A Year In The Life Of A Country

Tomasz Wolski / Poland / 2024 / International Premiere / 84 min.

synopsis

On the 13th of December 1981, telephone connections were cut off throughout Poland. Tanks appeared in the streets of the cities. A night curfew came into force. In response to the growing influence of the Solidarity trade union movement, General Jaruzelski's government declared a state of emergency. Tomasz Wolski's edited documentary uses lesser-known archival footage to put this tense chapter of Polish history into a broader context. But it is not only the speeches of politicians and dramatic clashes between citizens and the repressive apparatus that are included in this collage, edited with a flair for the absurd – the myth of a nation that suffered under totalitarian rule is shattered by images of everyday life. Many Poles are convinced, in line with government propaganda, that the opposition could have started a civil war. Others are more concerned about empty shelves than about the lack of freedom. The ubiquitous police and soldiers become as much a part of socialist reality as the fact that a shoe shop sells chickens. Ironically, the foreign correspondent seems most concerned about the whole situation. This portrait of a divided country, whose tragicomic quality also lies in its timelessness, concludes Wolski's historical trilogy (see An Ordinary Country (2020) and 1970 (2021)).

“This time, I wanted to treat archive material like free jazz. The soundtrack will reflect that as well.”

Quote source: Variety

biography

Tomasz Wolski (1977) is a Polish director, cinematographer and editor. He graduated in journalism from Jagiellonian University and completed a course in documentary filmmaking at the Andrzej Wajda Film School. He participated twice in the Berlinale Talent Campus workshop. He has won numerous festival awards for his films that demythologise Polish history.