March

The Pawnshop

Lukasz Kowalski

Jola and Wiesiek run Poland’s largest pawnshop. They love each other, but now times are tough and bankruptcy looms. Even though they drive a hard bargain with their sometimes desperate costumers, there is always humanity at the core. Bittersweet docu-comedy shining a beautiful light in the darkness.

‘We buy and sell almost everything,’ the sign outside the pawnshop in a run-down industrial town in Poland says. From washing machines to a mammoth’s tooth and from tracking medals to erotic paperback novels. ‘We’ve got a zillion things to choose from,’ says Jola, who together with her husband Wiesiek runs the pawnshop. Jola and Wiesiek love each other dearly, but now that their business is hitting on hard times, their marriage is under strains.

Meanwhile, their three employees have dreams and difficulties of their own. Young and confident Agnieszka left her abusive man together with their small child. And between Roxy and Tomek, warm feelings emerge. But now Tomek has to go to jail for six months, and Roxy is not sure if she wants to wait. Warm, often very funny documentary about finding solidarity in poverty, and caring for people when they need it the most. 

Credits

Director
Lukasz Kowalski
Type
Documentary
Country
Poland
Year
2022
Duration
81
Spoken Language
Polish
Subtitles
English
*Theatres with in-depth programme in English.

Theatres, dates and times

Alkmaar
Tue 14 Mar at 18:30 in Filmhuis Alkmaar
Amersfoort
Mon 13 Mar at 20:15 in De Lieve Vrouw
Amsterdam
Sun 19 Mar at 19:15 in Kriterion*
Apeldoorn
Tue 14 Mar at 20:00 in Gigant
Arnhem
Tue 7 Mar at 19:00 in Focus Filmtheater
Delft
Thu 16 Mar at 19:30 in Filmhuis Lumen
Den Haag
Sun 12 Mar at 15:00 in Filmhuis Den Haag*
Deventer
Mon 27 Mar at 20:00 in MIMIK
Enschede
Mon 20 Mar at 19:30 in Concordia
Gouda
Thu 23 Mar at 20:00 in Filmhuis Gouda
Groningen
Tue 14 Mar at 20:30 in VERA Zienema*
Hilversum
Tue 14 Mar at 20:15 in Filmtheater Hilversum
Leiden
Mon 13 Mar at 19:00 in Kijkhuis*
Maastricht
Tue 7 Mar at 19:30 in Lumière Cinema*
Middelburg
Mon 13 Mar at 20:00 in Cinema Middelburg*
Utrecht
Mon 13 Mar at 19:00 in Louis Hartlooper Complex*
Wageningen
Tue 21 Mar at 19:30 in Movie W*