Film review accompanying the exhibition Hidden Life. The Child in Polish Contemporary Art – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

Film review accompanying the exhibition Hidden Life. The Child in Polish Contemporary Art

Although there is seemingly no shortage of child protagonists in contemporary Polish cinema, they are most often placed in the background of the story and given the role of an ornament or gadget with a rather objective function. Kids are the motivating factors behind the actions of the main – adult – characters, they appear as a supplement to their psychological profiles, and sometimes they are shown as the consequences of (right or not) choices.

The film review accompanying the exhibition consists of works whose authors have done the exact opposite: they have placed children at the centre of the story. No longer as an accessory or springboard, but as a subjective protagonist with their own individual perspective. Children’s agency is a common denominator of the presented films. Decisions taken by children (more or less conscious) have a real or even crucial impact on their lives, and sometimes also on their surroundings. They can lead to the fulfilment of the deepest desires, but also to serious problems. The films, made over a period of over thirty years, are united by their simplicity and unpretentiousness in portraying the most important relationships in a child’s life: with parents, brothers and sisters, and their importance for a child’s development. Despite the diversity of topics, all the films also share the theme of the journey (or the iconography associated with the journey), which becomes a symbol of a child’s path towards adulthood. A path on which a child’s imagination and innocence are contrasted with an often brutal reality. The results of the clash vary: often, they are difficult or sad, but always moving, uplifting and beautiful.

• Programme

• 03/06
  • 300 Miles to Heaven [300 mil do nieba], 1989, directed by Maciej Dejczer
• 10/06
  • Tricks [Sztuczki], 2007, directed by Andrzej Jakimowski
• 17/06
  • All Will Be Well [Wszystko będzie dobrze], 2007, directed by Tomasz Wiszniewski
• 24/06
  • Dad [Tata], 2022, directed by Anna Maliszewska
  • After the film, a conversation with the director will take place.