Two Polish films compete for awards at the 32nd International Film Festival in Moscow.

Little Rose (Różyczka) by Jan Kidawa-Błoński is in the main competition, alongside 16 features from Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, South Korea and other countries.

The film, which won the Golden Lions at this year’s Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, is set during the student protests and anti-Semitic campaign of 1968.

In order to gather information on a well-known dissident writer, security police Captain Rożek sends his mistress to him, a secret agent nicknamed Little Rose, a young and beautiful woman. She eventually wins not only the writer’s trust but also his love. Rożek controls the agent, collects her reports and receives approval from his superiors. Surprisingly, Little Rose not only comes to appreciate the writer’s intelligence and personality, but,  having realized the true nature of her life with Rożek, she tries to break up with the past.

The Reverse by Borys Lankosz is shown in the ‘Perspectives’ category which includes ten best debut features from around the world. Earlier this month, the film won the Grand Jury Prize as Best New Director at the 36th Seattle International Film Festival SIFF and last year it received the Golden Lions at the Polish Film Festival.

It is a darkly comic story about three women, set in both the present and in 1950s Warsaw. The main protagonist is Sabina, a woman in her early thirties, whose mother tries to find a husband for her and whose grandmother rates the prospective candidates. One day Sabina meets a man, whose predsence launches a series of surprising events that will forever change the lives of the three ladies.

The jury of the ‘Perspectives’ category includes Polish actress Karolina Gruszka. (mk)