Poet as provocateur Rafal Wojaczek dazzled young Poles in the 1960s, before dying at the age of twenty-six in 1971. Self-destructive and wildly antagonistic to the bourgeoisie, he lived only to compose verse and to try to kill himself. Lech J. Majewski, painter, poet, and filmmaker who gained international recognition for his screenplay for Basquiat (1996), directs this homage to his compatriot as a fateful journey in brilliant, sharply contrasting black-and-white cinematography. The artist who takes, abuses, and offends all around him, yet who offers his gifts of passionate wordplay in return, is powerfully interpreted by Krzysztof Siwczyk, a poet of the next generation. WOJACZEK is a daring portrait of a youthful artist who lost his will even as he succeeded in creating his own legend and legacy.

Poland, 1999. 90 min.

Preceded by BRASIL. A sly cultural and linguistic tour of Germany with a family that has relocated to Brazil. Directed by Georgian filmmaker Giga Chkheidze. Georgia, 2000. 25 min.