#33 Beats of Freedom

"Beats of Freedom (or How to Overthrow a Totalitarian Regime with the Use of a Homemade Amplifier)" is a captivating film about the birth of rock music in Poland. Colourful memories of the greatest musicians and their surprising confessions make this film truly memorable. Give in to the hard sound and fascinating uncensored stories. Open your eyes and listen how Polish rock made history.

In the times when life in Poland was controlled by the communist regime, music became an extremely powerful phenomenon. The Iron Curtain could not stop rock music, thanks to which young people could find their space of freedom. From the very beginning, Polish rock stood in opposition to the reality it met with. The songs broke stereotypes and formed bonds among people. One particular freedom enclave was the festival in Jarocin, colourfully shown in the film thanks to previously unpublished archival materials.

The film stars: Marek Niedzwiecki, Krzysztof Skiba, Jurek Owsiak, Kazik Staszewski (Kult), Muniek Staszczyk (T.Love), Kora Jackowska (Maanam), Tomek Lipinski (Tilt and Brygada Kryzys), Krzysztof Grabowski (Dezerter) and many more.

Rock was one of the most important things that shaped me. Now it has become an important element of my life. I wanted this film to be my tribute to the people who had impact on my perception of the world and to remind the next generations what this music used to be and what, I hope, it will be in the future, comments Leszek Gnoinski, director of the film.

"Beats of Freedom" is truly astonishing. It is an unforgettable music journey, which was made possible thanks to unique, often shocking recordings from the last 50 years.

Reality at that time made the music extremely powerful, but when the Martial Law was imposed I was only 10 and did not quite understand the meaning of the lyrics. Nevertheless, my musical fascinations from the 80s deeply influenced what I do today. After all, it is worth to tell the stories about what is important for us, says Wojciech Slota, director of the film.

The film was produced by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and TVN. The film directors are Wojciech Slota and Leszek Gnoinski.

Many people have stories, but some have legends. This film is about the legends. Rock is a part of culture just like any other genre of good music, or poetry, film and cartoons. One cannot talk about the phenomenon of Polish freedom without telling about free culture, and rock was its crucial and most popular element. Some printed underground pamphlets and distributed leaflets, while others carved guitars and constructed amplifiers. Both made their way into history, says Pawe? Potoroczyn, director of Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

History written with rock.

"In the minds of today’s school pupils, the events of the 80s are as distant as the battles of Legions or Polish-Teutonic Wars. It happened a long time ago, it was important and now the adults make them learn about it… The involvement of young people in learning contemporary history cannot be encouraged by showing martyrdom, acts of politicians and dates of economic and political events. However, the most recent history is in fact the youth of their parents, postcards collections covered in dust, lying in the basement or the attic, flared trousers, vinyls, broken tape recorders, etc. To reach this past, it is enough to talk, provided of course that children and parents find the time and place to raise the topic of such 'distant' past".

'Beats of Freedom (or How to Overthrow a Totalitarian Regime with the Use of a Homemade Amplifier)' can serve as a reason and incentive for such a talk".