"Exodus"
Documentary - 1h 30min
Trailer (english Subtitles)
https://vimeo.com/905161001/a039573b09
In the late '70s Exodus, an art-rock band appears on the Polish stage. Soon, during the communist reign, the art-rock band appears as another symbol of freedom and the Western world for hundreds of thousands of people. Until 1982 it releases two LPs and multiple singles that exceed 1,5 mln (!) copies. Nobody expects the name of the band to be prophetic. Exodus suddenly and silently disappeared in 1984. No one knows why. Here's their story.
Exodus appeared on stage in communist Poland in the late 70's. Thanks to their uncompromising quality and "Western" sound and look they embodied the longing for freedom for hundreds of thousands behind the Iron Curtain. Soon Exodus would start selling two concerts a day and 1,5 mln copies of records! No one expects the name to be prophetic. The band would cease to exist in 1984 after 8 years of activity when the vocalist Paweł Birula suddenly disappeared. Exodus canceled the tour promoting their last, unreleased album "Hazard". The album was destroyed by censorship and survived in one copy unrestored and unknown until... 2006. Paweł would never come back to Poland and lives in the US with no contact with the other band members or his family.
The film explores the meaning of freedom: what it meant during the dark times of communism and martial law, what emigration means from the perspective of today, what is artistic freedom and how can you deal with communism's cruelty with a great sense of humor making your art at the same time.
director / producer / DoP Maciej Puczyński
editor Arek Iwaniuk
sound editor Filip Kuncewicz
produced by OMProductions 2024