Film program accompanying the exhibition “Edward Dwurnik: Pride and Shame”

The film program accompanying the exhibition “Edward Dwurnik: Pride and Shame” explores the experience of social advancement, class transitions, and their emotional consequences. The three films—the British “This Sporting Life” (1963) by Lindsay Anderson, “The Dancing Hawk” (1977) by Grzegorz Królikiewicz, and the Romanian film “12:08 East of Bucharest” (2006) by Corneliu Porumboiu—were made in different countries and at different historical moments, but they share a focus on individuals caught up in rapid social change.

The protagonists of these films attempt to transcend the boundaries defined by their background, class, or place in the social hierarchy. However, social advancement turns out to be not only a path to a better life, but also a source of tension, a sense of alienation, and the necessity of confronting one’s own past. In *This Sporting Life*, the journey from the mines to the pinnacle of sports does not bring the expected fulfillment; *Dancing Hawk* tells the story of a son from a peasant family who tries at all costs to become part of the urban world; and “12:08 East of Bucharest” examines a society that, following a political revolution, discovers that a change in the system does not necessarily mean a change in everyday life.

Three perspectives on ambition, aspirations, memory, and the need for recognition form the cinematic context for the questions raised by the exhibition: the price of social advancement, one’s relationship to one’s roots, and the emotions that accompany a change in social status.