Stay away from these films! Banned films at the 18th edition of the Tofifest International Film Festival. Kujawy Pomorze Region
Disrupted shooting of films, interferences in editing, delayed premières. Back in the era of the Polish People's Republic, filmmakers had to face a lot of difficulties to release their films. For some of them, it took many years to finally finish their work. During the 18th edition of the Tofifest International Film Festival. Kujawy Pomorze Region, we are going to remind you about some of the most famous films not released for political reasons.
The Communist regime was well aware of the great danger that cinema could create for them. Starting from the meeting of filmmakers that took place in 1949, in Wisła, the communist authorities made efforts to ensure that films were made in a certain way. Fortunately, independent filmmakers were far from following the herd. Being a rebellious festival, Tofifest wishes to bring them back to light in these turbulent times, when the work of filmmakers has become quite complicated for reasons going far beyond the pandemic alone.
The list of Polish films not released for political reasons, i.e. films, which were censored and put on a shelf, at a certain stage, is a long one. If truth be told, there were many reasons for which one could get in the bad books of censors. They could be easily offended by political or social issues, or even those related to interpretations – if they found an inappropriate metaphor here and there. If that happened, they use either scissors or handcuffs.
Each filmmaker developed their own individual way of resisting the censorship. The method used by Andrzej Wajda is a legendary one, who opted for filling scripts with bold political commentaries. He was fully aware that the censors would notice them and edit them out, this way leaving a more subtle critique of the authorities intact. It is worth mentioning that if the censors did actually edit something out in his films, or even stopped any of them from release, the director’s esteem among the filmmakers grew stronger.
Be that as it may, to this day, the most legendary film not released for political reasons is still Przesłuchanie / Interrogation, directed by Ryszard Bugajski. The film enjoys the status of a legend and is described as “the most anti-communist film in the history of the Polish People's Republic.” The director used the film to depict the political mechanisms behind Stalinism, when individual lives were destroyed for the sake of the oppressive system. In the film, Krystyna Janda, who portrayed the main protagonist Antonina Dziwisz, created one of her most brilliant characters ever. The film was shot in 1981 and the last take was made the day before imposing of Martial Law in Poland. The film director was wise enough to hide the films. The pre-release screening of the film, which took place in 1982, made the censors shudder. Interrogation was put on a shelf, and even Andrzej Wajda’s interference did not change anything. It was 1989, when the film was finally released for cinemas. Everybody watched illegal tapes with the film, be it in schools or in rooms in parishes.
Janusz Zaorski, who commented in Stalinism in his Matka Królów / The Mother of Kings, was another of the filmmakers, who had to face problems with distributing the film. Quite unexpectedly, he was allowed to finish filming, although Martial Law had already been imposed, which was probably the result of the film’s title which suggested a harmless fictional historic film, according to film director. Unfortunately, the pre-release screening of the film left no room for doubts. The film portrays a family, where its members have different attitudes towards, for example, Stalinist terror, which resulted in the five years the film spent on a shelf. Finally, it saw its première in 1987.
However, it was sometimes the case that a film would make it through both a shooting process and a pre-release screening. Then, it would hit cinemas and all of a sudden be withdrawn from general release. That was exactly the case with Dreszcze / Shivers by Wojciech Marczewski, which had its première on 23rd November 1981. It was in distribution for merely a month. This is a story about a young boy, who becomes fascinated with the communist regime at a camp organised by the Union of Polish Youth (ZMP), set just before a political thaw. It portrays a disturbing and very bitter conflict of attitudes. In the film, both the boy’s parents and communist propagandists are struggling to get hold of his soul.
In 1981, Krzysztof Kieślowski finished working on the film Przypadek / Blind Chance, which depicts changes in the life of Witek Długosz (an unforgettable performance by Bogusław Linda), depending on the choices he makes. The communist authorities decides to put the film on a shelf for as many as six years, although the director shied away from judging his protagonist for joining both the communist party and then deciding to participate in Solidarity movement, and never took any side. The reason? Showing the Solidarity circles on screen.
During the 18th edition of the Tofifest International Film Festival. Kujawy Pomorze Region, which takes place from 17th October to 25th October, this year, we will remind you of the prices filmmakers had to pay for making films about problems important to them.
Also in this section
- Idea
- Sections
- Awards
- Jury of 2023 On Air Competion
- Archive
