Stalker is based on the novel Roadside Picnic by the Strugatski brothers. It tells the story of the “Stalker” who guides two clients, the “Professor” and the “Writer,” into a mysterious “Zone,” where they wish to find a chamber that fulfils people’s innermost desires. The screening will be accompanied by a discussion between Jerzy Illg and Tadeusz Sobolewski.
Jerzy Illg has worked for the publishing house Znak since 1983, and since 1992, has been the editor-in-chief. In 1985, with Leonard Neuger, Illg interviewed Andrei Tarkovsky (this was the last extensive interview given by the filmmaker before his death). In 2016, the interview was published in the book Zwierciadło (The Mirror).
Tadeusz Sobolewski is a film critic. He has worked for the magazines Film (1974–1981) and Kino (1981–1994, as editor-in-chief from 1990). Since 1995, he has reviewed films for Gazeta Wyborcza.
Andrei Tarkovsky, often called “a poet of the screen,” is considered one of the greatest artists in the history of film. In his works, Tarkovsky focuses on spirituality, the pursuit of transcendence and the existential conflicts that define human life.