A Chronicle of Memorial Rites

A Chronicle of Memorial Rites

70' 2024
dir.: Robert Kowalski

The Smolensk monthly memorials—from pompous power rituals to tragicomic grotesque.

For eight years, Robert Kowalski documented the Smolensk monthlies, a series of gatherings that unexpectedly became direct encounters between the nation’s top politicians and its citizens. These wreath layings and street prayers, organized by authorities, were secured by snipers, anti-terrorist units, the State Protection Service, and mounted police. Opposing Jarosław Kaczyński were loosely organized small groups or even individuals acting alone. While the plane crash was, on one level, a human tragedy, these displays evolved into a form of alternate-reality political marketing. Over time, the nature of the ceremonies shifted—from solemn rituals aimed at consolidating power to grotesque displays of convulsions after that power was lost. 

Tickets and passes
70' 2024 Poland
Director
Robert Kowalski
Cinematography
Paweł Sierpiński, Kacper Walczak, Franciszka Lewandowska, Paweł Łysakiewicz, Grzegorz Biega, Marta Stysiak, Rafał Żwan, Michał Zińczuk, Robert Kowalski
Editing
Paweł Deliś, Kacper Walczak, Franciszka Lewandowska, Andrzej Dzierżawski, Adam Witkowski, Rafał Bryll
Production
OKO.press, Robert Kowalski
Screenings