Warszawska syrena

Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? This experimental found footage film outlines the history of humanity in a few minutes. It is focused on the central theme of the 20th century - the Holocaust and the atomic bomb.

In the last days of World War 2, people of various ethnic background meet in a Polish military hospital in a small German town, whereas a Nazi SS division hides in the local forests and tries to move westwards.

Lionel Rogosin's plea for humanity and against war and fascism. For two years, Rogosin traveled to twelve countries to collect footage of war atrocities from their archives. He interspersed these harrowing images with scenes of a London cocktail party's mundane chatter. Good Times, Wonderful Times was released in 1964 at the height of the Vietnam War, and became one of the great anti-war films of the era.

The ‘Żywe kamienie’ (meaning living stones) from the title are architectural monuments that convey the history of past generations. In this respect, Kraków is a special city - it was not only the royal capital of Poland, but also a city of Jews.

The protagonist of this documentary is Gdańsk and its history. The story begins on the shore of the Baltic Sea, in a Pomeranian town on the European Amber Road. It ends in the contemporary Gdańsk Shipyard.

A film suite divided into three parts showing successively the defeat of Warsaw, the gradual awakening of the capital and the first post-war Warsaw spring. The film has no commentary, only music, whose mood and rhythm are closely related to the character of the presented images.

A collective, moving self-portrait of Polish painters of the turn of the century, composed of paintings presented at the exhibition "Symbolism in Polish art" at the National Museum in Warsaw in 1985.

A propaganda piece of reportage from the first Polish Nationwide Art Exhibition that was held in the National Museum in Warsaw in 1950. Makarczynski’s film is a typical example of a socialist realism documentary, realized in accordance with the instructions that had been presented to the filmmakers during the Wisla 1949 summit.

The documentary shows the work of journalists and the importance of the press in building socialism. It is an exemplary implementation of the socialist-realist convention imposed on Polish cinema in 1949, in which all elements of the film structure were subordinated to the persuasive function.

A treasure of Polish culture. A concert film that presents the performance of Mazowsze Song and Dance Ensemble recorded at its headquarters – the palace in Karolina (a part of the village of Otrębusy near Warsaw). The repertoire includes: Bandoska, Kukułeczka, Pod borem and dances such as: oberek, olender.

Łopuszna is located on the Dunajec River, 100 km south of Cracow. It is the kingdom of trout and salmon, one of the greatest tourist attractions of Podhale. In addition to that, it has been the home of Polish highlanders for centuries.

A visit in the painting studio of Teofil Ociepka, a Silesian naive painter. The raw landscape of Silesia contrasts with the colorful, fantastic world of his imagination.

A record of the first days of the so-called ‘Polska Lubelska’. The camera focused on life in Lublin and other Polish pieces of land conquered in 1944 as a result of the July offensive of the Polish and Red Army. This documentary was made from the perspective of the thirtieth anniversary of People's Poland.

In 1946, the 1st National Competition of Trade Union Member Clubs was held. Almost one thousand amateur teams took part in it, bringing together approximately 40,000 workers, women and men. The reportage was created during the performance at the Polish Theater in Warsaw.

Polish Film Chronicle was famous for its style, resembling a report, and for its witty commentaries. This special edition is about dogs and the voiceover was recorded by Kazimierz Rudzki.