Opening Krzysztof Kieslowski

This opening party for the retrospective of work by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski marks the kick-off of a programme of the major fiction films, documentaries and shorts made by Kieślowski between 1978 and 1994. Today, we are screening the restored La double vie de Véronique, one of Kieślowski’s most successful films, distributed throughout the Netherlands by distributor Cherry Pickers.

La double vie de Véronique was the first film the great Polish director made after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was also the first Kieslowski film to star French actress Irène Jacob in an impressive double role.

Jacob plays both Weronika and Véronique. One lives in Cracow, the other in Paris. Both are (classical) vocalists with great futures ahead of them, both have the same heart condition. Weronika dies during a performance, which affects Véronique: she stops singing and receives a cassette tape from a mysterious stranger.

Dreamlike scenes

Are we really unique? How would we react if we met a doppelganger who not only resembled us physically, but also on the inside? What is identity? To what extent can we influence the course of our lives? These are a few of the philosophical questions Kieslowski asks, elaborating on them in poetic, almost dreamlike scenes.

The film picked up no less than three awards at the 1991 Cannes film festival: Best Actress (Jacob), the Fipresci International Film Critics’ Award (Kieślowski) and the Ecumenical Jury Award (also for Kieslowski).