Directed by: Aleksandra Fudala Barańska
For its creators, the amateur cinema of the 1950s was an escape from everyday life in post-war, socialist Poland. The first Amateur Film Club in Poland was established in 1949 in Katowice. A few years later, such clubs operated in almost every large city. Film – amateurs, contrary to what one might expect, did not only prepare reports from May Day parades, party meetings or records in coal mining. They recorded the surrounding reality, often creating mini-plots according to their own scripts. The quality of amateur films from Silesia is proven by the numerous awards the club won at international festivals in Italy, Switzerland and France, outclassing filmmakers from several European countries. Due to international trips, the amateurs were subject to special surveillance by the omnipresent security services. At the end of the 1950s, the filmmakers from AKF Śląsk found their way to the emerging Polish television, playing the role of not only cinematographers but also television directors.