Jan Komasa on heroism, Wajda and the Warsaw Rising

Jan Komasa (C) during the making of Warsaw 44. Photo: Akson Studio

Director and screenwriter Jan Komasa spent eight years trying to bring the film to fruition, ultimately securing a budget of 25 million zloty (5.9 million euro).

191,900 people flocked to see the film during the opening weekend.

“We felt we needed to say something that is going to be heard by everybody, not just Poles,” Komasa told Polish Radio correspondent Nick Hodge at the 39th Gdynia Film Festival.

Komasa believes the Polish underground's 1944 bid to overthrow the Nazi German occupiers has the universal message of a “fight for freedom and dignity.”

But he stresses he was wary of falling into the traps of romanticism.

“Being a true hero – what does it mean?

“It's not running around with a flag on the barricades, like from Delacroix paintings.

“It's just you're there, you're helping people – you're risking your own life just to help your friends.”

The 32-year old director also speaks about the moral support he received from veteran film-maker Andrzej Wajda, whose movie on the Warsaw Rising Kanal won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival back in 1957.

The extended cut of the interview below features Komasa talking about future projects, and why it's time to take a break from World War II, in spite of offers from Hollywood.