To See Independence

A blind man – Wojtek – for the first time in his life, participates in the nationalist march celebrating Independence Day, in Poland. On his journey, he meets various participants of the march. He wants to experience it firsthand, and get a sense of what independence feels like. Wojtek comes to his own conclusions, and - despite his total loss of vision - sees things others often fail to notice.

-----

In the last few years, Independence Day - instead of uniting - divides Polish society. If you want to walk through the streets and celebrate the 11th of November, you need to make a choice: which march will you participate in?

The most controversial one is the march organized by the “March of Independence” association. Few years ago, clashes occurred between the police and some of its participants. Every year the event is full of flares, smoke and people in face masks. Because of that, a huge part of Polish society calls it the march of xenophobes, fascists, or hooligans.

„Sight is the king of senses. (…) It is the main analyzer in cognitive processes. Every day, sight is attacked by millions of stimuli, from among which the brain chooses the most interesting ones.” – source: Polish Blind Association.

However, don’t we trust it too much?

The nationalists claim that they are provoked by left-wing demonstrations, and that the media coverage from the march is manipulated. In their opinion it is an absolutely safe and peaceful march of real patriots, who want to pay tribute to tradition. It is a very important part of “building national community” and “showing the great value of Catholic faith in society”.

Let’s set aside the image, and focus on feelings.

“To See Independence” shows the nationalist march of 11.11.2019, from inside. The participants try to present their opinions and views as precisely as possible, so that they’re well understood by the blind character. Wojtek strips the march of everything you can see. In the crowd of thousands of countrymen, will he be able to feel Poland’s independence?