09/05/1982 & Passion According to Agnieszka

Programme

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  09/05/1982

  Signs of turmoil linger on walls and windshields in the grainy footage revisited in 09/05/1982. A recurring slogan, Matanza del 9 de mayo (Massacre of 9 May), is graffitied on multiple buildings. Shots of bullet holes, crowds in the streets, and burning barricades made of car tyres evoke a bloody street clash somewhere in Latin America in the early 80s. An authoritative voice looking back on the events confirms that suggestion. It defends the government's crackdown on protests by Leftist groups, who sought to destabilise, and claims that strong decisions were needed to restore calm. The rhetoric sounds familiar, claiming to explain the course of events while obfuscating essential facts. The recovered footage, seemingly countering the official narrative, is damaged and fragmentary. Rather than argue a thesis, this film builds an intrigue that unfolds in time, asking who speaks through images and how we come to believe them – until the evidence itself demands a second look.

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  Passion According to Agnieszka

  They say films are made in the editing room, which is why the influence of the editor should never be underestimated. This is certainly true of Polish editor Agnieszka Bojanowska (1932-2019), who left her mark on more than 350 documentaries, feature films, animated works, and experimental projects. She is best remembered, however, for her close collaboration with Bogdan Dziworski, whose award-winning films she helped raise to new heights.
  
  We see the pair in action in Bojanowska's basement editing room, seated behind screens in the half-darkness. Her critical assessments of the material keep Dziworski constantly on his toes: she expects his work to surprise her every single day. If he fails, it's rubbish. If he succeeds and she offers a rare compliment, he's as happy as a child. Bojanowska is elderly and frail, and they both know this is likely to be their last project together. On her deathbed, she describes their collaboration as a passion for watching – a process that goes way beyond merely documenting the world.