THE AGONY

POLISH TITLE: AGONIA

Traditional folk music knows no musical notes; it lives and plays as long as its performers, of whom fewer and fewer remain. In The Agony, we witness this world dissolving through the eyes of vocalist and instrumentalist Adam Strug. This is a cinematic story of an attempt at stopping time, but it also about the gradual distortion of what once had been a multifarious musical experience and how the authentic is eaten away and simplified by the commercial. The Agony is a road movie, taking its viewers across Poland’s regions and numerous musical traditions. This is a multilayered story about love, bitterness, life and passing. 

GENRE:
documentary
COUNTRY:
Poland
RUNNING TIME:
61'
YEAR:
COLOUR:
colour
DIRECTING:
Tomasz Knittel
SCRIPT:
Adam Strug
DOP:
Nicolas Villegas Hernandez
EDITOR:
Jakub Pietrzak
SOUND:
Marcin Popławski
PRODUCTION:
Maria Siniarska, Łukasz Borzęcki, Jerzy Jakutowicz, Tomasz Rychter

Tomasz Knittel »

Author and director of documentaries and short films. Creator of the award-winning documentary "Universam Grochów" (audience award at the 34th Warsaw Film Festival and the 58th Kraków Film Festival). Author of music films, including: "Bandmasters", "Poland - Path of Dance" and the famous "Elektro_sondy". He is also the author of a documentary series about Polish post-communist residential blocks. His previous documentary, "Złota", had its international premiere at Hot Docs 2020. “The Agony” is his latest documentary.