Knižné plátno: Tiene histórie

Block of four short films from the 1960s and 1970s. The films are united not only by a reference to a shared regional history, but also by the fact that each of them refers to the heritage of previous generations, whether tangible or intangible.

We organize the event in cooperation with KineDok.

"The films are united not only by a reference to a shared regional history, but also by the fact that each of them refers to the heritage of previous generations, whether tangible or intangible. The worlds depicted in these films are now an integral part of our global cultural memory: the deep traumas of the Holocaust, the often clichéd depiction of the former "Eastern Bloc" (actually much more diverse than it appeared from the outside) and the "Iron Curtain" (with varying degrees of permeability in different countries). The echoes of this past still haunt the present, which has fewer and fewer points of contact with it. We put this band together against the backdrop of a surprising shift in global power dynamics, marked by a growing nostalgia for forms of authoritarianism reconfigured by technological means, as well as the rise of populism and the spread of disinformation fueled by this new era of "platform capitalism." We would like these films to build a possible 'soil' for our troubled present, to remind us of our individual and collective resilience and to cultivate our belonging to a common European history." - Curator of the band: Adina Brădeanu

🎬 Mesto darované / A gifted town (Vladimir Kressl, Czechoslovakia, 1965, 11 min)

In 1944, on Himmler's order, a would-be documentary film called Vodca offers the Jews a town was shot, which was supposed to serve as evidence of the alleged quality of life of the Jews imprisoned in the Terezín ghetto. Scattered segments and footage from this film, which has never been fully reconstructed, deeply affected Czechoslovakia in the 1960s and remain the subject of interest for researchers trying to uncover the circumstances of its creation.

In 1965, director Vladimír Kressl responded to this disgusting distortion of the tragedy unfolding in Terezín by comparing footage from the original film with sketches of life in the ghetto that they had created former inhabitants of Terezín - many of them were later murdered in Auschwitz. Terezín to various extermination camps. The resulting film is a strong, compact work that invites the viewer to critically examine the authenticity of the images handed down to us from previous historical periods.

🎬 Castle dwellers / Kastélyok lakói (Judiť Elek, Hungary, 1966, 28 min)

How does the past live in the bones of buildings that have gone through a turbulent history? And what do the youngest inhabitants of today know about the worlds that are still hidden within the walls of castles, so carefully watched in the film Judit Elek? A remarkable feature of this film is the fluid movement of the camera, which floats through several castles of imperial Hungary, which socialist Hungary converted into functional spaces - for example, a nursing home, an artist's residence and an orphanage. While the new regimes still tolerate some of their former owners in their native homes, others are now inhabited by entirely new inhabitants, such as children raised by the state and fed new versions of official history.

Also, the filmmakers' sense of discretion is striking: Elek never meddles in the lives of his charges or tries to simplify the complexities of their experiences. Instead, it listens with equal sympathetic attention to the memories of adults burdened by the past, as well as to the projections of this past by children.

🎬 Let our voices be heard / Nek sa čut i naš glas (Krsto Papić, Yugoslavia, 1970, 16 min)

The central authorities labeled their broadcasts as "harmful" and routinely took measures to prevent their voices from "polluting" strictly controlled radio waves in the Yugoslav countryside. Nevertheless, the people behind these independent radio stations continue to work. Depending on one's point of view, their efforts can be described in different ways: for the socialist state, they are pirate radio stations - unregulated and therefore to be silenced; for their enthusiastic listeners (who sometimes co-produce their programs) they are forms of community radio with a multitude of functions, from social and political criticism to education and the promotion of cultural participation.

Fluently shifting between social commentary (sometimes delivered in verse!), German lessons for future migrant workers and live musical performances, this witty documentary reminds us of our ability to defy systemic adversity, and both as individuals and as a community.

🎬 Hrib's Diaries / Letopisețul lui Hrib (Slavomir Popovici, Romania, 1974, 15 min)

At the time when Slavomir Popovici filmed this documentary, his hero was already known thanks to the museum of history and folk art that he founded in his house in the village of Arbor. The self-taught Hrib, a peasant from the northern Romanian Bukovina, was at the same time an eccentric and cosmopolitan personality who was interested both in the life of his rural community and in the life of his neighbors from all over the world. His museum was visited by thousands of tourists every year, and the diary he kept for four decades was published under the title Chronicle of Arbore.

The film follows Hrib's diary entries, especially those that show the friendly and chatty peasant as a constant "translator" between the traditional culture of the village - illustrated by the religious scenes from the Arbore monastery fresco - and the modern, political and relatively cosmopolitan culture, illustrated set. This constant transition between "here" and "there" leads to amusing and significant juxtapositions between some categories of rural tradition and wisdom and the problems of modern times.

Entry free. We look forward to seeing you on November 13 at 6:00 p.m. at Záhrebská 8.