Rave
Lukasz Ronduda & Dawid Nickel / Poland / 2024 / International Premiere / 77 min
Techno and rave culture had its own breakthrough in Eastern Europe in the early 90s, when the world suddenly opened up and a whole new scene emerged from the Cold War.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, techno suddenly became huge in Poland. The world was open and all kinds of new cultural waves rolled in across the borders. Electronic techno culture was one of them. Inspired by the DIY ethos of the punk scene, ravers started organizing their own parties. When the scene grew big enough, clubs like Ekwador Club opened with white gloves, loud whistles and BPMs turned way up.
Performance artist Marcello Zamenhoff was one of the country’s rave pioneers. And in ‘Rave’ he joins forces with younger ravers Marysia and Janusz, who as a DJ and highly energetic ‘Hakken’ dancer, keep the party going in today’s Polish rave scene. ‘Rave’ is a deep dive into the unique evolution of techno and rave culture in Eastern Europe, reminding us that an underground culture is always closely linked to historical ruptures and conflicts – and to the possibility of creating something new and better out of nothing.