Rok z życia kraju / Tomasz Wolski / Poland / 84’ / 2024

‘Dark night of martial law’ is the term used to refer to the time following 13 December 1981 in communist Poland. However, the period of state-imposed terror targeting the Solidarity movement had other faces, too. On the basis of exclusively archival footage, including less known materials, the film explores the backstage of the past events. To the rhythm of snare drums, it shows the everyday life of the country’s residents, the operations of its propaganda and army. By giving a stage to diverse voices of the street and contrasting parades, riots and carnival celebrations, it undermines the mythicised image of Polish society as a victim of the system. The film is presented in the national and international competitions.

Script by Tomasz Wolski
Music by Jerzy Rogiewicz, Dj Lenar
Editing Tomasz Wolski
Production Anna Gawlita (Kijora Film)

Tomasz Wolski

Film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. He was born in 1977. He is a graduate of Journalism at the Jagiellonian University and of a documentary course from the Wajda School. He has taken part in the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Berlin Today Award. He has made several documentaries, which include The Clinic (2006), The Lucky Ones (2009), Doctors (2011), The Palace(2012), Not for Everyone (2012), Festival (2017) and An Ordinary Country (2020, the winner of the Golden Hobby Horse at the 60KFF). As a editor he has worked with Sergei Loznitsa on his documentaries Babi Yar. Context and The Kiev Trial. He is a co-director (with Piotr Pawlus) of In Ukraine which premiered at Berlinale in 2023. A member of the Polish Filmmakers Association, Polish and European Film Academies, and since 2024, a member of the Council of the Polish Film Institute.