Made in the Orwellian year of 1984, and set in a post-apocalyptic world even Orwell would be afraid to dream up, Piotr Szulkin’s sci-fi masterpiece remains as relevant as ever. After a nuclear showdown, what little remains of humanity finds shelter in a post-industrial space so stifling it seems designed by Kafka. The clueless, submissive masses vainly await the arrival of the near-Biblical Ark of Salvation, while the main character confronts the utter hopelessness of their collective prospects. Polish audiences of 1984, still shell-shocked from the 1981 introduction of martial law, could easily recognise themselves in this grim portrayal.