Logo Polskiego Radia

Solidarity epic picked as Polish Oscar candidate

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 03.09.2012 10:02
A movie set just days before the imposition of martial law in December 1981 has been named the Polish candidate for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

image:
image: Distributor Kino Swiat - press materials

80 million, directed by Waldemar Krzystek, is set in the south-western city of Wrocław, one of the strongholds of the Solidarity movement.

The regional leader of the trade union, Władysław Frasyniuk, along with four colleagues, withdrew 80 million zloty of the organization's money from the bank as the crackdown loomed.

It was a daring action, carried out just hours before the union’s accounts were to be blocked, with Security Service officers breathing down the participants' necks.

The salvaged money helped organise Solidarity’s underground activities over the coming years.

Film director Juliusz Machulski, who chaired a panel of judges appointed by Minister of Culture Bogdan Zdrojewski, reflected that 80 million explored an important episode in Polish history in a universal and non-formulaic way, and with an optimistic message.

The film went on general release in Poland in November 2011, proving a popular success.

The Oscar nominations will be announced on 15 January 2013. Last year, Poland’s entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category – Agnieszka Holland’s Holocaust drama In Darkness – was among the ultimate five films nominated for the Academy Award. (mk/nh)

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us