Movie explores ‘darker recesses’ of Polish WW II history
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
31.08.2011 14:16
On the eve of the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, filming is drawing to a close on a provocative film exploring the alleged role of Poles in pogroms of Jews.
Aftermath (Poklosie) has assembled some of the most distinguished names in the Polish film industry and focuses on the 1941 killings that followed the Nazis' expulsion of the Soviets from the country's eastern territories.
The film looks at Poland's north eastern regions, where the infamous Jedwabne pogrom took place, in which over 300 Jewish citizens were herded into a barn by their Polish neighbours, with the building then burnt to the ground.
Pawel Edelman, the acclaimed cinematographer for Wajda's Katyn and Polanski's The Pianist, told the Polish Press Agency that Aftermath will be a film “that touches the darker recesses of our collective consciousness, speaking about anti-Semitism.
“I know it may sound a little naïve, but I believe that this film may help Poles to look at themselves a little closer,” he added.
Edelman expressed his hopes that “knowledge about these monstrous events of times past could prompt a collective therapy.”
Wladyslaw Pasikowski, best known for his 1992 film Dogs (Psy), a thriller about former communist agents, is directing, while the art direction is by Allan Starski, who won an Oscar for Schindler's List.
The cast includes such noted actors as Zbigniew Zamachowski, Jerzy Radziwilowicz and Maciej Stuhr.
Aftermath is set to be released in the autumn of 2012. (nh/pg)