MEET NEW DAY: Adrian Prawica
I am a Chicago-based documentary filmmaker. My interest in films started with my passion for the 8mm & 16mm home film reels I collected as a youth. Most of my historical works explore the American experience through different lenses. While I have done documentary works in other contemporary genres such as motorsports, I am passionate about Chicago and American history, and how it is viewed from different perspectives.
The Haymarket Tragedy, also known as the Haymarket Riot, is examined in my feature documentary film, Haymarket: The Bomb, The Anarchists, The Labor Struggle. During this event a bomb was thrown into the ranks of police and what followed was an eruption of panic and violence. The result was a trial and execution of presumably innocent workers' rights activists.
In Haymarket, expert historians and professors present the history of the bomb, the anarchist, and socialist movements of the 19th century. These experts also examine the labor struggle of working people fighting for a shorter work day during the industrial might of America's Gilded Age. The Haymarket Tragedy not only echoed around the world during the Gilded Age, but brought to light social and economic hardships of working people that continue to have strong relevance in our society today.
I made Haymarket because I was fascinated by this history, and surprised that there wasn't a film available on this topic. It is the only film, to my knowledge, that covers this topic in such depth. It was a challenge to make this film, because there wasn't a previous film available. There was no blueprint, so it was a dive into uncharted territory to make this film.
I invite you to watch the trailer and learn more about Haymarket.