Andrzej Wajda was born 6 March 1926 in Suwa?ki in North-Eastern Poland, the son of a serving officer in the Polish Army, and a school teacher.
He studied in the newly-formed film school in ?ód?, graduating in 1954 and made his debut film, "The Generation", a year later. This was the first of a trilogy of films depicting events he and his contemporaries had witnessed during the German occupation of Poland, showing with shocking realism the effects the war had had on the nation's youth. Both "Kana?" and "Ashes and Diamonds", the other two films in this trilogy, won awards when they were shown at the Cannes and Venice film festivals, respectively. With these films, Wajda established his reputation as both story-teller and commentator on Poland's often turbulent history, which his work has frequently mirrored.
Andrzej Wajda has won many awards and honours including the Special Jury Award at the Cannes International Film Festival for "Kana?" in 1957, the Jury and FIPRESCI Award at the International Film Festival in Venice for "Ashes And Diamonds" in 1959 and the Kyoto Prize, Japan's equivalent to the Nobel Prize. With the prize money that he received from this award he set up the Manggha Centre of Japanese Art in Kraków. He was also given an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000, Steven Speilberg recommended him for this award with the following words- Wajda belongs to Poland, but his films are part of the cultural treasures of mankind.
If you are already a Peoples Archive subscriber, we suggest the following stories as good places to start within the collection.
- What we knew about Soviets
- "The Generation" my first film
- "Ashes and Diamonds" and censorship
- "Man of Marble" comes into being after 12 years
- Western interest in Polish films during the Cold War
- Conversation with Akiro Kurosawa about Shakespeare