Shades of Red
A film programme

A presentation of films dealing with leftist involvement of artists in Poland in the context of changing political systems and social models.

The departure point for afterthoughts is a document about the activity of Zofia Kulik and Przemysław Kwiek, that is, KwieKulik duo that was functional at the beginning of Edward Gierek’s [The First Secretary of the Communist party] decade in office. Their actions went beyond the alternative: either a cynical cooperation with the system or thoughtlessly joining the community. They chose to create politically engaged art: socialist in its core but making the Communist authorities feel uncomfortable.
We could recognize Krytyka Polityczna as the late heirs of this attitude, as their activity is stretched between the faith in actual change and the awareness of utopianism of plenty of their propositions.