"Violated Letters" in Japanese Cinemas

Cudze listy (Violated Letters), a film directed by Maciej Drygas, will screen in Tokyo’s Iwanami Hall from May 19 through May 30. The Tokyo screenings will be followed by screenings in Nagoi and Osaka. The film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Distribution in Japanese Cinemas

The idea for theatrical distribution came about following the June 2013 screenings of the European Film Festival in Japan, where Cudze listy (Violated Letters) was warmly received by both audiences and critics. In addition to cinemas in Tokyo, Nagoi and Osaka, the Japanese leg of Amnesty International is also planning to organize special screenings of the film in January 2015.

Premiere of Cudze listy (Violated Letters) in Poland

The film had its Polish premiere at the 8th Planete+Doc Film Festival in 2011, screening in the Magic Hour competition for mid-length documentaries.

About the Film

The secret police in Poland under communism censored letters. Every day, special units would open the envelopes, read and analyze personal correspondence, then prepare reports about the social landscape. Violated letters from the whole timeline of communist Poland, the intimate and letters full of pain and despair, but also those containing threats to the government, and the more enigmatic letters trying to settle a deal, became the forming tissue of this poignant intimate portrait of Poles under communism. The film contains unique archive footage.

About the Director

Maciej Drygas – documentary filmmaker, lecturer at the Łódź Film School, member of the Polish Film Academy, author of the libretto for the “Qudsja Zaher” opera. Together with Mirosław Dembiński, he created a series of film workshops for film school students, organized in 2011 in five cities across the world: Moscow, Kiev, Minsk, Beijing, and Tokyo.

Based on the press release

Translated by Karolina Kołtun