Anna Ferens, director of the documentary "Punkt oparcia" (Foothold) took part in discussion after the premier screening in Wrocław last Friday.
Between 1980 and 1989, the European Parliament passed 87 resolutions concerning protection of human rights: 37 of these related to the situation in Eastern Europe, and 17 concerned the USSR. Despite this, facts showing Western Europe’s involvement in the problems of people behind the Iron Curtain remain relatively unknown.
Anna Ferens’ documentary looks back at a close but little known past. Based on unpublished archive material and interviews with those involved – opposition activists from the then-Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Poland, Romania and Hungary, alongside several then-members of the European Parliament who supported resolutions relating to Eastern Europe, the film presents those who were directly involved in the fight against communism, and talks about the people who challenged the system by drawing the world’s attention to the situation in divided Europe.
‘The generation born then has grown up. Fortunately, today’s 30-somethings in Eastern Europe have been spared the experiences of their parents. Would it even occur to them that 30 years ago in Romania you had to register a typewriter to use it legally? It’s good for them to find out how in Western Europe, members of the European Parliament for example supported the anti-communist opposition in the Eastern Bloc and its fight for freedom,’ concludes the director, Anna Ferens.
The meeting was hosted by dr Rober Żurek, historian.