Andrzej Żuławski | 1988 | Poland | 166 minutes
Presented in the original Polish audio with English subtitles. There will be a short 10-minute intermission at the halfway point.
ON THE SILVER GLOBE is screening at FOMO Secret Cinema as part of our "Banned Films Festival" presenting cinema from across the globe that has been subject to censorship.
ON THE SILVER GLOBE represents one of the most ambitious achievements in Polish cinema. Its scale, imagination, and emotional intensity are rare even for the sci-fi genre.
The story follows a group of astronauts who crash land on a distant planet and attempt to build a new society. Over generations their descendants turn the astronauts into mythic figures. When a new visitor arrives from Earth, he becomes trapped in the expectations and rituals of this growing civilisation. Żuławski mixes science fiction, mysticism, and political allegory, with narration covering the scenes that were destroyed. This structure gives the film a striking and unusual rhythm.
ON THE SILVER GLOBE was shut down by the communist censors in the 1970s. Polish authorities viewed the project as politically dangerous and ordered sets and materials destroyed. The surviving footage was hidden by the filmmakers and Żuławski completed it years later after Glasnost and political changes allowed him to return to work. The film was effectively banned in its home country for more than a decade.
The finished film stands as a powerful example of artistic survival under political pressure and remains a landmark of Eastern European filmmaking. It's a fan favourite at FOMO and we're super excited to screen it once more.
Location: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
How to find FOMO: Enter the Bazari via Atoneli St, above Carrefour, and take the stairs immediately on your left behind the jewellery stand. The cinema entrance is one flight up in the stairwell.
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
