Buda Family Archive

Zygmunt Buda was born in Poznań in 1924 and was interested in photography since his childhood. From 1941, he worked in the Poznań photographic company Foto-Stewner, founded by Ernest Stewner. After the end of the war, he worked as a photographer in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from which, in the 50s, he was dismissed for political incorrectness. From the 60s, he worked in the Film Services Department at the corner of Marszałkowska and Krucza streets in Warsaw. Zygmunt recorded films with a business camera with a 16-millimeter tape and a private SANYO camera with an 8-millimeter tape, which he received as a gift from a family living in the USA. His sons, Jacek and Marek, as well as the next generations of the Buda family, also became enthusiasts of filming family life.

Part 1 

In 1990, the Buda family spent Christmas with the family of Irmina (Jacek Buda’s wife, the author of the film) in Warsaw’s Groty area. Christmas Eve, a man in a Santa Claus costume sits in an armchair next to a festively dressed Christmas tree and gives gifts to Piotr (Irmina and Jacek’s son), Magda Trześniowska and their neighbor, Eliza. The apartment of Zygmunt and Katarzyna, Jacek’s parents, at Puławska Street in Warsaw. Janusz Jarociński (the husband of Jola, Jacek’s cousin) takes over from Santa Claus and gives gifts to Piotr, Marek’s (Jacek’s brother) children – Ania, Paweł and Michał and Daniel (Jola and Janusz’s son). Among the adults, apart from the hosts, we can also see Katarzyna’s sister, Teodora (Tonia) Chmielewska. Children look at gifts, one of the boys plays with a wind-up car that drives on a set table.

 Part 2 

The park near Królikarnia. Children ski down a hill, at the top of which we can see other skiers and children with sledges.

 Part 3

A board with the inscription “spring 1991”. A family trip to Pieniny celebrating Irmina’s passed specialization exam. Piotr and his mother walk on the hill near the castle, then the boy poses for the camera against the background of the panorama of nearby hills. Piotr looks through a comic book at his desk. The next shot shows Piotr and his mother waving together from the window of a room in the tower. The castle in which they lived during the trip was under the care of the Association of Art Historians in Warsaw, where Krystyna Buda worked. Jacek visited the castle many times as a child and during his engagement days. Shots of the boy running around the castle courtyard and town. Later, the boy and his mother go by train.

 Part 4 

A trip to the zoo. Piotr together with Sylwia, a friend from kindergarten, look at animals in their enclosure. Shots from the Old Town and Piotr and Sylwia playing on a small hill between the blocks. Sylwia’s parents and grandparents pose for a camera in the parking lot in front of the block.

 Part 5

An account of the First Communion of Paweł Buda. In the background, we can see other children dressed in Communion attire. On this occasion, almost the whole family met: Marek and Roman Buda with their children (Ania and Michał), Paweł’s godparents (Marek Łakomy and Jola Jarocińska), Zygmunt and Katarzyna Buda, Tonia Chmielewska, Kasia Łakoma (a cousin from Kalisz), Janina and Bogdan Sobol (Katarzyna’s sister with her husband), Romana’s family and Helena Suchara (a foster aunt from the USA). The family walks in the Kabacki Forest and visits the monument to the plane crash of 1987 located there. The boys play near a parked 126p Fiat, “maluch”. The family has a festive dinner in Marek and Romana’s apartment at ul. Żabińskiego in Warsaw. The boys play on a wooden playground near the block. The family sits at a table. We can see Irmina, her in-laws, Katarzyna and Zygmunt Buda, and the other guests.

 Part 6 

A performance at school. Elegantly dressed boys and girls in folk costumes dance and recite in front of the parents gathered in the hall. Irmina can be seen in the audience, and Piotr among the students.

 Part 7

A board with the inscription “summer 1991”. The end of the school year. Smartly dressed children sit in the gym. The best students receive their certificates. The rest of the ceremony takes place in a classroom. The children receive their certificates and give the teacher flowers. Piotr and his mother pose for a camera with the certificate, then sit together on a sofa bed and watch a book. Immediately after the end of the school year, the family went on holiday to Świnoujście. Scenes in the holiday resort: children together with a man play, dance and sing. Genre scenes from a trip to the sea: Piotr and his mother walk at Stawa Młyny in Świnoujście. The boy rides a pony, then they have fun at the evening party with a bonfire on the island of Wolin. Irmina and Piotr feed swans on the beach and swim in the sea.

(AT)