THE STUDY OF SMOG

STUDIUM SMOGU

By Beata MIGAS

HADDOCK ENTERTAINMENT - as PROD

Experimental - Completed 2018

Two ecological activists engage in lonely struggle with air pollution in Krakow and try to get to know way of systematisation of concepts.

Festivals
& Awards

Inshort Film 2019
Best Short Film
    • Year of production
    • 2018
    • Genres
    • Experimental
    • Countries
    • POLAND
    • Languages
    • POLISH
    • Duration
    • 47 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Beata MIGAS
    • Writer(s)
    • Beata MIGAS
    • Producer(s)
    • Beata MIGAS
    • Synopsis
    • And what, if human becomes from Lancelet? It’s one of numerous peculiar questions, which appear after the seance of „Study of smog”. That’s surrealistic and unconventional movie, which action sets in the atmosphere of wrapped by fog and smoke Kraków. Nonetheless, trouble of air pollution is not the only subject, that is covered in this film production. Amidst main threads at the first ground comes out the issue of correct systematisation of definitions and notions. It’s an attempt to analysing a row of concessions and simplifications, which are made by contemporary science in order to render the world more clear and easy in cognizance by every person. Lancelet – commonly unfamiliar, inconspicuous representative of Chordata Type becomes for actors a tool in the process of sorting foggy reality.
      The characters of movie are young people, who represent two, opposite attitudes towards smog. First of them, Leonid and Alina are active citizens; ecologists, who are involved in activities related to air protection. While undertaking lonely fight with the heavy industry work, they are not aware of their weakness. They even cannot realize, that since the while, in which the idea of protest was born in their heads, they are in the lurch.
      As their opposite seem to be Włodzimierz and Jadwiga, who lead happy-go-lucky way of life. People, representing typical, PRL (Polish People’s Republic) attitudes, who are distinguished by post-communistic mindset, based on primitive instinct of survival. Because of neglected education, they don’t possess any knowledge about smog. What is more, through advanced to the limits savings, they unconsciously contribute to development of air pollution.
      Though, the main hero of movie remains smog. Smog as a multidimensional problem, which affects not only at health, but also at minds of characters. It determinates their behaviours, which are opposite to intended ones and influences on way of perceptions of hero’s environment. Suddenly, it engulfs everything, what it meets at its road. Objects, vehicles, buldings and people.
      In the story, which is so strongly focused on scientific, academic issues, plenty of attention was sacrified for philosophical aspects. Smog constitutes here a carcass for talking about struggles, that are accompanying process of creating classifications and generalizations.
      Dirty hazes of smoke remain as intangible notion, that Leonid and Alina make tries to order them thanks to ascribing by entire band of symbols. Unusual items constantly appear from the mysterious fog and in a moment later they disappear in it again. Among them, arrives green glitter, which like a virus passes away on next characters, regardless of site of barricade they represent.
      Would Lancetnik turn out to be a key for systematisation of those intricate reality?