Series & Events
Katyn
Presented in association with Seattle Polish Film Festival
Academy Award Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film, 2008
In a forest named Katyn, near Smolensk in the Soviet Union, more than 4,000 Polish prisoners of war were methodically killed during World War II with a bullet to the back of the neck. The mass graves were discovered in 1943, but no one believed at the time that they held so many dead. For 50 years the executions were hushed up or blamed on Germany. In turn, Germany blamed the Soviets, however, the question of responsibility remained unresolved, even in the West.
This film follows four Polish families on the home front as some beg their loved ones to flee with them before the invasion. Others wait in vain for news from the front. All are trapped in a web of lies, denial, and murder. Finally, in 1990, Russia formally expressed “profound regret” and admitted that the Soviet secret police carried out the order to rid Poland of any high-level military personnel who might oppose the Communization of the country.
“I see my film as a story of a family separated forever,” said director Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds, Man of Marble), whose father was probably one of the victims. This film is a struggle for memory and truth as it helps close a grisly page in Polish and Russian history. In Polish, Russian, and German with English subtitles.
“Poland’s master filmmaker Andrzej Wajda vividly and movingly dramatizes one of the last major crimes of World War II to be acknowledged.” – Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
Cast & Crew
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Producer: Michael Kwiecinski
Editor: Milenia Fielder
Screenwriter: Andrzej Wadja, Wladyslaw Pasikowski, Przemyslaw Nowakowski, based on Andrzej Mularczyk’s novel
Cinematographer: Pawel Edelman
Awards: Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film)
Music: Krzysztof Penderecki
Principal Cast: Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Zmijewski, Andrzej Chyra, Jan Englert, Danuta Stenka
Filmography: The Revenge (2002); Korczak (1990); Man of Iron (1981); The Girl from Wilko (1979); Man of Marble (1977); Land of Promise (1975); Everything for Sale (1969); Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
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user reviews
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The Best Way To Learn History, Jun 02, 2008
By William Adams
“This is a historical drama with documentary detail about the Soviet Union’s slaughter of 20,000 Polish army officers at the end of World War II, and the subsequent cover-up as Stalin’s army occupied Poland, blaming the massacre on the Nazis. My understanding is that this lie was not exposed until”
… full review
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Katyn, Jun 04, 2008
By Jeff Cavanaugh
“While very well done, this was quite possibly one of the most depressing cinematic events of the festival. The worst part was that the film is based on a true story, and the ending is not in question. This makes the journey to get to this horrible ending all the more painful.”
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