„The stupidest album in the world”, dir. Konrad Kulczyński, Jakub Knera (film)

“The stupidest album in the world” – a documentary about the era and the music that defined it

“P.O.L.O.V.I.R.U.S.” by the band Kury is one of the most important, most original, and at the same time least serious albums in the history of Polish music. “The stupidest album in the world”, a film by Konrad Kuczyński and Jakub Knery, tells the story behind the making of this one-of-a-kind soundtrack to the decade of transformation.

P.O.L.O.V.I.R.U.S. – the sound of the 1990s

Released in 1998, Kury’s album was a satirical and absurd, yet painfully accurate commentary on the reality of 1990s Poland.
In a time of emerging capitalism, mafia turf wars, pop-cultural chaos and tabloid television, Tymon Tymański and his collaborators created a piece that still defies classification and continues to inspire new generations. Jazz experimentation meets metal here, while disco polo collides with the alternative.

“The Stupidest Album in the World” is a journey through a colorful — and at times brutal — decade of transition.
The film features the creators of P.O.L.O.V.I.R.U.S., as well as journalists and artists from the Tri-City yass scene, who speak about the creative upheaval of that era and the tension between artistic freedom and commercial pressure.

The Return of a Legend

The story told in “The Stupidest Album in the World” doesn’t end in the 1990s. The film takes us into 2023, when Kury returned to the stage to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their cult album at the Inside Seaside Festival.
These one-of-a-kind concerts proved that the energy and message of P.O.L.O.V.I.R.U.S. still resonate today — not only as a historical artifact, but as a living source of inspiration.

“The Stupidest Album in the World” is more than a music documentary or a story about one record. It’s a portrait of Poland in a moment of radical change, a record of anarchic creativity, and proof that art can break conventions, question reality, and ask the kinds of questions that remain relevant even decades later.

As Sylwia Chutnik wrote, “this isn’t just the story of P.O.L.O.V.I.R.U.S., but of a time full of schemes, survival tactics, and the desperate attempt to remain free in the midst of it all.”
Meanwhile, Culture.pl described the film as “an absurd rollercoaster ride straight to the heart of darkness of the ’90s.”

Following the screening at the Fonomo Music & Film Festival, join us for a Q&A session with guests.

Moderator:
Dariusz Brzostek – professor, anthropologist, cultural studies scholar

Guests:

Jakub Knera – journalist and curator; founder of noweidzieodmorza.com. He publishes in The Quietus, Polityka Weekly, Dwutygodnik, Mint Magazine and for the Radio Folk Culture Center. Co-founder of the Palma Foundation and co-organizer of the Sea You 3City Music Showcase.

Dariusz Brzostek – professor at the Institute of Cultural Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń; anthropologist, cultural theorist, literary scholar. His main research interests include sound studies, science fiction and Afrofuturism, as well as the history of jazz and electronic music.

Szymon Szwarc – musician, producer, cultural animator, and writer. A graduate in Polish Philology at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. Author of the poetry collections Kot w Tympanonie (2012), Umowa o dzieło (2014), and Cukry złożone (2020). He has released albums with bands such as Jesień, RZWD, BWS, and SKI feat. swrcfx. Curator of the improvised music series S3RI4L NVMBR5 at Jvdasz Iskariota Records. As a producer (swrcfx), he has collaborated with Atol Atol Atol, ||ALA|MEDA||, Przepych and others. He has performed at major festivals in Poland and abroad (including OFF, Unsound, Avant Art, Colours of Ostrava). He lives in Toruń.

Sławek Janicki – musician, filmmaker, and curator of artistic events. He began his career in the mid-1980s as part of the artistic movements spanning Gdańsk and the Bydgoszcz region. Co-founder of the so-called Yass Scene, based in the legendary Bydgoszcz club Mózg, which he established in 1994 and continues to run today. For over 30 years he has been active (though without unnecessary pressure) on the international improvised music scene, performing across Europe and Australia.