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Andrzej Wajda

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Andrzej Witold Wajda (Polish: [ˈandʐɛj ˈvajda]; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar,[1] the Palme d'Or,[2] as well as Honorary Golden Lion[3] and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "Polish Film School". He was known especially for his trilogy of war films consisting of A Generation (1955), Kanał (1957) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958).[4]

Andrzej Wajda
Wajda in 1963
Born
Andrzej Witold Wajda

(1926-03-06)6 March 1926
Suwałki, Second Polish Republic
Died9 October 2016(2016-10-09) (aged 90)
Warsaw, Poland
Alma materNational Film School in Łódź
Occupation(s)Film director, theatre director
Years active1951–2016
Spouses
  • Gabriela Obremba
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1949; div. 1959)​
  • Zofia Żuchowska
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1959; div. 1967)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1967; div. 1969)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1974)​
Awards
Signature

He is considered one of the world's most renowned filmmakers,[5] whose works chronicled his native country's political and social evolution[6] and dealt with the myths of Polish national identity offering insightful analyses of the universal element of the Polish experience – the struggle to maintain dignity under the most trying circumstances.

Four of his films have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: The Promised Land (1975),[7] The Maids of Wilko (1979),[8] Man of Iron (1981) and Katyń (2007).[9]

Early life

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Wajda was born in Suwałki,[10] the son of Aniela (née Białowąs), a school teacher, and Jakub Wajda, an army officer.[11] In 1942, he joined the Polish resistance and served in the Home Army. After the war, he studied to be a painter at Kraków's Academy of Fine Arts before entering the Łódź Film School,[12] where many famous Polish directors, such as Roman Polanski, studied.

Early career

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After Wajda's apprenticeship to director Aleksander Ford, Wajda was given the opportunity to direct his own film. A Generation (1955) was his first major film. At the same time Wajda began his work as a director in theatre, including Michael V. Gazzo's A Hatful of Rain (1959), Hamlet (1960), and Two for the Seesaw (1963) by William Gibson. Wajda made two more increasingly accomplished films, which developed further the anti-war theme of A Generation: Kanał (1957) (Special Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival in 1957, shared with Bergman's The Seventh Seal) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958) with Zbigniew Cybulski.[13]

While capable of turning out mainstream commercial fare (often dismissed as "trivial" by critics), Wajda was more interested in works of allegory[14] and symbolism,[15] and certain symbols (such as setting fire to a glass of liquor, representing the flame of youthful idealism that was extinguished by the war) recur often in his films. Lotna (1959) is full of surrealistic and symbolic scenes and shots, but he managed to explore other styles, making new wave style Innocent Sorcerers (1960) with music by Krzysztof Komeda, starring Roman Polanski and Jerzy Skolimowski (who was also a co-script writer) in the episodes. Then Wajda directed Samson (1961), the story of Jacob, a Jewish boy, who wants to survive during the Nazi occupation of Poland. In the mid-1960s Wajda made The Ashes (1965) based on the novel by Polish writer Stefan Żeromski and directed several films abroad: Love at Twenty (1962), Siberian Lady Macbeth[16][17] (1962) and Gates To Paradise (1968).

In 1967, Cybulski was killed in a train accident, whereupon the director articulated his grief with Everything for Sale[18] (1968), considered one of his most personal films, using the technique of a film-within-a-film to tell the story of a film maker's life and work. The following year he directed an ironic satire Hunting Flies[19] with the script written by Janusz Głowacki and a short television film called Przekładaniec based on a screenplay by Stanisław Lem.[20]

Artistic recognition

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Andrzej Wajda (center), c. 1970

The 1970s were the most prolific artistic period for Wajda, who made over ten films: Landscape After the Battle (1970), Pilate and Others (1971), The Wedding (1972) – the film version of the famous Polish poetic drama by Stanisław Wyspiański, The Promised Land (1974), Man of Marble (1977) – the film takes place in two time periods, the first film showing the episodes of Stalinism in Poland, The Shadow Line (1976), Rough Treatment (a.k.a. Without Anesthesia) (1978), The Orchestra Conductor (1980), starring John Gielgud; and two psychological and existential films based upon novels by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz – The Birch Wood (1970) and The Maids of Wilko[21] (1979). The Birch Wood was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival where Wajda won the Golden Prize for Direction.[22]

Wajda continued to work in theatre, including Play Strindberg, Dostoyevsky's The Possessed and Nastasja Filippovna – Wajda's version of The Idiot, November Night by Wyspiański, The Immigrants by Sławomir Mrożek, The Danton Affair or The Dreams of Reason.[23]

