Documentary - Solidarity According to Women - Watch Docs Poland

Hanna Baradzina (HB): So for now, I'm glad
to invite and to introduce to you

our guests, Zuzanna from Poland, and she
would be able to introduce ourselves

into the film and into the
context of the film a bit.

Also into the context of the Human Rights
Documentary Film Festival WatchDocs in Poland.

We had already some presentation of
representatives of this festival in Belarus.

It's the same festival
happening in different countries.

I probably wouldn't say much more because
Zuza is an expert for sure in that,

so Zuza, welcome to join.

Zuzanna Polynko (ZP): Thank you
for the presentation.

And thank you for inviting me.

And yeah, big thanks for Turbina Pomerania
for making it happen.

And it's a pleasure for me to be here.

Unfortunately online.

But hopefully I will have a chance
to enjoy again face to face interactions.

And we are here, as Hanka said,
because of the online screening

of a really unique Polish documentary,
which clearly shows us

that communism in Poland
wasn't overfought only by men,

and that women have an equally important
role in fighting for a free country.

But sadly, most of them were forgotten.

And the film we will see, it's called
"Solidarity According to Women",

and it's directed by two Polish directors,
Marta Dzido and Piotr Sliwowsky.

But before it, as Hanka said,
I would say a little bit about

the festival I'm working on,
WatchDocs Human Rights Film Festival.

All I need to change the slide.

That's our logotype.

With a dog.

And I'm also coordinating volunteers,
so I will also say a little bit about it.

And the film you will see soon
was also screened at our festival.

WatchDocs is a documentary festival,

one of the biggest human rights
film festivals in the world,

which annually gathers more than
100 000 viewers across Poland.

And I would switch to another slide.

That's the picture from last year.

We are in one of our venues.

And the festival was founded nearly
20 years ago by a Polish NGO

called Helsinki Foundation
for Human Rights,

which is one of the most experienced
European human rights NGOs

and has existed for more than 30 years.

We and the foundation
is nearly the same age.

And the main international edition of the
festival takes place in Warsaw every year,

in December, around the time of
International Human Rights Day,

and it lasts around eight days.

And we screen around 50 to 60 films
in several films sections.

You can see the names of
some of them on the slide.

We have some permanent sections and the
sections that are changing every year.

So the most important one
is the one from the competition.

And the film you will see today
was also screened in the competition section

and it was judged
by an international jury.

And we call our festival
the Festival of Film and Debate,

because since the very beginning,
WatchDocs has provided viewers

not only with films, but also with meetings
with the film makers and experts.

And I'll show you some pictures

from it.

That's that's what they're screaming about
Oleg Sentsov,

probably, you know him
as a political prisoner.

That's also the picture from
one of our venues.

And that's after one of the debates.

And we do it because we just want to talk
about various topics we have in our programme,

to give the commentary of the situation
in the world as well.

And we also have some
side-events, like Silent Disco.

This one was last year and it was
a rainbow silent disco

because we had a big section of movies
about LGBT rights to support them.

And that's why we also
did something like that.

That's the picture from
our 18th birthday.

And that was a concert.

And we also last year had even a play.

So it's not only about movies, but
also about other other things like that.

During this time of
International Team Festival

ee also provide a free of charge
online programme

on the territory of Poland,
for everyone who is not from Warsaw.

And now I will tell you a little bit
about our other initiative.

It's called Travelling Film Festival,
because we are also a platform

for various year-long activities,

such as Travelling Film Festival
and after the main Warswaw event

partners from all over Poland: NGOs,
universities, cinemas and other institutions

co-organise a Travelling Film Festival

which develops only thanks
to local grassroots initiatives.

And every year, we reach around
thirty cities or more.

That's the last year edition.

And you can see that the
red dots are the places

where we organised the festival.

And we also have a program called
WatchDocs Do It Yourself.

That's the logotype, it's in Polish.

It means do it yourself.

And anyone in Poland willing to organise

a free of charge screening
followed by a discussion

is granted screening rights
to select films.

So it's also a great thing, I think.

And the other thing is Future Docs.

We organize as well a platform
for creative encounters between

human rights defenders and filmmakers.

And we do it to inspire new
documentaries with a high social impact.

We also support, as Hanka before mentioned,
WatchDocs Belarus,

but it's not the same festival.

