Mary Koszmary - Yael Bartana

Mary Koszmary (Nightmares) is the opening film in Yael Bartana’s “Polish trilogy” called "…and Europe will be stunned". It originates in the complex history of Polish-Jewish relations both historically and today. Sławomir Sierakowski (a actual Polish activist) plays a version of himself who passionately invites Jews to come back to Poland to a small crowd of young, uniformed followers.

The derelict Tenth Anniversary Stadium in Warsaw provides the scenery for his speech: “This is a call, not to the dead, but to the living. We want 3 million Jews to return to Poland, to live with us again. We need you! We’re asking you to return!” The artist uses the aesthetics of propaganda films such as Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (where the stadium also becomes an scene of political manipulation) or early Zionist film chronicles calling on Jews to move to Palestine to provoke a different way to understand the relations between Israel, Poland, Europe and the future. 

Mary Koszmary (10'50"minutes) is continuously on view at the auditorium of the museum until September 12.