POLFF26 Opening Night: THE DOLL

Celebrate the opening of the 12th Polish Film Festival with a complimentary glass of wine on arrival and Polish delicacies served by Polish Jar followed by the film.

Sunday, Oct 25
Luna Leederville
6:00pm – Reception 🎬
6:30pm – Official Opening & Film Screening

Australian Premiere

Lalka

A spectacular new adaptation of one of Poland’s greatest literary masterpieces, The Doll brings Bolesław Prus’s sweeping story of love, ambition, money and social class to the big screen with an extraordinary cast. Led by Marcin Dorociński (Jack Strong, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning), Kamila Urzędowska (The Peasants PFF 2025) and the long-awaited return to the big screen of acclaimed actor Marek Kondrat (Day of the Wacko), this ambitious new film is one of the most anticipated Polish premieres of the year.

Warsaw at the end of the 19th century. Wealthy merchant Stanisław Wokulski is determined to win the hand of Izabela Łęcka, a beautiful young aristocrat whose family is facing financial ruin. Having made his fortune during the war, he returns to Poland and sets out to enter high society in order to get closer to the woman he loves. As he enters her world of privilege, ambition and social intrigue, Wokulski discovers that wealth cannot easily overcome the barriers of class — and that love can be as consuming as it is elusive.

An epic love story and a portrait of a society undergoing profound change, The Doll explores the tension between dreams and reality, ambition and belonging. Set against the richly recreated world of 19th-century Warsaw, the film brings Prus’s timeless story to life with sweeping ambition, vivid period detail and a compelling portrait of a man caught between his desires and the world he cannot change.

Polish with English subtitles