Documentary on Elżbieta Czacka: “See in the Dark”.

The makers of the “Father-Shepherd” documentary about Mother Elzbieta Roza Czacka produced the documentary about Mother Elzbieta Roza Czacka.

– My knowledge of Mother Czacka’s beatification as the Primate was limited when I discovered about it. People from my generation, and I am not younger anymore, do not know much about Mother Czacka. Laski is known by some, but it’s not well-known that Czacka was friends with Laski over many years.

All eyes turned towards Mother Roza Czacka’s figure when Primate Stefan Wyszynski (and the founder) of the Laski near Warsaw work devoted to blind people was announced. Many voices screamed that Primate Wyszynski had waited for his Friend because of the pandemic. This friendship started in 1920.

Poles know very little about Mother Czacka and are therefore unlikely to be able to use the document of Piotr Gorski as a source of information about Laski and their creators and collaborators.

Laski is a small community near Warsaw. Elzbieta Czacka founded extraordinary works in the early 20th century: the Society for the Protection of the Blind as well as the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross. All this changed the fate of the Polish blind. It did so in a unique way in Europe. The film would have been quite common if it weren’t for the fact that Laski is the product of a young blind countess. Her vision was damaged when she fell from a horse. This story is told in the film, with many stunning photos often being shown for first time. They will also view the only film that Mother Czacka has ever made.

They follow her work and life path. They were able to reach the nuns, who still remember Mother Czacka. Today, Laski is a school for the blind and boardinghouse. This film is a story about their lives, which is also interconnected with Mother Czacka’s adventures. But it’s more than just a religious and historical document. It offers us a bit of knowledge, curiosities, reliable knowledge.

Roman Roczen, a Lasek student, is one the most interesting characters in this film. He organises cruises for the blind at the sea, plays tennis, and wins shanty festival. The document also includes testimony from eminent experts in typhlology (i.e. Science that addresses the issues of vision loss, and the associated challenges. These scientists speak out about Mother Czacka’s contribution to the production of Braille alphabet pollination, which was awarded her by President Ignacy Muscicki.

Krzysztof and Maja Zanussi tell about the phenomenon of Laski. It will be a privilege to meet the extraordinary sisters who helped create this place. They are not just a small number of people. The Congregation was founded by people from all over Poland, from various professions. It is home to doctors, architects as well mathematicians and physicists.

“Mother Czacka was a change”

The sisters talk openly about the benefits of combining education and work for the blind. We regard them as ordinary women who are devoted to their work. They also talk openly about their paths to the gathering and their passions.

Mother Czacka was beatified after the Vatican acknowledged the miracle that she had performed. The document was discovered in Kurpie by the authors. After the swing fell, a girl was left with a cracked skull and should be dead. The prayers of Mother Czacka along with many others helped Karolina today to leave the hospital. This year, she successfully passed her secondary school-leaving exams.

The Sisters and The Blind talk together about how the sisters can help the blind make sense of society.

Laski is a great place to go blind. We don’t seem conscious of it. Because we seem to be afraid of them. Therefore, we don’t know what to do. Czacka was influenced by her mother to change the way sighted people view the blind. KAI Piotr Gorski explains that they are expected to be treated as partners and it is their duty to do so.

Laski is also an area where discussions were held on the Church open for the world, people with different faiths, or people who aren’t religious. This location attracted extraordinary Poles like magnets. Fr. Jan Zieja, Jan Lechon, Jerzy Zawieyski and Tadeusz Mazowiecki. Laski are, according to Krzysztof Zunussi in the film, a monument dedicated to Mother Czacka as well as an important part Poland’s history and Polish Catholicism.

“A place that is designed for the sick of body and soul.”

According to the director, anyone who has not visited Laski will desire to do so after watching the movie. KAI Piotr Gorski: “There is a strange spiritual ambience in Laski that makes people come back after they have been there once.”

Mother Czacka was the inspiration behind the title “See the dark”. The film includes a significant sentence, which is similar to The Little Prince’s famous quote that “What is the most important is often unobservable to the eyes.” It is impossible to see everything through our eyes. Only your heart can see well. This sentence may be the key to understanding Lasek. This place was designed for the blind. It is not only for their bodies, but also for their souls. It remains so to this day.

Piotr Borski directed the film “Seeing in the Dark”, and wrote the script. Grzegorz Liwinski is the cinematographer. Malwina Kepiel and Edyta Lisiak are the producers. Aurel produced the movie.

The film’s official premiere was held on September 5, in Laski.