 
Wajda during filming in 1974

Wajda's later commitment to Poland's burgeoning Solidarity movement was manifested in Man of Iron (1981), a thematic sequel to The Man of Marble, with Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa appearing as himself in the latter film. The film sequence is loosely based on the life of Anna Walentynowicz, a hero of socialist labor Stakhanovite turned dissident and alludes to events from real life, such as the firing of Walentynowicz from the shipyard and the underground wedding of Bogdan Borusewicz to Alina Pienkowska.[24] The director's involvement in this movement would prompt the Polish government to force Wajda's production company out of business. For the film, Wajda won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1983, he directed Danton, starring Gérard Depardieu in the title role, a film set in 1794 (Year Two of the French Republican calendar) dealing with the Post-Revolutionary Terror. Made against the backdrop of the martial law in Poland, Wajda showed how easily revolution can change into terror and start to "eat its own children."[25] For this film Wajda was honoured with the Louis Delluc Prize and a César Award for Best Director. In the 1980s, he also made A Love in Germany (1983) featuring Hanna Schygulla, The Chronicle of Amorous Incidents (1986) an adaptation of Tadeusz Konwicki's novel and The Possessed (1988) based on Dostoyevsky's novel. In theatre he prepared an interpretation of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment (1984) and other unique spectacles such as Antygone, his sequential Hamlet versions and the early 20th-century Jewish play The Dybbuk. In 1989, he was the president of the jury at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival.[26]

Career after 1990

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During the filming of Katyń in 2007

In 1990, Andrzej Wajda was honoured by the European Film Awards for his lifetime achievement, only the third director to be so honoured, after Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman. In the early 1990s, he was elected a senator and also appointed artistic director of Warsaw's Teatr Powszechny. He continued to make films set during World War II, including Korczak[27] (1990), a story about a Jewish-Polish doctor who takes care of orphan children, in The Crowned-Eagle Ring (1993) and Holy Week (1995) specifically on Jewish-Polish relations. In 1994, Wajda presented his own film version of Dostoyevsky's novel The Idiot in the movie Nastasja,[28] starring Japanese actor Tamasoburo Bando in the double role of Prince Mishkin and Nastasja. The film's cinematographer was Paweł Edelman, who subsequently became one of Wajda's great collaborators. In 1996, the director went in a different direction with Miss Nobody,[29] a coming-of-age drama that explored the darker and more spiritual aspects of a relationship between three high-school girls. In 1999, Wajda released the epic film Pan Tadeusz,[30] based on the epic poem of the Polish 19th-century romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz.

A year later, at the 2000 Academy Awards, Wajda was presented with an honorary Oscar for his contribution to world cinema;[31] he subsequently donated the award to Kraków's Jagiellonian University.[32] In 2002, Wajda directed The Revenge, a film version of his 1980s comedy theatre production, with Roman Polanski in one of the main roles. In February 2006, Wajda received an Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement at the Berlin International Film Festival.[33] In 2007, Katyń was released, a well-received film about the Katyń massacre, in which Wajda's father was murdered; the director also shows the dramatic situation of those who await their relatives (mothers, wives and children). The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2008.[34]

 
Wajda pictured with his wife, Krystyna Zachwatowicz, in 2010

Wajda followed it with Sweet Rush (2009) with Krystyna Janda as a main character. It is partly based upon a short Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz novel. The film is dedicated to Edward Kłosiński, Janda's husband, a cinematographer and a long-time Wajda friend and co-worker who died of cancer the same year. For this film Wajda was awarded by Alfred Bauer Prize at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. He received the Prix FIPRESCI during the 2009 European Film Awards. Walesa. Man of Hope (Wałęsa. Człowiek z nadziei), Wajda's biography of Lech Wałęsa, based on a script by Janusz Głowacki and starring Robert Więckiewicz in the title role, had its world premiere at the 2013 Venice International Film Festival. His last film was the 2016 Afterimage (Powidoki), starring Bogusław Linda as Polish avant-garde painter Władysław Strzemiński.

Wajda founded The Japanese Centre of Art and Technology in Kraków in 1994. In 2002, he founded and led his own film school with Polish filmmaker Wojciech Marczewski. Students of Wajda School take part in different film courses led by famous European film makers.[35]

Personal life and death

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Wajda was married four times. His third wife was actress Beata Tyszkiewicz with whom he had a daughter, Karolina (born 1967). His fourth wife was the theatre costume designer and actress Krystyna Zachwatowicz.[36]

In September 2009, Wajda called for the release of director Roman Polanski after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.[37]

Wajda died in Warsaw on 9 October 2016 at the age of 90 from pulmonary failure.[38][4] He was buried at Salwator Cemetery in Kraków.[39]

Awards and honours

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Andrzej Wajda during the Order of the White Eagle Award Ceremony in 2011
 
Salwator Cemetery
Andrzej Wajda tomb

Filmography

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Main article: Andrzej Wajda filmography

