…A Varsovian by Birth... (1996)

Overview

A newsreel of the Chopin International Piano Competitions held in the Polish capital from 1927 onwards. The filmmakers sketched a history of Chopin’s relationship with Warsaw, and next made an attempt to sum up the story of the very competition, starting with its source and ending with its 13th edition held in 1995. The film has high documentary values, since the filmmakers collected rich iconographic and source materials. They tell the viewers how the competition evolved by showing the reality and artefacts changing with time. Thanks to fragments of newsreels, the coverage of the concert halls was completed with scenes played out in the wings, lobbies, hotels and on the streets of Warsaw.