I Remember

Andrzej Wajda tooks as a basis the statements from four Polish survivors of the Holocaust and scenes from the film March of the Living in making his episode for the series Broken Silence. I Remember was all of it made in black-and-white, without any narration other than the statements. “The film focuses on the dramatic relationship between the Polish and the Jewish peoples during the German occupation of Poland”, says the director, whose first feature A Generation also dealt with the occupation of Poland by the Germans. To emphasize these relationships, Wajda also included scenes with Pope John Paul 2nd praying at the Wall of Lamentations in Jerusalem. Historian Anthony Plonsky acted as adviser for the film. Executive-production was by Lew Rywin who worked with Wajda on Pan Tadeusz and with Spielberg in Schindler’s List.

Born in Suwalki, Poland, in 1926. He studied at Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, and in the mid-1950’s, after the World War II, led the Polish School movement to create a modern film industry in his country. Features such as A Generation (1954), Canal (1956) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958), about the Home Army resistance; Man of Marble (1976) and Man of Iron (1981), which chronicles the tensions between the working class and the government; and Walesa. Man of Hope. (2013), about the political rise of Solidarity leader, are essential to understand Poland’s history in recent years. Winner of a Palme d’Or, Wajda was also honored by the Academy with a lifetime achievement award. At its 40th edition Mostra organizes a retrospective of his films. He died in October this year.

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA