The polonaise from the film Pan Tadeusz directed by Andrzej Wajda as a choreographic work protected by copyright

Choreographic work was the object of copyright protection under the Berne Convention, as revised at Berlin in 1908, as well as under the historical Polish copyright legislations — the 1926 Act (as an original, “not based on any existing work of art” work of “rhythmic art (choreography)”) and the 1952 Act (as a “work of choreographic art” preserved in “scenarios, drawings or photographs”). It was also included, as a “choreographic work”, in the exemplary catalogue of works protected under the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights (“the Copyright Act”), currently in force. The purpose of this paper, due to limited framework, is to analyse some basic concepts related to the conditions that a movement composition shall meet in order to qualify as a choreographic work in the meaning of the Copyright Act. It is shown based on the polonaise from the film Pan Tadeusz, directed by Andrzej Wajda. This choice allows to introduce threads related to folklore as well as the use of unprotected pieces of the public domain in choreographies into the discussion. Moreover, the article briefly presents the correlation between choreographic work and other intellectual works — literary, musical, and audiovisual.

Cinema, história, memória e verdade: found footage e apropriação em Wajda

Este artigo discute a apropriação de arquivos de filmes e vídeos footage para propostas representacionais de fundo histórico no cinema, através de alguns trabalhos do cineasta Andrzej Wajda (Trilogia da guerra 1954-1958, Homem de mármore 1976 e Katyn 2007). Embora a relação dos estudos históricos com as imagens tenha sido sempre questionada pelos pesquisadores da área, ao longo do século XX a utilização da fotografia, do cinema e do vídeo, em geral, foi cada vez mais incorporada e ampliada ao campo histórico. Wajda foi um cineasta que, por seu viés nacionalista, teve aproximação marcante com o gênero histórico, adotando, desde sua estreia, imagens de arquivos fílmicos (footage) mescladas ao ficcional. Contudo, a apropriação dos footage por Wajda não se limitou, como era comum aos anos 1930, a um caráter puramente documental ou ilustrativo, mas tornou-se, a exemplo de outros artistas, um recurso criativo e crítico. Assim, nas obras aqui examinadas – Trilogia da guerra (Geração, Canal e Cinzas e diamantes), Homem de mármore e, mais enfaticamente, Katyn –, é possível atestar como o recurso ao footage não apenas fornece outros significados à história oficial, mas engendra uma meta-história, tanto da história oficial como das formas canônicas de se buscar a memória e a história. Tomando o conceito de “efeito de arquivo”, elaborado por Jamie Baron (2012, 2014), esta análise busca, ainda, destacar o papel determinante da recepção no estabelecimento dos sentidos de “documento” e dos elementos considerados “ficcionais” no uso dos arquivos de imagens.

Compulsive collectors

Oscar-winning film director Andrzej Wajda (1929–2016) was an avid collector of all information relating to himself and his film-making. In 1978 he made a documentary film about a fellow collector, Ludwig Zimmerer (1924–1987), who accumulated thousands of paintings and objects of Polish folk art. This article tells the stories of these two men and their collections. I suggest that an investigation into the lives and times of Wajda and Zimmerer can shed new light on the psychological processes that inform collecting. Rather than dismissing the compulsion to collect as a product of neurosis, as some previous interpretations have done, I argue here that we should read it as a productive and compensatory method for curing addictions.

Zapomniane zwycięstwo 4 czerwca — o mitologii politycznej filmu „Psy” Władysława Pasikowskiego

Forgotten victory of 4 June: about the political mythology of the movie Dogs by Władysław PasikowskiThe article analyzes the victorious election of Solidarity on 4 June 1989. Władysław Pasikowski, a young Polish director, has shown in the movie Dogs 1992 a metaphor of the 4 June victory, which is analyzed in this article. Other issues from the movie are not presented, neither is the contemporary political situation. Only the contemporary context of the movie is presented. The movie Dogs shows a wide political and cultural background of a political change, probably because Pasikowski is a cultural anthropologist, not only a director. The article consists of three parts. In the first part of the article I present a concept of mythology by Roland Barthes in my own interpretation; I named my interpretation a political mythology. In the second part of the text I explain the phrase “forgotten victory” and discuss the political context “forgetfulness”. In the last part of the article I analyze the movie Dogs. Pasikowski presented a story of a police officer and his community political police during transformation in Poland. Pasikowski showed in the film the last days of the People’s Poland, her moral and political downfall. This film gave rise to many voices and commentaries, both positive and disapproving. The film was recognized by victims fighting about liberty as hurtful. Especially, a scene in a policemen canteen was recognized as derogatory. In a few scenes of the movie Pasikowski described the elite of People’s Poland. Pasikowski told a story about the last days of People’s Poland in the context of a crime. Since the movie Dogs, Pasikowski has debated with the Polish Film School and at the same time he has carried on with moral issues of the Polish Film School. He said and showed where the winners of Maciek Chełmicki, the protagonist of the film Popiół i diament Ashes and Diamonds of Andrzej Wajda director and Jerzy Andrzejewski writer, are now. Moreover, Pasikowski has discussed in films with Polish right-wing parties and right-wing journalists about the beginning of the Third Republic of Poland.

