The biblical Eve was the first woman on Earth. Piotr Biedron’s Ewa is probably the last, although she doesn't want to believe it at all. Robot Arthur was once assigned to her by her father for protection. The father also built a kind of ark, on which Ewa managed – for now – to escape the apocalypse that struck the Earth. But a robot is not a human being, it's useless to expect sympathy from it. Ewa will have to see this for herself. Poland has a rich tradition of science fiction that dates back to the works of Stanisław Lem. Director Piotr Biedron clearly sees himself as its heir. Polish science fiction traditionally not only reflects questions about the future, but also repeatedly crosses the border into the realm of philosophy. THE LAST SPARK OF HOPE raises the most pressing issues of our time, from the climate crisis and forced migration to the as yet insurmountable barrier between man and machine. Shot in just nine days on a low budget, the film creates a recognizable and compelling picture of a hermetically isolated world where all ties have been shattered. There's a little bit of MAD MAX, a little bit of WALL-E and a little bit of TERMINATOR here, but like all great robot films, its true subject matter is not the capabilities of the computer, but the limits of humanity.
Text: Ksenia Reutova
05.11.2024 | 21:30 | Obenkino (original version with English subtitles)
10.11.2024 | 15:00 | Stadthalle (original version with English subtitles + simultaneous translation into German)
Supporting film: WHEN FROM HEAVEN SNOW HAS FALLEN (Bogusz Max Żelech, PL 2023, 8 min)
Piotr Biedron
Tomasz Wójcik
Bartosz Putkiewicz
Lukasz Pieprzyk
Piotr Biedroń - Piotr Biedroń Director and screenwriter. Originator and co-founder of the BNP Paribas Green Film Festival. He focuses primarily on environmental themes in his films. ‘PM 2.5’ (2017) and “Good Job” (2020), in which he tackled the topic of smog and dangerous air pollution, have been recognised at many international festivals. For his feature debut ‘W nich cała nadzieja’ (2023), he received an honourable mention in the Micro-Budget Film Competition, the award for Climate Film at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia and the Méliès d'argent award for best feature film at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival in Italy.