My Nikifor

In 1960, at the spa town of Krynica, the orderly life of the painter Marian Włosiński is upended by an old man who walks uninvited into his studio. The man is Nikifor, the local eccentric everyone knows: his speech is hard to understand, nobody takes him seriously, and he paints without stopping. As Włosiński comes to see his talent, he rebuilds his life around this man, pushes his own work into the background and pays for it with his family. In Krzysztof Krauze’s ninety five minute Polish film, Krystyna Feldman plays Nikifor, so a woman performer takes the part of the male painter. It was completed in 2004 and won the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary in 2005 along with the best director and best actress awards. The real Nikifor was a naive painter who lived in Krynica and died in 1968.