Women, Cats and Children

Women, Cats and Children 1995

1

A short documentary about women, cats and children and the relative importance of each to the other.

1995

83 Zlota Street

83 Zlota Street 2003

1

A documentary history of the inhabitants of a Warsaw tenement house at 83 Złota Street, the so-called Bermuda Triangle, or Pekin if you prefer. Most of these people have lived in the tenement house for several decades. Now, however, they have all received eviction orders. Due to its poor technical condition, the building is to be demolished and replaced by a hotel or a huge shopping centre.

2003

Where To

Where To 1990

1

The leitmotif of this editing film is the images of the first May marches, which were noisy every year during the communist era. The streets of Warsaw are walked by properly formed and organized masses of people, and from the grandstand they are greeted by successive leaders. There is an atmosphere of more or less artificially inspired enthusiasm. As time goes by, however, more and more images appear, contrasting with this idyllic vision of a constant holiday. Alongside images of official ceremonies, materials showing competitive, independent celebrations, organized by the illegal opposition, and pacified with the help of properly trained ZOMO troops, find their permanent place.

1990

Rehearsals, Rehearsals Only

Rehearsals, Rehearsals Only 1989

1

The film was created from almost 50 hours of long video footage of rehearsals for Tadeusz Kantor and Cricot 2 Theater’s spectacle "Dzis sa moje urodziny" (Today is my birthday). The rehearsals were recorded between October 13, 1989, and December 7, 1990.

1989

Zertwa

Zertwa 1988

1

The film is set in the Bialystok region on the holy mountain of Grabarka, the areas of Siemiatycz, Milejczyc and others. The protagonist is John Trochimczyk, who driven by misfortune decides to carry the cross before the feast of the Saviour and dedicate it to Grabarka to rescue his sick wife. With a wooden cross provided, he meets along the way local people and all the time is approaching the sacred mountains of Grabarka.

1988

Dedykacja

Dedykacja 1987

1

The documentary presents children from the village of Paszyn, who paint on glass. The boys also became interested in carving figures in wood. They were encouraged by the local parish priest, Father Edward Nitka, to develop local, folk culture. The children talk passionately about the themes of their works.

1987

Godki Village 1986

Godki Village 1986 1987

1

A ballad-like story about a group of young people who settled in a village near Olsztyn a few years ago and decided to stay and work on the land. Among them are art historians, an actor, and an engineer. The film, which has no commentary, is accompanied by a song whose chorus sounds like the young protagonists' credo: "So take life into your own hands, life as it is. You won't get any more of it, you know that very well."

1987

A Night at the Palace

A Night at the Palace 1986

1

A portrait of the employees of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. The film shows one night, during which we witness the duty of its guards, cleaners, guards, elevators. It's a pretext to listen to their stories about the Palace, its history. Everything happens while the wedding of the daughter of the Palace's guards is taking place in the background in the PKiN staff canteen.

1986

Na otwartym sercu

Na otwartym sercu 1986

1

Prominent heart surgeon Zbigniew Religa talks about his fears and hopes he had towards this operation, which was the first one successful heart transplant in Poland, made under his supervision. The doctor talks with great respect and affection about his patients and colleagues.

1986

Praga Farewells: Gallery

Praga Farewells: Gallery 1977

1

In photos and films, Praga resembles a small town rather than a district of Warsaw. One may see service facilities, sometimes only signboards and few craftsmen doing jobs becoming a thing of the past. Grinders, engravers, tailors, blacksmiths, saddlers rarely meet their customers. The symbol of the passing era is a cabman portrayed against high and modern blocks of flats. In the backyards of Praga, mangles are still visible. It is a thing of women, similarly to beauty and hairdressing salons. A lighthouse keeper still lights gas lamps, but the bygone world slowly dies out.

1977

The Ferry

The Ferry 1984

1

Portrait of a family emigrating to Sweden.

1984

The Spatial Compositions of Katarzyna Kobro

The Spatial Compositions of Katarzyna Kobro 1971

1

Abstract, geometric forms, became the basis for the most outstanding works of the avant-garde sculptor Katarzyna Kobro. With her 'Spatial Compositions', she created her own artistic language, with which she aroused a lot of criticism, which was based on the traditional assumption that a sculpture should be a compact, modelled mass. However, the task of "Composition" was to shape forms that were to come into being. Kobro, however, still wanted to change the space surrounding people with her own art.

1971

Boleslaw Bierut Passed Away

Boleslaw Bierut Passed Away 1956

1

A special episode of the Chronicle commemorating the death of Bolesław Bierut. He died in Moscow, March 13, 1956. The President of Poland, the President of the Council of Ministers of the Polish People's Republic, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, was a guest of the earth-shattering 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, at which Khrushchev delivered a secret speech on the crimes of Stalinism. Obviously, the film does not mention that because in our country Bierut's death began the thaw period. An honor guard was set next to the coffin in Moscow. The funeral was attended by PUWP delegates, marshals of the USSR, family and workers. The last journey led through Moscow to the airport, where the Bulgarian Prime Minister gave his farewell speech. The funeral march created by Fryderyk Chopin accompanies the images in the production.

1956

Island of Feathers and Fluff

Island of Feathers and Fluff 1959

1

A documentary about a small island in the Glacial Ocean, which during the Arctic summer becomes a kingdom of singing birds.

1959

Sailing the

Sailing the "Gift of Pomerania" towards Stockholm 1938

1

A film report from the Dar Pomorza (Pomeranian Gift) sailing ship's training voyage to Stockholm to celebrate King Gustav V's 80th birthday. The film shows the daily life of the sailors on board the ship, including physical exercise, entertainment and playing with the crew's mascot, the anteater Bear. "Dar Pomorza" was a ship of the Polish merchant navy in the 1930s and at the same time a training ship of the Maritime School in Gdynia - in 1930 it replaced the former sailing ship "Lwów". It was on this ship that the future sailors of the Second Republic of Poland gained experience. Thanks to the reportage "Dar Pomorza to Stockholm", it is possible to see the ship at the time of its greatest glory. The film was reconstructed in 2022 based on two copies found after the war in the USA and the Soviet Union.

1938

I See You in a Memory

I See You in a Memory 1936

1

The report shows places connected with the life of the writer Stefan Żeromski: the cemetery where his parents are buried, the ruins of his family estate. Views from the village of Leszczyny in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains are interspersed with panels featuring quotations from "Puszcza jodłowa".

1936

Polish Pioneers in the Black Continen

Polish Pioneers in the Black Continen 1936

1

A group of Polish plantation managers embarks on a voyage to West Africa to establish trade relations between Poland and Liberia. The film shows the journey across the ocean, the local people and their customs, and preparations for plantation expansion.

1936

Przyłączenie Górnego Śląska do Polski

Przyłączenie Górnego Śląska do Polski 1992

1

A reportage of the official ceremony join Upper Silesia to Poland iin 1922. The film shows the General Szeptycki and Speaker of the Seimas Trąmpczyński in Katowice, meeting with government officials, mass, speeches, signing to join the act, the parade of delegations from all over the country and the military parade on the streets of Katowice.

1992

Tatras in Snow

Tatras in Snow 1939

1

The film is a reportage, until recently unknown, found in 2015, showing the beauty of the mountains bathed in snow and the tourist attractions of Zakopane and its surroundings, including the Gubałówka cable car and the cable car to Kasprowy Wierch. Currently (2023), this is the only surviving pre-war reportage by Zbigniew Jaszcz, a cameraman who made documentaries in England and Scotland during the Second World War.

1939