Commemorating 79th Anniversary of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
Free screenings of the film “Kartka z Powstania” (“Warsaw Rising”) will take place at Norblin Factory on Tuesday, 1 August on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. It is the first fictionalised historical film made in virtual reality (VR) in Poland, winner of many domestic and international awards. Three screenings are scheduled on the anniversary but the film can be viewed until early October, throughout the 63 days of the Warsaw Uprising.
79 years ago, Żelazna was one of the streets of Warsaw where insurgents fought at numerous barricades for life, liberty, and the future of the city. During the war, the factory continued to produce semi-finished products (metal sheets, pipes, rods, shapers, wires) but also worked for the German army. However, the military underground was active here, and Stanisław Werner took part in the fighting in the district of Żoliborz. During the Warsaw Uprising, there was fierce fighting around Norblin Factory. Soldiers of the Chrobry II Battalion fought here. The streets were blocked with barricades built by the local residents. There were countless attacks of heavy artillery and bombers. Żelazna Street was demolished, and only nine of the factory buildings survived. The symbol that reminds visitors to Norblin Factory of the tragic events of 1944 is the Fighting Poland sign on the western wall of the Mechanical Laboratory hall (now the wall of the Paradiso restaurant). However, the sign does not date back to World War II. It was most likely painted by a Warsaw insurgent almost 40 years after the war, for the exhibition “63 Days of the Warsaw Uprising”, also known as “Warsaw Fights 1944”, organised by community activists and held between 1 August and 31 November 1982 at Norblin Factory.
This year, to commemorate the historic events and pay tribute to their participants, Norblin Factory will hold screenings of the film “Kartka z Powstania” (“Warsaw Rising”). VR technology will take viewers to the streets of fighting Warsaw and make them feel as one of the insurgents. Three screenings of the film will take place in the Teodor Werner Passage between 3 p.m. and 4.40 p.m. on Tuesday, 1 August. If you are not in Warsaw that day, you can view the film from 2 August, every Wednesday to Friday between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Groups of more than 10 people are required to register at grupy@arteetmarte.org.
“Kartka z Powstania” is the first feature film in Poland and one of the first films globally made with VR technology. It lasts about 15 minutes. It took more than 2 years to produce. It is a narrative in three parts, inspired by the true story of one of the Insurgents, Captain Władysław Sieroszewski “Sabała”. As he was leaving to join the Uprising in August 1944, the soldier received a card with a prayer from his daughter. He did not know at the time how the card would influence his future.
The VR technology of the project provides the experience of a virtual space here and now. The combination of stereoscopy, an imaging technique that conveys the impression of binocular perception of depth and distance, and ambisonics gives the sensation of being submerged in the image. With special goggles, VR tricks the human senses to take viewers to another reality and lets them embody a role.
Tomasz Dobosz’s film had its world premiere in 2018. It stars Tomasz Ziętek, Mirosław Haniszewski, and Agata Różycka. The short won a total of 11 awards in Poland and internationally, including Best Virtual Reality at the Los Angeles Film Awards and Best Polish VR Feature at the 24th Cinergia European Cinema Forum.
The organisers of the event are Arte et Marte Foundation and VR Heroes studio, with Norblin Factory as strategic partner.
