When Janek saves Hania from being run over by a car on the streets of Warsaw at night, it's love at first sight. This romance is ill-fated however. Hania's father, a doctor, has been fired on specious grounds. He is a Jew and thus falls victim to the anti-Semitic hate campaign that is waged against “Zionism” and “Israeli imperialism” in almost all Eastern Bloc countries in the course of the Six-Day War. Prime Minister Wladysław Gomułka goes further and accuses those Jews who have remained in the People's Republic of Poland of being, as agents of Israel and the West, behind the student protests that broke out after the cancellation of Adam Mickiewicz' theatre classic "Forefathers’ Eve" (“Dziady”) due to "anti-Soviet tendencies” in March 1968. Janek's father, as a high-ranking agent in the secret service, is heavily involved in repression and violence against the demonstrators... From the perspective of the young lovers, director Krzysztof Lang narrates how survivors of the Shoah and the ghetto are forced, together with their families, to emigrate from their Polish homeland. A film that portrays two young people's attitude towards life, one characterised by parties, jazz, romance and a spirit of optimism and yet finds itself destroyed by the arbitrariness of state power. Historical archive footage of Warsaw in 1968 complements this feature film, which uncompromisingly sheds light on a dark chapter from recent Polish history.
English: Peter Rickerby
Other performances:
- 15.06.2023 Viadrina Frankfurt Oder at 18:30
- 17.06.2023 Bürgerbildungszentrum Amadeu Antonio Eberswalde at 18:00
Guests
On 13.6., 17:30 at Kino Toni and on 14.6., 17:00 at Filmkunst66 director Krzysztof Lang will be our guest for a Q&A after the screening.
