A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING – DIR. KRZYSZTOF KIEŚLOWSKI
Every filmmakers dreams of having their work impact not only the emotions of their viewers, but also their thinking and behavior. In some cases, however, the impact made by a movie transcended even the wildest expectations of their makers and ended up changing their world for the better, even if only a little. Join us for a quick rundown of films that prompted widespread public debate, legislative change, or even saved lives.
TUTAJ PRZECZYTASZ ARTYKUŁ PO POLSKU.
A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING – DIR. KRZYSZTOF KIEŚLOWSKI
In the 1980s, when Poland still practiced capital punishment, Krzysztof Kieślowski directed a film that spoke to the souls of millions—a story about a young man who is arrested and then sentenced to death for the murder of a cab driver. Its screening at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival prompted a heated debate about moral dilemmas, justice, and cruelty, that soon grew beyond purely filmmaking circles to include representatives of non-governmental organizations involved with criminal justice reform. The death penalty was struck from Poland’s penal code soon after the film’s premiere.
A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING – DIR. KRZYSZTOF KIEŚLOWSKI
THE THIN BLUE LINE – DIR. ERROL MORRIS
The documentary The Thin Blue Line also managed to prevent to stay an execution—but this time of a single individual, Randall Adams, who was wrongly convicted for murder. In his documentary, director Errol Morris sought to reenact the fatal shooting of Dallas police officer on November 29, 1976 using a series of interviews with Adams himself, as well as law enforcement officers, the prosecution, the defense, and witnesses for the prosecution. Not longer after the premiere, Adams appealed his sentence, and was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing and had his death sentence overturned.
THE THIN BLUE LINE – DIR. ERROL MORRIS
VICTIM – DIR. BASIL DEARDEN
Basil Dearden’s 1961 drama played an important role for the LGBT community. Back when it was filmed, homosexuality was still a criminal offense, but that did not deter Dearden from going through with his story of a lawyer fighting for justice for his lover, who took his own life after being thrown in prison for “gross indecency.” Initially, the film had trouble with distribution and screenings. But after it was finally aired on TV, it managed to change the public attitude towards homosexuality. A conservative MP, Lord Allen, later wrote a letter to lead actor Dirk Bogarde in which he revealed that after the film was screened in Parliament, support for legalizing homosexual acts among MPs grew from 48 to 63 percent—which soon crystallized into the passage of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967.
VICTIM – DIR. BASIL DEARDEN
BAMBI – DIR. BEN SHARPSTEEN, DAVID HAND
We all know the story of Bambi, the little white-tailed deer that lost its mother to poachers. The animated film moved the audiences so deeply, that the number of people who hunted for sport fell by half after its 1942 premiere. Bambi was adopted by animal rights activists as a symbol of their struggle.
BAMBI – DIR. BEN SHARPSTEEN, DAVID HAND
PARASITE – DIR. BONG JOON-HO
Although it’s already been a couple of months since Premiere was released internationally, the Academy Award-winning drama continues to grace online headlines. The Korean picture successfully brought to light a variety of important social issues, focusing its main thrust on the growing rift between the rich and poor and fading social mobility of the lower classes. The filmmakers succeeded in convincing Seoul authorities to take a closer look at the banjiha, the basement apartments of the type that the film’s Kim family lived in. The city soon launched a program to renovate 1,500 basement apartments, while the government committed to annual increases in the number of homes that would be included in the renovation program. Additionally, the film also prompted a nationwide debate on rising social inequality as well as the quality of life of people living in the banjiha.
PARASITE – DIR. BONG JOON-HO
