Universam Grochów

Poland2018documentary39'Konkurs polski (2018)

The starting point of this humorous and bitter story about the changing landscape of Warsaw is the dismantling of the famous department store, Universam. The film shows history, which, when removed, leaves emptiness, in particular for seniors, unable to find themselves in the modern metropolis. Wiesław, a loyal long-time employee of “Społem”, introduces the viewers to the reality of work at the company. The attitude to work as well as its economic model make Universam a living museum and, at the same time, a phenomenon spanning both urban planning and sociology.

directed by
Tomasz Knittel, portret reżysera
Tomasz Knittel

Director of short films, PR spots, music videos and social campaigns. He is a fan of musical films and an author of documentaries devoted to the subject, including “From Podserednieje with Love” (2015), “Good Evening, Opole!” (2014) and “Polska – Path of Dance” (2016). He has developed “Elektro_sonda” (2016), a production escaping traditional genre divisions. His film “Universam Grochów” has been awarded at many festivals (58th Krakow Film Festival, Grand Prix of Kameralne Lato 2018). He is also an author of a documentary series about the role of tower block estates in Polish culture formation, “BLOK”.

cinematography
Kamil Hasiuk
script
Tomasz Knittel
animated by
Szymon Tomiło
music
José Manuel Albán Juárez
editing
Arek Iwaniuk
production
Tomasz Knittel, Tomasz Kronenberg (Striktfilm)
Photo
Kadr z filmu Universam Grochów
Trailer