Warszawa 1956

At the end of the fifties and the beginning of the sixties the Polish documentary film marked the birth of the so-called 'Black Series'. For the first time films appeared which were showing the failures of the system, the gap between the noble ideals and the real situation society was in. A classical example of a 'black film' is this Warszawa 56, about the living conditions in a city that has been destroyed by the war. People live in ramshackle buildings, children play among the ruins of houses. The film is a display of documentary filmmaking which is very different from the style that was applied before 1956. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)