It's not the happiest of movies for holiday viewing but film and history buffs may not want to miss out on the special screening of Andrzej Wajda's acclaimed film 'Korczak' tonight.
Oscar-winning director Wajda is very much the grand old man of Polish cinema, and his film about a real-life hero of the wartime ghetto in Warsaw, Janusz Korczak, is amongst his most acclaimed.
The film is being screened by the Judaica Foundation as part of a wave of events to coincide with the Jewish New Year.
Janusz Korczak (1878-1942) was, and remains, a much-loved childrens author. Prior to the war, he also ran an orphanage for Jewish children. This was later moved to the ghetto, which had been created by the Nazi occupiers in 1940. Despite numerous offers from those beyond the wall, Korczak planned to remain with the children.
The film caused considerable controversy when it was first released in 1990 (see Source Link below), but it has since been championed by the likes of Stephen Spielberg, whose own film about the Jewish tragedy is now known worldwide.
Korczak is the second film by Wajda that was due to be played this week. September 2nd saw the 60th anniversary of the end of the Warsaw Uprising, the action by Polish patriots to liberate their capital from the Nazi Occupiers. Wajda's film about the conflict, 'Kanal' , which won the Silver Palm at Cannes in 1957, was due to be shown live on the streets from the screen above the Bagatela theatre. Sadly poor administration scuppered the plan.
However, if you're curious about the legacies of Wajda and Korczak, why not head down to the Jewish Cultural Centre in Kazimierz this evening.
Bajat Hadash: Encounters With Jewish Culture
Korczak by Andrzej Wajda
At the Jewish Cultural Centre, ul. Meiselsa 17 at 6pm
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