Polskie Wesele AD 1968 z Szarym Człowiekiem w tle. Performowanie historii w „Usłyszcie mój krzyk”

The subject of the article is the film by Maciej Drygas “Hear My Cry” (1991) – a famous documentary about the self-immolation of Ryszard Siwiec, which took place on September 8, 1968 at the Decade Stadium (Stadion Dziesięciolecia) in Warsaw. Sikora states that Drygas collided two performances that happened in one place and at one time and that remained opaque to each other in a special way – the act of self-immolation by Siwiec and the state harvest festival taking place at the stadium. The author sketches various contexts of these events (including references to Andrzej Wajda’s “The Wedding” /1972/ ), and above all, he sets his reflections in the field of performativity research. The analysis of these issues leads him to the conclusion that film and cinema as a form of ritual can break the spell cast on history, but also allow it to be seen again and again in a different and fuller light.