At a time when people are being identified by where they 'come from', the only solution is perhaps to embrace the world as one place. Rooting one's faith into something that John Lennon had conveyed many years ago when he wrote the song Imagine, it's eventually up to the people to dissolve boundaries. And we see bits of it every day, be it through art, music, poetry or films.

The Festival of Poland, in Bangalore, aims to bring two diametrically opposite worlds together. Here is where similarities resurface and connections  are built.

As part of the festival, a series of films, in association with the Bangalore Film Society, will be presented to the cinephiles and the plain curious alike, this week. Classics and cult classics will meet at one place – where filmmakers like Zanussi, Wadja, the better-known Roman Polanski, Skolimowski and Kieslowski will narrate stories of Poland's history through their art.

A special retrospective of Krzysztof Zanussi films is also on the agenda. And fortunately, Zanussi will be present during the festival to introduce his films and interact with the audiences.

The festival begins with Zanussi's Persona Non Grata. The expression “persona non grata” takes on multiple meanings in this tense psychological drama which unfolds in the high stakes and morally dangerous world of international diplomacy.

The complicated relationship between Poland and Russia plays out in multiple subplots. This will be followed by Knife in the Water by Polanski, which is again a story of complex relationships. Ashes and Diamonds by Andrezej Wadja is a story of a young resistance fighter who has been ordered to kill a communist district leader.

The festival starts on March 2 and will go on till March 10.