THE BATTLE WITH SATAN

POLISH TITLE: WALKA Z SZATANEM

Europe, XXI century. Every year in Poland thousands of believers undergo exorcism, the ritual that looks as if we still lived in middle ages. Polish social life is strongly permeated by religious beliefs and ‘deliverance ministry’ is gaining more ground. The film will be a mixture of several human stories on the wider socio-religious canvas with experts’ narration explaining why the forgotten ritual has come back. Here is one of the plots – a typical story of possession. Agnieszka (19) is undergoing an exorcism. She is thrashing about on the floor, writhing like a snake, held down by priests wearing cassocks, armed with rosaries, stoles and crucifixes. The old priest recites the ritual loudly... Then, the girl talks about herself and her possession, and about the nun – religion teacher, who first saw the working of Satan in the atheistic rebellion of a teenager and took her to see an exorcist. The described situation, although tragic, is quite typical: it is important to stress the obedience to the parish priest who has the spiritual power to govern people.
 

GENRE:
documentary
COUNTRY:
Poland
RUNNING TIME:
75'
YEAR:
DIRECTING:
Konrad Szołajski
SCRIPT:
Konrad Szołajski
DOP:
Michał Ślusarczyk
PRODUCTION:
ZK Studio Sp. z o. o.

Konrad Szołajski »

born in 1956 in Warsaw. He earned his degree in Polish Philology from Warsaw University (1979) and in Film Directing from the Radio and Television Department of the Silesia University in Katowice (1985). He went to study at the National Film School in Beaconsfield on a British Council Scholarship. He has made a number of fiction films including Egg (1984), Man of… (1993), Operation GOAT (1999) as well as documentaries, which include She Kick-boxer (1997), Sex Teacher (1998), She – MP (2002), Alwernia (2004), Funeral People (2004), The Fat to Bed, the Slim to the Ball (2006) and Entrappers (2007).
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