Today’s show: The Struggles for Poland

January 13, 2010 — Polska! Year

Clear Spot – The Struggles for Poland

Russian propaganda poster regarding Polish prosperity in the 1950s

To coincide with a series of screenings at the Imperial War Museum, London, Alex Fitch talks to the creators of the Channel Four TV series ‘The Struggles for Poland’, originally broadcast on Channel Four in 1987. The series comprises 9 hour long episodes, each roughly covering a two decades of life in Poland during the 20th Century, with a couple focusing on religion in Poland over a longer period, and three focusing on the Second World War. ‘The Struggles for Poland’ was an epic undertaking involving interviews with many Politicians, Social commentators, Holocaust Survivors and members of the general population, accompanied by rare archive footage.
Alex talks to Executive Producer Martin Smith, Oscar nominated actress Susannah York, who narrated the series and Raye Farr, the producer of episode 3, now the director of the Film and Video Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, about their experiences of working on the series and the political and cultural landscape of the time.

‘The Struggles for Poland’ screens at the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ on January 16th (Episodes 1-4), 17th (Episodes 5-8) and 23rd (Episodes 3-5 & 9) as part of Polska! Year.

8pm, Wednesday 13th January, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast soon after transmission at www.iwm.org.uk/podcast

Links: Film at Imperial War Museum London – download a pdf of the cinema schedule
Information about Polska! Year
IMDb pages on The Struggles for Poland, Martin Smith, Raye Farr and Susannah York
Info about United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive

Listen to Alex’s interviews with Polish artists Andrzej Klimowski and Danusia Schejbal about their work and with Polish teacher Kinga about her experiences fleeing communist Poland as a child

Recommended events

Suspiria at Shortwave

Sasquatch Cinema is a monthly film night held at the new Shortwave cinema in 10 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN (Tel: 0207 357 6845); nearest tube Borough (Northern line) / Tower Hill (DLR)…

We will be showing an eclectic range of films including cult classics and rarities you may not have seen before. Our next film is Suspiria (1977, 18 cert.) 94m, Director: Dario Argento

A brand new high definition transfer of Dario Argento’s horror classic Suspiria. Suspiria is Argento’s undisputed masterpiece of Grand Guignol horror, hitting new peaks of terror through its stunning photography (courtesy of Luciano Tovoli), eye-popping production design and terrifying atmosphere of dread and death.

Friday 15th January 11pm, Shortwave cinema, 10 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN

The cinema has a bar, and you can even bring your drinks in and watch the film!
The entry fee is £6.00. (£5 cons) Tickets can be bought in advance by phoning 0207 357 6845. Tickets will also be sold on the night on a first come – first served basis. Email: gabzucc [at] yahoo.com for more info.