8th Day of Khamsin

In 2021, the border area between Poland and Belarus became a forbidden zone, three kilometers wide, where refugees found themselves brutally trapped. They had become the stakes in a political game: Belarus supposedly guaranteed free passage to the EU, but in Poland the refugees met with pushbacks, forcing them back across the border. Once in Belarus again, they were driven back towards Poland—a horrific stalemate in an inhospitable landscape of treacherous marshes.

Eugeniusz Rudnik revolutionized the idea of music itself with a pair of scissors and a magnetic tape. As part of the legendary Experimental Studio of Polish Radio, he revealed hidden value in rough and rejected sounds long before the rise of the DJs. In an era of electronic music created in a workshop resembling a scientific lab, he composed music to reach and to portray other human beings. This movie is an attempt to hear the vision of his music.

So close, yet so far. Although a bit exaggerated, this can be said about Poles and Czechs – neighbours and related nations. This powerful film builds on the contradictions of two worlds: Czech atheists vs. the exotic reality of a Catholic country. There is no shortage of amusing scenes. The filmmakers address passers-by, nuns, employees of the anti-Semitic Radio Maryja, a priest accused of sexual harassment, and an exorcist. Karel not only becomes an explorer who seeks to find the truth about Polish faith, but at another level also a pilgrim who, through the “path to film” wants to find faith himself. Last but not least, the documentary asks what has happened to Poland in recent years? Why is it as internally divided as Czechia?

A shocking testimony to the events which occurred on the Polish-Belarusian border in 2021. Under the guise of a ‘forest trip’ activists venture into the Białowieża Primeval Forest to deliver necessary items to the refugees from the Middle East and Africa hiding there.

A beautifully illustrated story of a contemporary village and its unconventional dwellers who are of different age but have one thing in common – their strong attachment to folk culture. In this film, music is as important as images, since it accompanies the protagonists during key events in their lives.