Matuszewscy Family Archive

The author of the film, Teofil Matuszewski, was a designer at Biuro Projektów Gospodarki Wodno-Ściekowej PROSAN in Warsaw. His wife, Ewa Matuszewska, was the program editor, first in Polish Radio II, and then in Trójka. Films recorded with the GDR Optima camera, which Teofil Matuszewski bought in 1962.

Part 1

Film made during family holidays. The Matuszewski family spends time at a lake and holiday resort. The men are smoking fish, Ewa is fooling around on the beach with her friend, and little Wojtek (son of Ewa and Teofil) plays on the pier and at the lodge. 

Part 2 

A family walk around Warsaw. Shots of the ruins of the Royal Castle, the now rebuilt Pod Blachą Palace, a tramway stop on W-Z Route, St. Anne’s Church and the Column of Sigismund III Vasa. Ewa and Wojtek walk around the Castle Square. The family also views the Warsaw Nike Monument (monument to Warsaw’s Heroes) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Ewa and Wojtek make faces to the camera. 

Part 3 

Shots from the PROSAN Design Office at 3 Baśniowa Street in Warsaw, where the film’s author was working. Male and female co-workers are talking and fooling around, maps and drafting tables can be seen in the room. After leaving work, the men walk to the tramway, which takes them to one of the city’s open-air lidos. Shots of PROSAN employees at work in the office. 

Part 4 

The family spends time at the lake, children swim and play on the beach.

Part 5 

Wojtek is playing in the apartment dressed in an Indian outfit. A boy is riding a bicycle in a small park. A brief shot of people laying wreaths at the monument. Wojtek wearing an Indian plume is posing tor the camera in the apartment. 

Part 6 

A family actively spends winter days outdoors, skating and skiing. 

Part 7 

Mosaic of genre scenes. Ewa does some shopping, later she and her children help build a house and she and a friend take a walk in the neighborhood; in the background you can see old wooden houses and blocks of flats under construction. 

Part 8 

The Matuszewski family visits family in the countryside. Ewa is kissing one of the elderly women on the hand and cheek. Shots of drying laundry in backyards. Teofil and his son walk by the Warsaw gate in Opatów. Shot of St. Martin’s collegiate church. A man is playing with a boy in the backyard. Ewa and Wojtek are walking along the platform.

Part 9 

A family walk through the city.

Part 10

Teofil, Ewa and Wojtek are relaxing by the river with friends. The boy is playing with the adults in the water, numerous beachgoers can be seen in the background. 

Part 11

Mosaic of genre scenes. Teofil and Ewa teach Wojtek to ride a bicycle. 

Part 12 

The family together with friends enjoy time on the beach. 

Part 13 

Shots of boys in the backyard and Wojtek playing in the park. Ewa and Teofil are fussing around in the kitchen. 

Part 14 

A priest is performing a wedding ceremony for a young couple. Ewa and Teofil, along with other guests, are offering their wishes and congratulations to the newlyweds. The newlyweds are leaving the church. 

(KN, AT)