On the set of "Art of Disappearing", photo: Otter Films
Invited by Jerzy Grotowski, the great reformer of 20th century theatre, a group of poeple from Haiti come to visit the Polish People's Republic in 1980. They find themselves in a strange place. People queue for hours appearing to want to be together but avoiding to speak to one another, they perform curious rituals in big stadiums. The landscape is dominated by the colour gray, gray poeple, gray clothes, gray buildings. "The rain seemed to be louder here, like in a country of deaf people, and the winter fell from the sky in streaks of white water that couldn't quench thirst."
Among the group is Amon Frémon, a Haitian voodoo priest of Polish descent. His ancestors, Polish legionaries, took part in liberating Haiti from slavery 200 years before. Amon feels that he should pay his debt and do something for his second fatherland so he decides to stay in Poland. When on the 13th of December 1981 Martial Law is declared, he performs a voodoo ceremony to help free General Jaruzelski from evil spirits. The General's rigid posture and hidden under his dark sunglasses, his blood filled eyes tell Amon that Jaruzelski is possessed by the wicked demon of Baron Samedi.
Amon searches for the truth about the soul of a nation that has been subdued to foreign domination for centuries. What is the extent to which their outlook on life been influenced and muted? Has their prudent behaviour become a self-imposed way of life? This unknown story was filmed by Bartek Konopka and Piotr Rosołowski, the creators of the 2010 Oscar nominated Rabbit à la Berlin. Shot in Warsaw and the village of Cazale in Haiti where Amon Frémon comes from, the movie relies on the use of archival material.
Art of Disappearing is part of the Guide to the Poles documentary series of five films created by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. A journey to the sources of Poland's cotemporary freedom and creativity, the films show rock music, fashion, sex, mountaineering, toy-making, as some of the many ways of expressing individual freedom under an oppressive regime.
Visions du Réel is one of the world's biggest film festivals dedicated to documentary films. Art of Disappearing is shown twice on this occasion, on the 21st and the 22nd of April 2013. The film premiers in Poland in May, at the Planet + Doc Film Festival.
- Sztuka Znikania / Art of Disappearing. Poland, 50'. Directing and script: Bartek Konopka, Piotr Rosołowski; DoP: Piotr Rosołowski; Production manager/Research: Marta Golba, Otter Films; Editing: Andrzej Dąbrowski; Sound: Franciszek Kozłowski, Maciej Cieślak; Producer: Paweł Potoroczyn, Adam Mickiewicz Institute; Executive Producer: Anna Wydra, Otter Films
Sources: Polish article for culture.pl, press materials, Otter Films
Editor: MJ, 29.03.2013