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kaufman, Michael T. (10 October 2016). "Andrzej Wajda, Towering Auteur of Polish Cinema, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  2. ^ "Acclaimed Polish film director Andrzej Wajda dies aged 90". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Venice Film Festival to Honor Polish Auteur Andrzej Wajda". The Hollywood Reporter. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b Natale, Richard (9 October 2016). "Andrzej Wajda, Celebrated Polish Director, Dies at 90". variety.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Andrzej Wajda". Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Andrzej Wajda". Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  7. ^ "The 48th Academy Awards (1976) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  8. ^ "The 52nd Academy Awards (1980) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  9. ^ Etkind, Alexander; Finnin, Rory; Blacker, Uilleam; Fedor, Julie; Lewis, Simon; Mälksoo, Maria; Mroz, Matilda (24 April 2013). Remembering Katyn. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780745662961.
  10. ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (10 October 2016). "Andrzej Wajda Dies: Oscar & Palme d'Or-Winning Director Was 90". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  11. ^ "Andrzej Wajda Biography (1926?-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Andrzej Wajda – Twórca". Culture.pl. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Andrzej Wajda, Oscar-Winning Polish Director, Dies at 90". hollywoodreporter.com. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda dies". buenosairesherald.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  15. ^ Storey, Thomas (23 October 2013). "Man of Hope: Andrzej Wajda's Solidarity Trilogy". theculturetrip.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  16. ^ design, Tomasz Wygoda – code, Katarzyna Lezenska – content, Belin Czechowicz -. "Andrzej Wajda. Official Website of Polish movie director – Films – "Siberian Lady Macbeth"". wajda.pl. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Siberian Lady Macbeth". kinolorber.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  18. ^ design, Tomasz Wygoda – code, Katarzyna Lezenska – content, Belin Czechowicz -. "Andrzej Wajda. Official Website of Polish movie director – Films – "Everything For Sale"". wajda.pl. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ design, Tomasz Wygoda – code, Katarzyna Lezenska – content, Belin Czechowicz -. "Andrzej Wajda. Official Website of Polish movie director – Films – "Hunting Flies"". wajda.pl. Retrieved 10 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "FilmPolski.pl". Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  21. ^ Martin, Teena (6 March 2016). "Poland marks 90 birthday of leading filmmaker Andrzej Wajd". spartanecho.org. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  22. ^ "7th Moscow International Film Festival (1971)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  23. ^ "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. 13 December 2019.
  24. ^ Michael Szporer, Solidarity: The Great Workers Strike of 1980. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2012
  25. ^ Szporer, Mieczyslaw [Michael] (Winter 1983–1984). "Andrzej Wajda's Reign of Terror: Danton's Polish Ambiance". Film Quarterly. 37 (2): 27–34. doi:10.2307/3697387. JSTOR 3697387.
  26. ^ "16th Moscow International Film Festival (1989)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  27. ^ Willard, Dan (23 November 2015). "Korczak (1990)". filmsbytheyear.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  28. ^ "miss nobody wajda – Google Search". google.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  29. ^ Elley, Derek (16 March 1997). "Review: 'Miss Nobody'". variety.com. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  30. ^ "Central Europe Review – Film: Wajda's Pan Tadeusz". ce-review.org. Archived from the original on 3 June 2000. Retrieved 10 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  31. ^ Storozynski, Alex (26 March 2000). "Poland's Movie Conscience: Academy Honors Andrzej Wajda for his films of freedom". The New York Daily News. p. 6. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  32. ^ "Polish film-maker donates oscar to university". The Vancouver Sun. No. Final Edition. Vancouver, B.C. 7 April 2000. p. D9.
  33. ^ a b "Prizes & Honours 2006". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  34. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (18 June 2009). "Katyn". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  35. ^ "Strona Wajda School & Studio tymczasowo niedost pna". wajdaschool.pl. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  36. ^ "Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda – Twórca". Culture.pl. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  37. ^ "Outcry over Polanski's detention". BBC News. 28 September 2009.
  38. ^ "Polish film director Andrzej Wajda dies". BBC News. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  39. ^ "Andrzej Wajda nie żyje. Wybitny reżyser miał 90 lat". gazeta.pl. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  40. ^ "MAGYAR KÖZLÖNY" (PDF). Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  41. ^ "Latvijas un Polijas prezidents pārrunā ekonomisko sadarbību, enerģētikas jautājumus, sadarbību". Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  42. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 10.08.2010 г. № 996" (in Russian). Президент России. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  43. ^ "Медведев наградил Анджея Вайду орденом Дружбы — Новости Политики. Новости@Mail.ru". 12 January 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  44. ^ "Andrzej Wajda otrzymał Order Chorwackiej Jutrzenki". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  45. ^ "Wajda nagrodzony orderem Jarosława Mądrego". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  46. ^ "Teenetemärkide kavalerid". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  47. ^ "LIETUVOS RESPUBLICOS PREZIDENTE". Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  48. ^ "Gloria Artis – Złoty Medal Zasłużony Kulturze". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  49. ^ "Legia Honorowa dla Andrzeja Wajdy". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  50. ^ "THE 72ND ACADEMY AWARDS 2000". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  51. ^ "Wajda Sig. Andrzej". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  52. ^ "Berlinale: 1997 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  53. ^ "Berlinale: 1996 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  54. ^ "Berlinale: 1988 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  55. ^ "Andrzej Wajda Kyoto Prize". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  56. ^ "9th Moscow International Film Festival (1975)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  57. ^ "Nowiny Rzeszowskie : organ KW Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej. 1964, nr 154-180 (lipiec)". Retrieved 4 November 2019.
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