Film Highlights at the Van Gogh Festival in Brzózki

The second edition of the Van Gogh Festival will take place this weekend, 14–16 August, in the village of Brzózki near Nakło. Its film programme looks particularly promising. The event is supported by the regional self-government of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.

For the past ten years, Brzózki, in the municipality of Szubin, has been a true open-air art gallery. The village is adorned with murals inspired by the work of the famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, as well as sculptures and roadside shrines created with the participation of local residents. This unique village in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region attracts both tourists and artists, and since last year it has also been home to the Van Gogh Festival.

The festival returns this weekend for its second edition. “The programme features six strands: literature, film, music, education, visual arts and theatre, as well as an expanded children’s zone and measures designed to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. This means that everyone, regardless of age or ability, will be able to find something for themselves,” the organisers say. “The festival is not only an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Vincent van Gogh’s life and work, but also a chance to take part in competitions, art walks and events that bring different art forms together.”

The film programme promises to be one of this year’s highlights. On Friday, 14 August, at 6 p.m., the winners of the festival’s film competition will be announced on the main stage. Participants were invited to take any painting, episode from van Gogh’s life, letter, colour or motif from his work and reinterpret it through the language of cinema.

Following screenings of the winning films, there will be a discussion with Anna Szymańczyk, known, among other roles, for playing Zośka in Michał Gazda’s 2023 film The Healer (Znachor) and Lucyna Lis in the 2024 television series Lady Love. She has also appeared in several acclaimed films by Polish director Wojciech Smarzowski, including Clergy (Kler), The Wedding 2 (Wesele 2) and The Good House (Dom dobry).

Friday evening will also feature an outdoor screening of Lust for Life, the 1956 American biographical film about Vincent van Gogh, based on Irving Stone’s novel. The film stars Hollywood legends Kirk Douglas as Vincent van Gogh and Anthony Quinn, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Paul Gauguin, alongside James Donald, Pamela Brown and Everett Sloane. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli and George Cukor.

On Saturday, 15 August, at 4:45 p.m., Anna Szymańczyk and Michał Gazda, director of The Healer, will take part in a special discussion about the film. The actress and director will offer two perspectives on one of the most successful Polish productions available on Netflix, looking at its creation from both the acting and directing points of view. The audience will also learn more about the making of the latest screen adaptation of one of Poland’s best-known novels, The Healer by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz.

The second day of the film programme will also feature a lecture by Professor Dagmara Drzazga of the University of Silesia in Katowice, entitled From Expressionism and Film Noir to Has’s The Noose: How Painting Entered Cinema. A film scholar, she is also the author of documentaries, reports and cultural programmes. In 2010, she received the prestigious Prix Italia for her film Lech Majewski. The World According to Bruegel.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to take part in a video art workshop led by Amelia Pudzianowska. The workshop is aimed at anyone interested in working with moving images and developing their own visual language.

Finally, it is worth noting that the artistic village of Brzózki was named among the 16 most beautiful places in Poland, winning a place in the Polish Wonders 2025 (Cuda Polski 2025) poll organised by National Geographic.

Dariusz Czołgowski
Promotion Department

13 August 2026