Regioskop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnoj-8VdncI

Available on AJB LIVE STREAM http://balkans.aljazeera.net/uzivo



12 November 2015
20.45

POLISH FILM FESTIVAL in AMERICA, CHICAGO

Screening at the Gallery Theatre, 1112 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago

http://www.pffamerica.org/en/moj-przyjaciel-wrog/ 



17 October 2015
17.00

16th ANNUAL POLISH FILM FESIVAL LOS ANGELES, USA

Screening at Vilage Theater, 1140 N. Tustin Street, Orange, CA 92867

http://www.polishfilmla.org/wocms.php?siteID=12&ID=870



15 August 2015
11.45 am

ZWIERZYNIEC, POLAND

Screening at Kino Scarb

SUMMER FILM ACADEMY - 'UKRAINE - FROM NEAR & AFAR"

http://www.laf.net.pl/index.php?page=ukraina-z-bliska-i-oddali 


14 August 2015
9.45 am

ZAMOŚĆ, POLAND

Screening at 

MEETINGS WITH HISTORY FILM FESTIVAL



29 June 2015
19.00

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, UK

Screening on eve of two day conference

PAST AS PRELUDE: POLISH-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY

Winstanley Lecture Theatre at Trinity College

Free entry -  PLEASE REGISTER 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/my-friend-the-enemy-tickets-17292902537



15 June 2015
18.00

WELSH PREMIERE at SWANSEA UNIVERSITY

Glyndwr A, the Glyndwr Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park SA2, UK

Free entry



10 June 2015
17.00

Screening organised by

HRUBIESZÓW PUBLIC LIBRARY & MUZEUM OF POLISH HISTORY

'DOM KULTURY', Hrubieszów, Poland

Free entry

http://www.muzhp.pl/aktualnosci/1512/pokaz-filmu-dokumentalnego-moj-przyjaciel-wrog 



18 May 2015
18.30

JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY, KRAKÓW

Ulica Grodzka 64  - wydzial Polonistyki UJ – room 6

Free entry

https://www.facebook.com/events/1020544151307589/



14 May - 14.30
17 May - 13.30

POLISH PREMIERE

DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL - 2015

KINOTEKA, Warsaw, Poland

http://docsag.pl/film/moj-przyjaciel-wrog/ 


19 March 2015
18.00

UCL SCHOOL OF SLAVONIC & EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES

Room 433, 16 Taviton St, London WC1H 0BW

(UCL event information here)


IDFA logo

WORLD PREMIERE

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL - AMSTERDAM

mid-length competition - 4 public screenings 

Interview with Mark Baker for IDFA DAILY NEWS
http://www.idfa.nl/industry/daily/2014/interviews/my-friend-the-enemy.aspx


REVIEWS

‘This is the missing piece of the mosaic, at last.  Not just of what Ukrainians and Poles did to another then, but somehow of all the murderous horrors of that war, those years. More than the countless films and books about the Jewish holocaust or Oradour or Warsaw, this presents to me the fearsome stew of inconceivable cruelty and moral confusion, neighbours who can turn against neighbours and then risk their own lives to rescue strangers in the name of Christ.  Women weeping with joy to see descendants of Poles who lived among them and yet, apparently, still believing that only the Banderites saved them from being murdered by the Poles. Neal Ascherson, Journalist and writer, (The Polish August: The Self-limiting Revolution, The Nazi Legacy, Black Sea. …)

 

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‘A fascinating film, giving much food for thought.' Norman Davies, Historian, (God’s Playground, White Eagle Red Star, Europe a Hsitory,

The Isles, Rising ’44, …)

 

 

'Revealing, beautiful, frightening, tender... There is much to say, applaud and think about in Wanda Koscia's My Friend The Enemy. It's a film that digs deep into the hearts and minds of Ukrainians and Poles. This is a disturbing story from World War II that is conveyed with substance and sympathy. Recent events in Ukraine have underlined Koscia's emphasis on the historical importance of memory and national identity.'
Martin Smith,
Emmy award-winning filmaker, (The World at War, Vietnam - A Television History, The Struggles for Poland...)

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‘The landscape and the everyday goings-on of present-day village life give time to soothe and relieve. There's such a dramatic contrast between the horror of the memories, and the deep quiet, remoteness and beauty of the area today. The reconciliation efforts are heartening, but not sentimentalised.‘ Anna Reid, writer and journalist (Borderland: a journey through the history of Ukraine, The Shaman’s Coat, Leningrad.)

 

 

‘Focusing on rescuers allows the hard history to come out in as gentle a fashion as possible, yet the narrative still makes a powerful impact. The sparks of humanity help us work through this dark era... a very moving film.’ John-Paul Himka, Professor of East European History, University of Alberta

 

 

Credits

Directed and Produced by Wanda Koscia

Editor: Stefan Ronowicz

Camera: Andrzej Adamczak

Music: Frank Ilfman

Production: Grupa Filmowa, Warsaw

 

 

Enquiries Contact : My Friend the Enemy Film