The documentary ŻURAWSCY Z KAJN, directed by Wanda Laddy and Adam Błaszczok, was honoured at the 14th International NNW Festival in Gdynia.
The picture sheds light on the tragic fate of Warmian activists living in the village of Kajny (near Olsztyn, Warmia). Five of the Żurawskis lost their lives for their pro-Polish campaigning at the hands of the oppressive Nazi and Communist regimes. Of those, Alfons Żurawski suffered the most tragic fate, beheaded in the Brandenburg prison in 1942 on charges of high treason. Alfons thus joined the ranks of Warmia’s martyrs who died during World War II. His beatification process is underway.
ŻURAWSCY Z KAJN is a beautiful film, deliberately structured, thoughtful in every detail, with a moody score and uplifting dramatic vocals (Wanda Laddy). Despite its subject-matter being removed in time by decades, it still manages to be extremely moving. It is also a film of historical import, tackling the relatively little-known subject of Warmian history. The people portrayed and their accomplishments tell their own tale, brought to a beautiful and heartwrenching finale with a letter from the dying Alfons.
The rich cinematography, the impeccable pacing, the lay of the land, the view of the houses, the chapel, the trees, the roads, the vivid greenery, the unmistakeable stone edifices – images in which singular visages are immortalized, faces of exceptional people who lived an exceptional and dramatic tale, brought to life in this film about an illustrious Warmian family.
“A film that moves you to your core, that makes you think and reflect on life. Very well made as well – the cinematography, music and editing make the drama of the story all the more palpable” the host of the film’s premiere and the Marshal of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, Gustaw Marek Brzezin, said of the film.
The film was co-financed by the Warmia-Masuria Film Fund with the financial means from the voivodeship self-government and The Wojciech Kętrzyński North Institute in Olsztyn.
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Directed by: Adam Błaszczok, Wanda Laddy
Written by: Andrzej Wojnach
Cinematography by: Tomasz J. Osiński
Produced by: Gradendoyl Wanda Laddy
Co-produced by: The Wojciech Kętrzyński North Institute in Olsztyn, Warmia-Masuria Film Fund
Premiered: 13 December 2022 – Olsztyn
