The 1980s occupy an unforgettable place in the history of Polish culture. The harsh winters that prevailed in Poland at that time can be considered a symbolic landscape of the vita activa of the citizens. As in Czechoslovakia in 1968, history showed its caricature face. Poles have to pay dearly for the Solidarity Carnival period. Martial law is introduced in 1981. Tanks in the streets, drastic restrictions and violations of civil rights are the order of the day. The struggle for human dignity ceases to be just a slogan and takes on a practical dimension; it manifests itself in everyday life; on the streets, in the workplace, in cities large and small, in underground literature, in the press and in the cinema.
In this series, we will see a selection of the most famous Polish samizdat films ("pułkowniki") from this period. For that time, they were courageous works referring to values that are self-evident from the perspective of a democratic country today. They were titles that expressed a demand for respect for the individual's right to decide for himself and were therefore condemned to silence for many years.
The series is part of the exhibition Uncensored - Polish Independent Art of the 1980s (GASK Gallery / Polish Institute in Prague, 28 May - 17 September 2023).
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