Director David Lynch visits Poland

?Inland Empire? — a new David Lynch feature, had its Polish premiere July 5 during ?Festival of Stars? in Gdansk. This long-awaited film was hailed as the American director?s best film to date. It is also his first feature since ?Mulholland Drive? (2001), his 10th film overall and the first to be shot using the humble digital video medium. Lynch, who was a special guest of the festival, left his palm print on the local Promenade of Stars and opened the evening with a retrospective of his films. He also surprised festival guests by giving a small improvised concert after the show: Marek Zebrowski (musical composer for ?Inland Empire?) played piano and David Lynch supported him on keyboard. The director and his new film were given an enthusiastic reception. Several Polish actors who starred in ?Inland Empire? also attended the gala, among who were Karolina Gruszka and Peter J. Lucas. The film, partly shot in Poland?s famous Grand Hotel and old factories in Lodz, was first thought of as a short etude. However, Lynch liked the idea so much that it grew into a 3-hour movie. The world premiere of ?Inland Empire? took place in September 2006 at the Venice Film Festival, where David Lynch was awarded a Golden Lion for his career?s achievement. The movie will hit theaters in Poland July 27.