Still-frame from Political Dress depicting a photograph by Wojciech Pliwiński from the 1950s
Rock music, fashion, mountaineering and toy-making vehicles of personal freedom during communism and shedding light on contemporary Poland, Beats of Freedom, Art of Freedom and Political Dress screened at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival present a time of repression and people who manage to attain freedom in unexpected areas of life.
A five documentary series about Poland and different aspects of Poles’ lives during the communism era, each film in the Guide to the Poles series tells different stories of people who chose to follow their passions, play rock music, make their own clothes and toys. Beats of Freedom shows how the Iron Curtian turned out not to be as impenetrable as the socialist authorities would have hoped and a number of major acts new to the international scene made their way over to Poland from the west. Legendary bands took the stage in Warsaw and Jarocin, such as The Rolling Stones, who played two concerts in April 1967 at the Palace of Culture's Congressional Hall - an event that became fixed in the collective musical memory for many decades following.
The times of socialism did not solely bring a period of torment and misery but can also be associated with amazing creativity and strive for freedom on many different levels of everyday life. Political Dress shows how bright colours and home-made tailoring can serve as a personal weapon against an oppressive political regime. By not succumbing to the prevailing censorship and pressure to blend in with the uniform crowd, as the movie shows, people helped form artistic trends that set the stage for contemporary Poland. The film features interviews with designer Barbara Hoff, Barbara Hulanicki, musician Tomasz Lipiński and painter Wilhelm Sasnal.
Co-produced by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, its director Paweł Potoroczyn comments, "One cannot bring to light the phenomenon of Polish freedom without talking about the free culture, which was the most significant and popular part of it. Some people were involved in printing underground publications and dropping leaflets, others were busy playing their homemade guitars and constructing homemade amplifiers. And all these people made history". Guide to the Poles includes Wojciech Słota and Leszek Gnoiński’s Beats of Freedom, Wojciech Słota and Marek Kłosowicz’ Art Of Freedom, Judyta Fibigier’s Political Dress.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest art event in the world, takes place between 3rd - 27th of August.
Screenings:
Beats of Freedom – 14th August
Art of Freedom – 15th August
Political Dress – 16th August
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Editor: Marta Jazowska