We invite you to a screening of the documentary “The Great Warsaw” (2026, 27 min) directed by Barbara Bossak-Herbst. The authorial film by Barbara Bossak-Herbst and Mateusz Szlachtycz tells the story of the famous Warsaw horse races that for years have attracted crowds of the capital's residents and guests from across the country. “The Great Warsaw” shows how a sporting event can become an important element of a city's identity. Barbara Bossak-Herbst – sociologist, researcher and director, assistant professor at the Faculty of Sociology at the University of Warsaw, where she works on social anthropology, urban sociology and visual culture. Author of the book “Warsaw Enclave. The social world of horse racing at Służewiec” (Oficyna Naukowa, 2020) and the ethnographic film “450 Kilos of Dreams” (2018). She was a historical consultant on the feature film “Wielka Warszawska”. Her research focuses, among other things, on the social worlds of Warsaw, urban memory and the culture of horse racing. Into the world of racing, as the film's narrator, introduces Marek Siudym – film, theatre and cabaret actor, instructor of sport riding and horse enthusiast. The film “The Great Warsaw” was created as part of the film series “Intangible Warsaw”, devoted to the capital's traditions, within the activities of the Team for Intangible Cultural Heritage of Warsaw, established in 2020 at the initiative of Artur Jóźwik, director of the City of Warsaw Cultural Office. The starting point for the project is the report “Intangible Warsaw. Traditions, customs, practices in the co-city”, prepared by Ewa Klekot and Hanna Schreiber. The goal of the series is to capture intergenerational practices, traditions and customs that build Warsaw identity and strengthen residents' bonds with the city. Warsaw tango Warsaw gastronomy Hour W Fundraising at Powązki The shoemaker's tale from Chmielna The report authors combine ideas contained in the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage with the assumptions of the cultural policy of the City of Warsaw, adopted in 2020. Both documents emphasize the importance of cooperation, community and co-creation of culture in the contemporary city. Intangible heritage is here understood as a way of creating culture that draws on the past to build social bonds reaching into the future. More on the website: https://kultura.um.warszawa.pl/
