“The plot, inspired by the events in the life of Witold Pilecki – one of the greatest Polish heroes, has finally been adapted to the screen” – enthusiastically reports TVP, which produced the film “Pilecki’s Report” together with the Documentary and Feature Film Studio. The film, which was originally intended to have a longer serial release, had a record-breaking budget for Polish conditions. This amounted to approximately PLN 38 million, part of which comes from a grant from the Polish Film Institute. The institutions were so concerned about the fate of the production that, out of concern for its optimal form, Leszek Wosiewicz, the originator, director and screenwriter of the project, was fired during the filming process.
They finished reworking the film about Pilecki after the first director
Leszek Wosiewicz is known for such films as “Home Chronicles”, “Kornblumenblau”, “Breaking the Silence” or “Cinga”. In an interview with wPolityce, the director emphasized that he had been working on the script for a film about Pilecki for three years, which was a difficult task because the communist authorities destroyed many documents about him, he also added that “in some circles” there is “a kind of ostracism around this topic”.
The filmmaker gathered the cast and got the green light from the Ministry of Culture in March 2019. Already then, however, there was feedback about his script, which was written for three hours of film. As a result, Wosiewicz shortened it so that the projection ended in 2.5 hours. By the time he was about 70% done. planned material, the label showed the fruits of his work to representatives of TVP, PISF, WFDiF, the Ministry of Culture and several directors. One of the projection participants anonymously told wp.pl: “It was a narrative and dramaturgical disaster. It was poorly told, it was not clear what it was about. There was no main character. There are a number of scenes, but it is not clear from them who the hero is and what the hero wants. There is no drama. The topic, to put it mildly, escaped Wosiewicz.” As a result of this review, it was decided that Wosiewicz would be removed from the project, and Krzysztof Łukaszewicz took over the script.
The new director of “Raport Pilecki” from TVP used to work on the series “For Good and Bad”, “M jak miłość” or “Korona Królów. Jagielloniami”. He has also made the films “General Nil”, “Lynch”, “Living Belarus!”, “Karbala” and “Eagles. Grodno ’39”. His task was to shoot additional scenes and save the previously prepared material. Originally, the premiere of the film was to take place in 2021, but as you can see, more time was needed. The film will also be released in theaters two years after its scheduled date. Interestingly, the music for the production was prepared by composer Michał Lorenc.
“The Pilecki Report” in cinemas with a two-year delay. Cast
Przemysław Wyszyński starred in the main role. Apart from that, viewers will have the opportunity to see Paulina Chapko as Maria Pilecka, Mariusz Jakus as Eugeniusz Chimczak, Karol Wróblewski as Józef Różański and Paweł Paprocki as Józef Cyrankiewicz. Wyszyński explains his approach to the project as follows:
My task was to tell the story of an authentic man who once existed, had his dreams and desires, felt the full spectrum of emotions, joy, love and fear, a man who was put in an impossible situation and yet managed to keep his humanity. Witold had a beautiful, loving heart that he could listen to.
He is a very inspiring figure, which is why I decided to get to know Witold first and find out as much as possible about him, what kind of person he was, what his motivations and goals were. I wanted to see the world through his eyes.
Why do TVP and Minister Gliński care so much about the film about Pilecki?
To a large extent, the summary prepared by TVP and the profile of the main character show why TVP, PiSF and the Ministry of Culture provided funding for the project so generously, and then actively intervened in the production.
Witold Pilecki, the authors of the study enumerate, was: “a scout, a participant in the Battle of Warsaw, a defender of Poland in 1939, a member of the resistance, a Warsaw insurgent, he also fought in Anders’ army.” What’s more, he “displayed courage unprecedented in the world”, they emphasize. Pilecki “volunteered to enter the concentration camp in Auschwitz, from which he daringly escaped after 947 days. In a report written after his escape, he told the world the truth about the criminal activities of the Germans. After the war, arrested, tortured and sentenced to death by the communists for activities hostile to People’s Poland, he never renounced his ideals,” we read.
If anyone is still unsure what to think about Captain Pilecki, TVP offers an explanation: “A patriot faithful to his values and oath to Free Poland was torn between his duties towards his homeland and family. A brave soldier and at the same time a tender father and husband faced tragic moral dilemmas. His character will forever remain in our culture a symbol of love, heroism and an unwavering fight for the truth.”
We also cannot forget what happened around this character after the political transformation. “In 1990, Captain Pilecki was rehabilitated, and in 2006, President Lech Kaczyński posthumously awarded him the Order of the White Eagle. In 2013, the captain was promoted to the rank of colonel. The British historian Professor Michael Foot included Witold Pilecki among the six bravest men of the resistance movement during World War II” – we learn from the press release of the film “The Pilecki Report”.
She also contributed to promoting the production. On her website, we read that this film “is a story about the history of Poles, the history of the world, as well as a man embedded in the two most terrible totalitarianisms that try to arrange the world in an inhuman way”.
This is not the end, because the “Pilecki Report” has more strategic tasks. “The film is an attempt to show the world and the international viewer a Polish hero and the tragedy that he and Poland had to face. It is an opportunity to educate members of the Polish national community and create tools to talk about our war perspective. The awareness of European countries is very distant from the reality of Poland during World War II.”
The issue of educating foreign viewers and the media is also raised: “It is also an attempt to debunk the international narrative about ‘Polish death camps’, showing the attitude of Poles saving Jews. The film also introduces the foreign viewer to the phenomenon of ‘Cursed Soldiers’ and their fate in post-war, communist Poland and discovers the truth about the Germans and Soviets, torturers of national heroes”.
The film had a pre-premiere screening in May this year at the Museum of the Victims of Communism in Washington. It was organized by TVP, the Polish National Foundation, the Documentary and Feature Film Studio, and the Washington Foundation for the Remembrance of Victims of Communism. Among those present were Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński, as well as former US Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, and at the same time president of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Andrew Bremberg, vice-president of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, former US ambassador to Estonia and diplomat (importantly, of Polish descent) Aldona Woś and president of the Polish National Foundation Dr. Marcin Zarzecki and vice-president of the PFN Michał Góras.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