Guerra Fría y Cine

El artículo trata sobre las relaciones entre dos temas como la Guerra Fría y el cine. Se abordan cuestiones como la historia de las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética, la “caza de brujas” en Hollywood, la evolución en la representación de los comunistas en la pantalla: desde las películas prosoviéticas de la Segunda Guerra Mundial a la percepción del peligro nuclear y militar del antiguo aliado.Destacan en este artículo los capítulos dedicados a personajes como el cineasta Oliver Stone y su obra, el escritor y guionista Graham Greene, el nuevo cine polaco y la figura de Andrzej Wajda, las ciudades (Moscú, Berlín, Praga…) y su plasmación en las películas de la época, los espías y su mundo, la URSS y la Guerra Fría. También se aborda la relación entre la España franquista y el cine de la época, con el comienzo de las grandes superproducciones y la llegada de Ava Gardner y Frank Sinatra a la Península Ibérica, la imagen de los norteamericanos en Bienvenido, Mister Marshall.

La visión de la participación polaca en los Sitios de Zaragoza (1808-1809) en Cenizas de Stefan Żeromski y Andrzej Wajda

En Polonia, el conocimiento de la participación de los legionarios de la Legión del Vístula y de los lanceros del Vístula en los Sitios de Zaragoza proviene principalmente de la literatura y el cine. Las primeras obras proceden del género novelístico. La falta de un estudio histórico riguroso propició que estos trabajos se alzasen como portadores auténticos de los hechos allí narrados, cuando, en realidad, eran interpretaciones creadas por la pluma del escritor de turno. De esta manera se fueron forjando mitos que han perdurado hasta la actualidad. Una de estas leyendas salió de la imaginación de Stefan Żeromski, quien, a partir de un texto anónimo, inventó una escena que ha sido motivo de remordimiento para generaciones de polacos: el suicidio de una religiosa al verse ante el inminente peligro de ser violada por la soldadesca en un convento de Zaragoza. Andrzej Wajda recogió ese pasaje plasmándolo en una escena de su película. Nosotros hemos demostrado que el texto inspirador de Żeromski, y, por ende, de Wajda, es apócrifo, probablemente por la propaganda zarista con el fin de ensuciar acciones polacas en las guerras napoleónicas, cuando los polacos volvieron a ser libres en tiempos del Ducado de Varsovia de la mano de Napoleón I Bonaparte. Con este artículo, demostramos la necesidad de volver a interpretar las fuentes originales, para desterrar mitos creadores de errores con fines políticos claros.

O trudności ekranizacji. Andrzej Wajda i „Jądro ciemności”

The difficulty of film adaptation. Andrzej Wajda and Heart of DarknessThe purpose of the article is to characterize and analyze the possible shape of a film adaptation of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which Andrzej Wajda never accomplished. Through using archival materials, notes, letters, scripts and screenplays the author of the article reconstructs the creative work of the director on the idea of the movie and the issues which eventually prevented a finalization of this project. The article refers not only to Wajda’s unrealized film, but also to Conrad themes present in the director’s creations.

Sylwester Chęciński w labiryncie decyzji produkcyjnych filmu o Szarych Szeregach

Sylwester Chęciński in the maze of film production decisions about the Szare SzeregiThe author describes press reports on the preparations of Sylwester Chęciński for the film about scouts from Szare Szeregi. The scenario was based on a bestseller written by Aleksander Kamiński entitled Kamienie na szaniec Stones for the earthwork. Although the press assured that Sylwester Chęciński had already started working, the film was produced only eight years later, and the director was Jan Łomnicki. An interesting topic of these considerations are personal relationships. Andrzej Wajda was working on the screenplay for Kaminski’s book with Valentin Jeżow. In turn, the movie Agnieszka 46, directed by Sylwester Chęciński, was severely attacked by Zbigniew Załuski. Valentin Jeżow and Zbigniew Załuski became screenwriters for the film Legenda Legend directed by Sylwester Chęciński. It is not clear from the press notes whether Sylwester Chęciński stopped the preparations for the film about the Szare Szeregi for this cooperation or was forced to abandon them for the Polish-Soviet co-production.

Non-accidental presence. The reception of Krzysztof Kieślowski in Russia

Krzysztof Kieślowski is a cult figure among Russian moviegoers, but “proving” this is not as easy as in the case of the popularity of other Polish classic names in Russia, such as Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Zanussi. Placing Kieślowski on the list of Polish filmmakers who have influenced Russian culture in this or some other way is a not obvious move. The article is an attempt at exposing the reader to the presence of the director’s films in Russia through the history of the distribution of his films, an analysis of reviews by Russian authors and texts in which Kieślowski’s name appears. It also discusses references to his films in works by other filmmakers. It is complemented by the statements of two Russian directors who talk about the importance of Kieślowski in their work and academic practice.