History-Politics-Film

dokumentART 2013: 18.10.2013, Friday, 11:00
the National Museum, ul. Wały Chrobrego 3 (where is that?)
Blok tematyczny: History-Politics-Film

Cinema often touches upon political and historical topics, perhaps due to the fact they concern us all and one cannot ignore them. Our festival's leitmotif – the crossing of boundaries – is a good starting point for films that tackle such issues.
 
The twenty-second dokumentART festival is a little different than the previous ones. The changes – already apparent in this year's program – have arisen from the passing of time and our growing experience. These transformations are natural. This is one of the reasons why have decided to show the cheerful “Oma & Bella” by Alexa Karolinski. The author created a humorous and charming portrait of her grandmother and her grandmother's best friend; we get to watch their everyday rituals, know their world views and life stories, as well as their culinary secrets. It's not just a simple little story, because both ladies are Jewish Holocaust survivors. The picture will put a smile on many viewers' faces and is an excellent example of documenting historical and political issues with a pinch of salt.
 
Everyone has their views, reasons, and a perception of the world around them. The primary mission of documentary film is to shed some light on that personal element for others to see.

Films

  • Oma & Bella75'

    A few years ago, Berlin-born Alexa Karolinski set out to make a cookbook project of her grandmother’s delicious Jewish dishes, but in capturing her warm, familial kitchen on camera as part of her research, she realized there was more to share than a few recipes. “Oma & Bella”, the feature documentary that resulted, is a touching portrait of two spirited characters – Alexa’s grandmother and her good friend and roommate Bella, a fellow Holocaust survivor. With practiced hands, they prepare meal after meal in their fully stocked West Berlin kitchen, all the while sharing engaging stories about their past. Some are endearing memories of dance clubs and heartthrobs, some very difficult recollections of their time spent in Nazi concentration camps. Their sincerity and outpouring of warmth are magnetic, and it is almost impossible not to fall in love with them by the end of the film.

     

     

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    Authors:

Associated artists

  • Małgorzata Ławrowska

    Member of the Board, managing director of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation since 2010. Historian, coordinator of international cooperation programs. Between years 1993-98 director of extra-curricular youth exchange department of Polish-German Youth Cooperation in Potsdam, then president of the Polish Meeting Houses Federation. In diplomatic service, recently director of Public Diplomacy Department at the Polish Embassy in Berlin since 2007. Originator and coordinator of Polish image campaigns in Germany. Member of the Copernicus Group. 

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  • Edward Włodarczyk

    Professor, PhD, rector of the Szczecin University and head of the Social and Economical Studies Unit at the Institute of History and International Relations of the Humanities Faculty. 1989-1992 he worked as associate professor at the Polish Academy of Science's History Institute, and as head of the Pomeranian History Study in Szczecin. Prof. Włodarczyk has been associated with the Szczecin University since 1992. 1996-2002 he was dean of the Humanities Faculty, and 2002-2008 he served as headmaster of the Institute of History and International Relations. Prof. Włodarczyk is also one of the four vice-presidents of the Polish Historical Society (PTH), as well as an Editorial Board member of several important Polish history periodicals: “Czasy Nowożytne,” “Zapiski Historyczne,” and “Studia Historae Oeconomicae.” He is a promoter of over a dozen doctoral theses. In 2007, prof. Włodarczyk received, together with prof. Zygmunt Szultka and prof. Włodzimierz Stępiński, the shared West Pomeranian Nobel prize for the 4th volume of “Pomorze Zachodnie w okresie od traktatu wersalskiego po klęskę III Rzeszy w 1945 roku.”

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  • Jörg Hackmann

    PhD, since 2008 Alfred Döblin Professor (DAAD) at the Institute of History and International Relations, University of Szczecin; PhD from the Free University of Berlin, 1994; 1992-1999 lecturer at the Baltic Academy in Lübeck-Travemünde; 2000-2007 assistant professor at the University of Greifswald, habilitation in 2007; 2007-2009 visiting professor in Chicago. 

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  • Ewa Opawska

    Graduated from philosophy at the University of Warsaw, has been associated with the Museum of the History of Polish Jews since 2009. For two years she collaborated on the “Polish Righteous – Recalling Forgotten History” project. Currently, she is working in the Culture Projects Department, organising museum cinema. Author of the drama “Niewybuchy”, which deals with the topic of the Holocaust.

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Gallery

how to get there

18.10.2013