It's run by a local NGO "Zvieno"
in Belarus.

And we help them with the programme.

And we also cooperate with other
festivals and other partners as well.

And now I will tell you a
little bit about volunteering,

because this conference is also about it.

For us, volunteers are a really
crucial part of the festival,

because without them, we really wouldn't
be able to organise anything.

And due to the nature of our event,
we may only have short-term volunteers.

And every year during the
Warsaw based edition,

we have approximately 100 volunteers.

And the next slide is like that.

That were our volunteers
from the previous editions.

And we try to recruit volunteers,

we try to create the most diverse
group of volunteers

among other, in terms of age
of the participants.

We try to recruit people who
are 18 years old or older.

So our oldest volunteer was

more than 70 years old.

We are also happy to accept
people without any volunteer experience.

So they can have their
first experience with our festival

I will switch.

And the volunteers from previous editions
sometimes cooperate with us for years,

and we're really happy for that.

And we always treat them as partners,

with respect and high sensitivity
to their safety.

And every year after the festival, we
organise for them a really big meeting

with everyone to evaluate the festival.

and their experience during this time.

And we treat them as our experts because
they are all the time everywhere,

in all of the venues.

So they know really the most
about the festival.

So. That would be
the end about volunteering.

That's another picture
from the volunteers.

And that's our website,

if you would like to have a look

or if you are interested in
something in particular,

you can check it on our website.

But we are here today
because of the film.

I see Hanka is joining

but I didn't finish yet.

HB: No, it doesn't mean
that you need to finish.

I just wanted to show that.

I'm also a volunteer of WatchDocs.

Yeah, that's working.

ZP: Oh. You have a T-shirt!

When was that? I think that
was two years ago.

HB: Maybe two years ago because
I was translating subtitles for films

for several years.

ZP: In Warsaw?

HB: No, but I think the Belarusian team
got these T-shirts from Warsaw.

ZP: That's so cool! Thanks!

And right now, I will come back
for a minute to the reason we're here.

Because I really want
to invite you to watch

a really important, interesting film,

full of great archives.

And I think for many,

and for me as well,

it was an eye-opener which reveals
the female face of Solidarity movement,

which is and was a Polish
non-governmental trade union,

which became the first independent
labour union in a Soviet block country

and greatly contributed to
the fall of communism.

If I still have a minute, I would
like to add that you will see in the movie

a segment about a semi-free election,
which was organised nearly exactly

thirty years ago
on the 4th of June in 1989.

And that is the symbolic date of the end
of the communism in Poland

and the beginning as well,
of a really longand difficult journey

to build a country of law, where
the citizens' rights and freedom are respected,

where there is independent court,
independent NGOs and free media.

But however, if you follow the news
and what is happening

in Poland at the moment.

This process was interrupted a few years ago
by devastation of the rule of law.

And I hope that everything will start to
come back through to the track soon.

That is not included in the movie.

But I think that is a wider perspective
of what you can learn

about Polish history.

So I would really invite you to watch
the movie

and I hope that you will like it, because
it's a really important part of our history.

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Stay safe.

Hopefully with see each other some day,
not through the Internet.

Thank you.

HB: Thank you for being with us.

I think WatchDocs is a really
great project and a really good example.

I don't know if you have
similar festivals in your communities.

I know about Czech Republic.

There's also this huge festival which is
called Jeden Svet or One World,

which is also yearly with lots
of workshops and different programmes.

And it's a great thing to do.

I also volunteered myself by
translating subtitles for different films.

It's fun. And now,

coming close to the film,

I think you are already excited
after all the introductions.

And I first will share with you
a short video, an introduction

the filmmakers recorded especially for us.

They did it in German language, but I
will post now what they're saying,

the translation in English so that you will
understand or learn also some German

what they're saying in the introduction.

Marta Dzido, Piotr Sliwowsky:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are exceptionally glad

that at such a special occasion

we can present our documentary film
"Solidarity According to Women".

This film is the result of our
three-year working process

and months-long research.

In the film we are telling the story

of extraordinary and courageous women

who contributed crucially
to the revolution of the Solidarność.

A revolution that has changed Poland.

And that led to a change
in Eastern Europe.

We thank you for taking the time

and that you want to watch our film.

Many thanks.

HB: I will start sharing it
and happy watching!