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SUMMARY:Film Screening : « Ashes and Diamonds » by Andrzej Wajda
UID:https://instytutpolski.pl/brussels/en/2026/04/24/film-screening-ashes-and-diamonds-by-andrzej-wajda/
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DESCRIPTION:Ashes and Diamonds / Popiół i diament (1958) by Andrzej Wajda is one of
the most important films of the so-called Polish Film School. Set in
post-war Poland, it portrays not only the moral and personal dilemmas of
the individual, but also the conflict between generations, ideologies, and
competing visions for a new Poland. Shot in a distinctive, highly realistic
style enriched with powerful symbolism, Ashes and Diamonds has become a
classic of Polish cinema, addressing themes of memory, identity, and the
cost of ideals.
© mat. Filmu Polskiego
Set on VE Day, 8 May 1945, Ashes and Diamonds takes place in a provincial
Polish town where the end of the war brings not relief but a profound
crisis of identity. Adapted from Jerzy Andrzejewski’s novel, the film
follows Maciek (Zbigniew Cybulski), a resistance fighter confronting a
final assassination mission just as he glimpses the first fragile
possibility of life beyond conflict. Poland’s fighters—caught between
their wartime loyalties and the uneasy dawn of communist rule—struggle to
understand what their sacrifices mean in a landscape where the victors are
also former invaders.
The film’s title, taken from lines by poet Cyprian Norwid, poses a
haunting question: can any “diamond” of hope survive the ashes left by
war?
The screening will feature English subtitles, an introduction by Kris Van
Heuckelom, and will be followed by a discussion with Konrad Klejsa.
Konrad Klejsa, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Film
History and Theory at the University of Łódź. He is the author of
Filmowe oblicza kontestacji (Warsaw, 2008) and co-editor of several
collective volumes, including Kino polskie: reinterpretacje. Historia –
ideologia – polityka (with Ewelina Nurczyńska-Fidelska, Kraków, 2007).
He has received scholarships from the Foundation for Polish Science (2006),
the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, 2007), the
weekly Polityka (2008), and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher
Education (2009). He is a recipient of the Bolesław Michałek Award
(for Filmowe oblicza kontestacji) and the Polish Film Institute (PISF)
Award (for Kino bez tajemnic).© Maciej Andrzejewski (University of
Łódż)
Kris Van Heuckelom, PhD, has a background in Slavic and Eastern European
Studies and teaches in the MA programs in cultural, literary, and
translation studies at KU Leuven. He specializes in late modern Polish
literature and culture, with a focus on comparative and transnational
perspectives. His teaching covers European literatures and cinemas,
Polish–Dutch literary translation, and East–West dynamics in
contemporary Europe.As a literary translator, he co-edited a Dutch
translation of Bruno Schulz’s letters (2017) and several anthologies of
contemporary Polish poetry, including works by Adam Zagajewski and Ryszard
Krynicki. He is secretary of the Flemish Association for Literary Studies
and serves on the editorial board of Cahier voor Literatuurwetenschap.©
KULeuven
SCREENING:Monday, May 9 at 5 PMFilm introduction by prof. Kris Van
HueckelomQ&A with prof. Konrad KlejsaCinema ZED LeuvenAndreas
Vesaliusstraat 9C, 3000 LeuvenTICKETS
Projection is organized as part of the programme “2026 – The Year of
Andrzej Wajda”
           
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