Animal

What happens when cinema crosses the boundary of a species—not a cinematic one, but a biological one?

The “Interspecies Cinema” series features monthly screenings and conversations where classics meet new discoveries, with screenings accompanied by discussions with invited experts and the audience.

We are interested in cinema that offers a non-anthropocentric view of the natural world, tests the boundaries between the human and the non-human, and encourages us to rethink our relationship with other species and nature.

The project began as a joint initiative of Kraków’s Paradox Cinema and the “Międzygatunkowo” collective, which originated at the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at Jagiellonian University and has since expanded far beyond the university’s walls.

In 2026, the series launches in Warsaw thanks to a partnership between KINOMUZEUM and the Center for Environmental Humanities at the University of Warsaw.

The pilot event will take place on May 23—if it turns out that Warsaw has an appetite for interspecies cinema, we’ll be back in the fall.

For the opening, we invite you to Animal by Emma Benestan (2024). After the screening, we will discuss posthuman corporeality, feminist trauma, monstrosity.

The discussion will feature: Dr. Justyna Schollenberger, cultural studies scholar and philosopher, specialist in human and non-human relations, animal studies, and posthumanism, Dr. Matylda Szewczyk, a cultural studies scholar, researcher of visual culture, representations of human and posthuman reproduction, and images of motherhood, Olga Gajek, MA, a researcher in film and television, disability studies, madness, gender, and sexuality, and a specialist in body horror and visual representations of non-normative bodies. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Patrycja Pichnicka-Trivedi, a collaborator at the Center for Environmental Humanities.

Nejma has one passion in life. Life in the deep French countryside can be exciting if you love bulls and the local sport of working together to remove the tuft of hair from an animal’s head. Having little to do with bullfighting, the sport relies on dexterity and an understanding of the psyche of these majestic animals, with whom Nejma is able to form a deep bond. However, this male-dominated sport requires the young protagonist to enter a world brimming with testosterone, patriarchal masculinity, blood, and adrenaline.

Nothing good can come of this clash, and Animal quickly becomes a surprising and suspenseful blend of feminist revenge film and body cinema. 

Animal by Emma Benestan proves that European cinema is capable of an excellent on-screen marriage of these two genres. According to some critics, Benestan’s talent places her in the same league as Julia Ducournau (Flesh, Titane, Alpha) and Coralie Fargeat (Substance).