Piotr Duda

Août 1980. Après le premier pèlerinage de Jean-Paul II en Pologne, les travailleurs commencent des grèves contre le régime. Le père Jerzy Popiełuszko arrive pour célébrer la messe des ouvriers. Le prêtre comprend les revendications des ouvriers, les aide et participe à la contestation de Solidarność. Mais la loi martiale est proclamée dans le pays. Varsovie est occupée par des chars et les grèves sont brutalement réprimées. Le père Jerzy devient témoin de la grande manifestation d’indépendance des travailleurs polonais, mais aussi de la répression dramatique exercée par la police. Dans ses homélies, il parvient à exprimer ce que les gens pensent mais ne peuvent pas dire. Ses paroles deviennent le guide d’une nation en révolte. Les fidèles qui viennent l’écouter sont de plus en plus nombreux tandis que la police politique tente de l’intimider…

Poland in the 80’s was a country ruled by crisis and a sense of hopelessness. Only few knew how to turn crisis into a business. It was a golden time for them. How did they know what would bring them money? How did they operate in a country where almost everything was forbidden?

The Diary of Polina Żerebcowa, now an acclaimed writer and journalist, is a moving record of entering adulthood during the course of the war. The Chechen author describes her childhood and youth, which spanned from 1994 to 2004. First as a nine – year-old girl, then as a teenager, she documents her process of adolescence, presents her own vision of the world and immortalizes the experiences that shape her-she records her whole life, which takes place during the horrific Chechen wars. And although Polina's diary is a loose personal note, it is exceedingly evocative and lyrical. It leaves no one indifferent. The show, whose main character is the aforementioned diary presented by the outstanding actor, Andrzej Seweryn, gives Polina her voice so that she can tell us about what she experienced, what happened over the course of 10 years, during the two Chechen wars. Thus the story of how to remain human in the most inhumane circumstances is created.

Tired of just scraping by, an ambitious janitor scams and schemes his way to the good life in 1980s Poland amid changing regimes and personal chaos.