Office for Monument Construction tells a story of people who come from a city that ceased to exist. Deprived of their home, the protagonists attempt to find their way in the new situation. They find a temporary shelter, where their daily life is organised by strange rituals that generate the illusion of former security and define their new identity. One of the characters is a ticket seller who neglects her professional duties and personal life as she indulges her untypical passion for collecting teeth. With time, she comes to realise that her collection constitutes a symbolic capital which can be used, akin to the eponymous monument, to control other people’s emotions. Through a metaphorical reference to museum holdings, Breguła highlights the role of heritage in the life of a community and in sustaining the consistent identity of a group; she also re-examines the question of using the museum as an instrument of power. Office for Monument Construction also draws our attention to the situation of people suspended in non-places – thrust into a nomadic lifestyle, forced to search for a new living space and to build relations with their surroundings from scratch. The place where the residents settle is a Modernist giant undergoing – just like them – a transformation of identity, abandoned by its users for whom it was once erected.
The film was awarded the Golden Claw Award at Visions Apart Competition, 41st Gdynia Film Festival (2016)