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RETURN TO Danuta Halladin From 6 to 11 at Rosa’s

Shot in colour at the Rosa Luxemburg light bulb factory in Warsaw, this film was produced to celebrate fifteen years of the plant’s operations. Instead of making a typical anniversary advert that would serve as a greeting card for the management, Halladin focused on working women. Their movements are edited to the sounds of contemporary acoustic music composed for the documentary by Zbigniew Rudziński (born 1935).

From 6 to 11 at Rosa’s

  • U Róży od 6-ej do 11-ej
  • 1963
  • dir. Danuta Halladin
  • 7 min 46 sec

Shot in colour at the Rosa Luxemburg light bulb factory in Warsaw, this film was produced to celebrate fifteen years of the plant’s operations. Instead of making a typical anniversary advert that would serve as a greeting card for the management, Halladin focused on working women. Their movements are edited to the sounds of contemporary acoustic music composed for the documentary by Zbigniew Rudziński (born 1935).

More reminiscent of a music video than the conventional 1960s documentary style, the film opens with a title sequence against a background of flickering lights. The clock shows five minutes to six. Well dressed women are getting ready for their day at work, but their looks are nothing like those of female workers, whom we are familiar with from other documentary films produced under Communism. They fix their make-up and hair before moving on to take their regular posts along the assembly line. Their white coats contrast with their red lipstick that is visible in a few of the middle shots.

When the camera closes in on some of the women’s hands, the viewer becomes mesmerised by the precision of the rhythmically moving fingers. To highlight that all women’s movements are coordinated with the machines, Halladin briefly cuts to a futurist painting then allows her camera linger for a few moments on the working machinery in the production hall. After a cut, we return to the human bodies synchronised with the dancing lights on the factory floor, which is viewed using a variety of angles.

The ballet of lights and glamorous women in white coats continues until the sound speakers in the hall announce an exercise break. Then again the workers perform synchronised movements, this time to the accompaniment of the instructions coming from the speakers. As the women sit down and return to their jobs, the lights continue flickering on the screen.

This industrial impression is an original symphony of sound and image, a unique tribute paid to the women, who worked with highly toxic, health damaging substances and only for a short time on Halladin’s screen, were given the opportunity to look like film stars.

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