Sokołowsko is no accidental place on the map of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s life. He lived here as a boy from 1951 to 1957, while his father was undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. The Zdrowie Cinema Theatre stood opposite the family home, and it was here that the future director first encountered cinema. In 1974, he found himself in Sokołowsko once again, where he made „X-Ray” („Prześwietlenie”) – a documentary about people suffering from tuberculosis, their loneliness, fears and longing for a normal life. Sokołowsko therefore became a natural home for the Krzysztof Kieślowski Archive, run by the In Situ Contemporary Art Foundation.
The presence of the Archive within this historic setting presents the director’s legacy not only as the body of work of an outstanding filmmaker, but also as part of his biography and the history of the place itself. Visitors to the Archive find themselves in surroundings that Kieślowski knew both from his childhood and from his later work as a filmmaker. This context helps us better understand the roots of his interest in the fate of the individual, chance, illness, loneliness and the need for another person’s presence. As a result, an encounter with the Archive becomes more intimate and emotional.
The collection includes photographs, typescripts, notes, correspondence, posters and production documents. Each object bears witness to a particular time, creative process and human story. What matters is not only the content, but also the handwriting, page layout, crossings-out, type of paper and traces of use. Physical materials are vulnerable to deterioration and therefore require professional cataloguing, preservation and digitisation. Digitisation makes it possible to use the collection while reducing the need to handle the originals.
Kieślowski’s notes concerning his characters and the themes he explored are particularly fascinating. They often take the form not of finished concepts, but of recorded observations, questions and doubts. They show that his work grew out of a careful study of the human being – their motivations, fears, desires, contradictions and everything that remains unspoken. A fuller picture of the director’s creative method is provided not by a single document, but by many materials viewed together, revealing his gradual search for the essence of a story.
The Archive also reveals the otherwise invisible process behind the making of a film: successive versions of screenplays, corrections, handwritten notes, unrealised projects, and ideas that were abandoned or transformed. These materials demonstrate that the creative process does not follow a simple or predictable path, but develops through dialogue, doubt, compromise and chance observations. A film therefore ceases to be seen solely as a closed work and becomes part of a living, open process of thought and creation.
The digital database is used by film scholars, students, authors of books and articles, journalists, artists and cinema enthusiasts from Poland and abroad. The English-language version of the website enables international users to consult Polish source materials. Anyone interested in specific items can first search the online catalogue and then contact the Archive, indicating the subject of their project, the selected materials, their intended use and the relevant deadline. Access to original materials and permission for reproduction are considered individually, taking into account the condition of the items, copyright, privacy and the terms under which individual collections were donated.
Preservation and public engagement are not conflicting goals for us. The Archive is intended to protect its materials while also enabling their study, interpretation and use in education, publications, films, exhibitions and artistic projects. We are currently expanding the database at kieslowski.com.pl by adding new items, supplementing descriptions and presenting connections between photographs, notes, typescripts and production documents. The collection currently available online represents only part of the holdings, which are being catalogued on an ongoing basis.
In the future, the Archive should become an international research centre devoted to Kieślowski’s work, combining the protection of material heritage with research, educational and artistic activity. At the same time, it is important to preserve its connection with Sokołowsko, as the centre’s international character should not mean becoming detached from local history. On the contrary, it should demonstrate that this unique place can serve as a point of departure for a dialogue about Kieślowski’s cinema with people around the world.