L'Europe autour de l'Europe > Jan Czarlewski > Martial Law – They Weren’t Left Alone

Martial Law – They Weren’t Left Alone / Stan wojenny. Nie byliśmy sami

by Jan Czarlewski

(Documentary, Poland, 2021, 58’, C, Fr ST)

December 13th, 1981 – General Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland to put an end to the revolt by “Solidarnosc” (Solidarity), the first and only free union in the Eastern Block. It was a genuine people’s movement that counted more than 10 million members in Poland, and that met their aspirations of freedom, social justice, and democracy. The coup d’état was supported by Moscow and created a veritable diplomatic uproar, mobilizing public opinion around the world to come to the aid of Poland.

Jan Czarlewski

Jan Czarlewski (1988) is a Franco-Polish director who works between Paris, Lausanne et Warsaw. He graduated from ECAL/the Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne in 2012. He likes to explore the off-beat and ironic, in both documentaries and fiction. His short subjects The Ambassador & Me and Stammering Love retrospectively won a Golden and Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. Between 2015 and 2016, he filmed a 50-minute documentary about a popular Polish polar adventurer who crossed Europe on foot from Russia to Santiago de Compostela. From 2017 to 2019, he worked on the most important documentary series based on historic archives made in Poland after 1989 – Polskie 100 lat (Polish 100 years). He was responsible for the screenplay and archival research, and he directed eight of the 42 thirty minute episodes.

Other movies: Events and Encounters

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Festival de films européens de Paris

Du 14 au 28 mars 2023

Martial Law – They Weren’t Left Alone / Stan wojenny. Nie byliśmy sami

Jan Czarlewski

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