Les Enfants de Solidarność

In 1980, workers from a Gdansk shipyard began a strike against the totalitarian Polish regime. A wave of intellectuals joined in with this first impulse and the Solidarity movement came into being with the mass support of the Polish population. People began to fight for the chance that their children could grow up in a free country with better living conditions and hopes of a better future. After 25 years, this generation of children has grown up. Young people born in the same year as the movement that changed the history of their country give their opinions on the struggle and ideals of their parents. By comparing the different perspectives of two generations, the viewer is better able to ascertain answers to questions about how the country is evolving along with its politics and economy. This documentary - combining material from the period in question as well as the memories and reflections of the present - illustrates what is happening to the ideals that the solidarity movement set for itself. It demonstrates how these ideals have been fulfilled and also conversely shows the places where they have floundered.

The Solidarity movement will celebrate its 25th anniversary this summer in Poland. Throughout the world, the movement is famous for its illustrious past. But where does it stand today? In order to find out, we will travel to Poland to meet with young people who were born at the beginning of the movement, and who have close personal ties to the people who founded it. How do today’s twenty-five-year-olds feel about the battles and ideals that galvanized their parents in the 1980’s? What do they plan to do with the political tradition that grew out of the movement and was passed on to them? These questions are central to understanding both recent Polish history, and the future of Europe.