Great Wall of Poland
This film is an expression of anxiety about living in a restricted space. High walls with musty air inside - it is easy to suffocate in an airtight container. The more the wall protects me, the more I feel trapped. Surrounded from the inside.
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Aga JarząbDirector
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Pedra FerroMusic
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Maciek BączykSound editor
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Project Type:Animation, Experimental, Short
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Runtime:2 minutes 50 seconds
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Completion Date:December 22, 2021
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Production Budget:500 EUR
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Country of Origin:Poland
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Country of Filming:Poland
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Shooting Format:16 mm
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Aspect Ratio:4:3
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Film Color:Black & White
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Aga Jarząb is a filmmaker, animator and graphic designer, born in Wrocław, Poland in 1977. She lives and works in her native city. Graduated from the Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław with Master’s in Fine Arts, she started working there as a lecturer and researcher. In 2017 she received a PhD degree in the field of art and has continued teaching at the Media Art Department.
She started her art experience as a printmaker but finally found her art expression in animation. She concentrates on animated films in traditional techniques like drawing, cut-out or direct filmmaking. Her filmography mainly contains abstract, experimental shorts. Since 2014 she has been working with Maciek Baczyk in a duo kinoMANUAL. Together they create films and performances, which are shown at many animation festivals all around the world.
As a graphic designer and animator, Aga Jarząb cooperates with many cultural institutions in Poland, such as museums, art fairs and film festivals. Two of her films from the “Jarząb Sisters” are included into the DVD anthology “Action – animation” published by NInA Polish National Film Institute.
Building defensive walls has a centuries-old tradition, as long and colorful as their effective forcing. Perhaps the barbed wire fence on the Polish-Belarusian border will stop the onrush of refugees, helpless, unprotected, desperate people played unwated role in a geopolitical game. However, in the long run, the inevitable will happen anyway.
Even if we consider refugees as a threat, the wall can’t protect us from them. Much more serious and real dangers are hiding behind it. Viruses easily jump through the highest entanglements and cause an epidemic. Cyber viruses infect computer networks and disrupt work and communication. Our relations and social behavior are moderated by large corporations whose capital allows us to buy any dam. As if that were not enough, no fence or bell-glass will protect us from a climate catastrophe.
All of this scare me more than refugees.
Building walls along lines on the map is the perfect way to do politics by managing fears. That is why the fairy tale about the Great Defensive Wall On The Border is still told and still eagerly listened to.