The Polish Language
Directed by Alice Lyons and Orla Mc Hardy
The Polish Language is an animated film-poem about the subversive force of art and the renewal of poetry in the whispery language of Polish.
Based on the poem of the same title, the film pays homage to the revitalization of poetry in the Polish language in the 20th century. Using hand-drawn, stop-motion and time-lapse animation techniques, the poem unfolds onscreen, with typography as a key visual element. It visual style is loosely based on underground publications in Poland in the 1970s and 1980s, known as Bibula. A chorus of voices sampling poems in Polish, woven together with original music by sound designer Justin Spooner, combine to create a powerful score in a film of 'emotional depth and technical sophistication' (Jury, Galway Film Fleadh 2009, award for Best Animation).
The Polish Language is at once a playful and solemn journey into the sensuality, beauty and power of language.