Film Screening - Edinburgh - The Queen and the Smokehouse / Bałtyk, dir. Iga Lis
Out Of The Blue Arts & Education Trust, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG
Sunday 15th November 2026 7:00PM
The Queen and the Smokehouse / Bałtyk, dir. Iga Lis present:
The Queen and the Smokehouse / Bałtyk, dir. Iga Lis
Poland, 2025, 77 min.
Scottish premiere
Sunday, November 15th 7:00 p.m. (Doors: 6:45 p.m.)
Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh 30–38 Dalmeny St, EH6 8RG
PWYC (£6, £8, £10)
Language: Polish with English subtitles
Rating: 15+
Tickets:
With a prerecorded introduction from film critic and film scholar Karolina Kosińska.
The Queen and the Smokehouse is a cinematic journey to the Polish Baltic coast, where the wind, salt and smoke shape everyday life. The film opened the 65th Krakow Film Festival, transporting audiences into the world of Miecia, the legendary figure behind Łeba’s iconic seaside smokehouse. For forty years she has built a place defined not only by craft, but by character. Her fish, her humour and her presence have become part of the town’s folklore, remembered long after the holiday crowds return home.
The film portrays the last pockets of authenticity in places increasingly transformed by tourism. It reflects on disappearing traditions, the passage of time and the strength of women who build their lives around ambition and care for others.
The Queen and the Smokehouse is an intimate, vivid portrait of resilience, humour and the fragile moment between what has been and what might still come. The Baltic coast becomes a character of its own: its rhythms, its stubborn charm, its people. The film captures a passing era, where independent seaside smokehouses and spirited female entrepreneurs are slowly giving way to uniform corporate competition.
Iga Lis’s debut documentary has received significant acclaim, including an ORŁY Polish Film Awards (known as Polish Oscars) nomination for Discovery of the Year, a triumphant Opening Night premiere at Krakow Film Festival, the Jantar Award for Best Cinematography at Młodzi i Film, and the Audience Award at Sopot Film Festival’s DOK.PL Competition.
The screening is enriched by a programme of short films presented in collaboration with Scottish Documentary Institute, including Community Theatre, dir. L. Baillie nominated for this year’s BAFTA Awards.
Presented by Borscht Film, in collaboration with Scottish Documentary Institute.
Borscht Film - Polish Film in Scotland is a Scotland‑based project dedicated to showcasing bold, imaginative cinema from Poland, with a focus on contemporary film, documentary, emerging voices, Polish classics, and films for young audiences. All screenings are presented with English subtitles.
Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI. Borscht Film Polish Cinema Season 2026/27 is supported by the Screen Scotland National Lottery Film Festival & Screening Programme Fund and by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh.
The Queen and the Smokehouse / Bałtyk, dir. Iga Lis
Poland, 2025, 77 min.
Scottish premiere
Sunday, November 15th 7:00 p.m. (Doors: 6:45 p.m.)
Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh 30–38 Dalmeny St, EH6 8RG
PWYC (£6, £8, £10)
Language: Polish with English subtitles
Rating: 15+
Tickets:
With a prerecorded introduction from film critic and film scholar Karolina Kosińska.
The Queen and the Smokehouse is a cinematic journey to the Polish Baltic coast, where the wind, salt and smoke shape everyday life. The film opened the 65th Krakow Film Festival, transporting audiences into the world of Miecia, the legendary figure behind Łeba’s iconic seaside smokehouse. For forty years she has built a place defined not only by craft, but by character. Her fish, her humour and her presence have become part of the town’s folklore, remembered long after the holiday crowds return home.
The film portrays the last pockets of authenticity in places increasingly transformed by tourism. It reflects on disappearing traditions, the passage of time and the strength of women who build their lives around ambition and care for others.
The Queen and the Smokehouse is an intimate, vivid portrait of resilience, humour and the fragile moment between what has been and what might still come. The Baltic coast becomes a character of its own: its rhythms, its stubborn charm, its people. The film captures a passing era, where independent seaside smokehouses and spirited female entrepreneurs are slowly giving way to uniform corporate competition.
Iga Lis’s debut documentary has received significant acclaim, including an ORŁY Polish Film Awards (known as Polish Oscars) nomination for Discovery of the Year, a triumphant Opening Night premiere at Krakow Film Festival, the Jantar Award for Best Cinematography at Młodzi i Film, and the Audience Award at Sopot Film Festival’s DOK.PL Competition.
The screening is enriched by a programme of short films presented in collaboration with Scottish Documentary Institute, including Community Theatre, dir. L. Baillie nominated for this year’s BAFTA Awards.
Presented by Borscht Film, in collaboration with Scottish Documentary Institute.
Borscht Film - Polish Film in Scotland is a Scotland‑based project dedicated to showcasing bold, imaginative cinema from Poland, with a focus on contemporary film, documentary, emerging voices, Polish classics, and films for young audiences. All screenings are presented with English subtitles.
Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI. Borscht Film Polish Cinema Season 2026/27 is supported by the Screen Scotland National Lottery Film Festival & Screening Programme Fund and by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh.
Event Details
Doors Open at 6:45PM
Starts at 7:00PM
