- Occupation
Director - Country
Poland
Solakiewicz Zuzanna
So it goes
Remote village, twenty families, a lake, a dirt road, and destroyed buildings of an ex–State Agriculture Company. Specter of a soldier wanders near around. Other ghosts do not hesitate to reveal their presence in the neighborhood as well. The old women tell the stories about them while the youngsters still enjoy calling - up the ghosts. It is as if the senses are more open in the emptiness of the village.
Remote village, twenty families, a lake, a dirt road, and destroyed buildings of an ex–State Agriculture Company. Specter of a soldier wanders near around. Other ghosts do not hesitate to reveal their presence in the neighborhood as well. The old women tell the stories about them while the youngsters still enjoy calling - up the ghosts. It is as if the senses are more open in the emptiness of the village.
Yorzeit
At first you perceive him as an icon: Meir Moskovitch, about sixty years old orthodox Jew – with a long beard, black silk coat and yarmulke; he reminds a patriarch who has just escaped from a Bible. When Meir enters small Polish town Gorlice you have no doubts – this is a man who came here to visit his hometown. You are not the only one, who thinks so. The old inhabitants of the town turn to him in Polish asking if he was born here, and on what street his parents used to live. And you might think - this is another story about painful roots and Holocaust - well to some point yes, no one can avoid it, but this story is told from totally different perspective. Because Meir does not have any childhood memories of this particular Polish town, his family comes from Romania and Hungry and he does not speak Polish at all. So what does he looks for in Gorlice? What is this travel for? The answer is simple and here begins the story – Meir looks for holiness. But if you would ask me – is this town famous because of any holy place that Hasidim (orthodox Jews) visit, I would have to answer – no, Gorlice are completely forgotten town for Judaism. Everything what you can find on the destroyed Jewish cemetery are graves of three holy masters – Tzaddikim that nearly no one ever heard about them. The grave itself is a small, ugly building. And when sporadically some other Hasidim come to pray here (when Meir ask them to do so) Meir has to explain everything from the scratch about this virtuous men who are buried here. But Meir has come here every year for more than 20 years, he has brought his children and his friend, he plans to build a new beautiful building instead of existing one, he meets the Mayor of the city applies for European Union’s funds and he manages to convince more and more people that that’s unique place worth visiting worth prayer the place where you can touch holiness. What is absolutely fascinating about Meir is that he creates a “history” having such a poor visible evidence Meir being inspired by his inner faith and idealistic world sees Gorlice as a place of miracles and his every year journey is for him profound religious experience which feeds him with power to live his every day life in Israel. His joy of life helps him to eradicate painful and cruel reality.
At first you perceive him as an icon: Meir Moskovitch, about sixty years old orthodox Jew – with a long beard, black silk coat and yarmulke; he reminds a patriarch who has just escaped from a Bible. When Meir enters small Polish town Gorlice you have no doubts – this is a man who came here to visit his hometown. You are not the only one, who thinks so. The old inhabitants of the town turn to him in Polish asking if he was born here, and on what street his parents used to live. And you might think - this is another story about painful roots and Holocaust - well to some point yes, no one can avoid it, but this story is told from totally different perspective. Because Meir does not have any childhood memories of this particular Polish town, his family comes from Romania and Hungry and he does not speak Polish at all. So what does he looks for in Gorlice? What is this travel for? The answer is simple and here begins the story – Meir looks for holiness. But if you would ask me – is this town famous because of any holy place that Hasidim (orthodox Jews) visit, I would have to answer – no, Gorlice are completely forgotten town for Judaism. Everything what you can find on the destroyed Jewish cemetery are graves of three holy masters – Tzaddikim that nearly no one ever heard about them. The grave itself is a small, ugly building. And when sporadically some other Hasidim come to pray here (when Meir ask them to do so) Meir has to explain everything from the scratch about this virtuous men who are buried here. But Meir has come here every year for more than 20 years, he has brought his children and his friend, he plans to build a new beautiful building instead of existing one, he meets the Mayor of the city applies for European Union’s funds and he manages to convince more and more people that that’s unique place worth visiting worth prayer the place where you can touch holiness. What is absolutely fascinating about Meir is that he creates a “history” having such a poor visible evidence Meir being inspired by his inner faith and idealistic world sees Gorlice as a place of miracles and his every year journey is for him profound religious experience which feeds him with power to live his every day life in Israel. His joy of life helps him to eradicate painful and cruel reality.
ZUZANNA SOLAKIEWICZ (b. 1978) is a writer and director based in Warsaw. She graduated from the History Dept. University of Warsaw. 2005- 2009 she was living in Israel where since 2008 she studied in Sam Spiegel Film and TV school in Jerusalem, than she has continued the education in Lodz Film School. Her award winning short stories and essays can be found in various publications. She acted, photographed, and designed sets for several film productions. Currently she lives in Warsaw, Poland. She is working on two full length creative documentaries Yorzeit on Hasidic pilgrimages to Poland and The Scissors on the music of Experimental Studio of Polish Radio. Her directing credits include a popular, cutting-edge play for children Krowa Andzelajna and a documentary Tak to jest (So it goes).
Projects:
Tak, to jest (So, it goes) 12 min, Poland 2010;
Kabaret Polska (Cabaret Polska) by Zuzanna Solakiewicz and Nir David Zats 49 min, Poland/Israel 2008;
A Japanese Dreams, by Nir David Zats, 8 min, Israel 2008;
Ja, Tadek (My wooden Dog) by Natalia Surmiak, 24 min, Poland 2004;
„Yorzeit”;
“Scissors”;
„And there was love in the ghetto”;
Published essays and stories:
„Bajka o pewnej podróży” (Tale about a journey), 2008.
„Niedźwiedź” (The Bear) – 2005/2006.
„Szelest fasoli” (The Rustle of Beans), 2005