A scence from the documentary film "Inventory", dir. Paweł Łoziński
Emil Karafiol, an American Jew of Polish descent and retired lawyer, arrives in Warsaw in search of his grandparent's resting place. Unfortunately to no avail.
"He got angry, he told himself that this simply can't be. He contacted the Jewish Council, collected money and hired people who would then carry out an inventory. Now, after four years of work, anyone who comes to the cemetery can locate their family," explains Paweł Łoziński in an interview with Igor Smialowski for Kino magazine ("To temporarily resurrect someone", 2010, vol 6, pp. 42-43).
The inventory of heritage and memory is the focus of Łoziński's documentary. It's a short, metaphorical tale on issues of memory, identity and finding traces of a not-so-distant past, an attempt to recreate a lost city. It's here, on over thirty hectares of land in the very center of the city, where it all happened. The camera records all the details – fingers running across a weathered sign or the tedious process of deciphering letters that carry some meaning. Two hundred thousand graves of those who took with them the secrets of life before the war, before the Holocaust.
I wanted, vicariously through people's labor, to talk about that place. I attempted to create an atmosphere of uncovering a certain secret. This cemetery is an uncanny place; it resembles a jungle. Thirty three hectares in the city center is isolated from the rest of the world with a wall. Time stopped there, leaving silence and stillness. Light scarcely shines through, a speck of dust settles. The place sharpens all of your sensory perceptions. I've seen and heard more there.
- Paweł Łoziński in Kino 2010, vol 6.
"Inventory" / "Inwentaryzacja", Poland, 2010. Color, Duration 9m. Written, directed and filmed by Paweł Łoziński, Special Photography: Kacper Lisowski, Editing: Rafal Listopad, Dorota Wardeszkiewicz, Sound: Pawel Lozinski, Justyna Musialska, Producer: Pawel Lozinski, Produced by Paweł Łoziński Film Production (Co-sponsored by the Polish Film Institute).