One Hundred Years of Andrzej Wajda

A special one-time screening series of Andrzej Wajda’s films — every Tuesday in November at Cinema Spiegel. Not a single frame of his leaves you indifferent—and you won’t want to miss it!

Tickets: only 25 NIS

Films being screened:

November 3 — Man of Marble

Andrzej Wajda | Poland | 1977 | 157 minutes | English subtitles

A young film student sets out to investigate the story of Mateusz Birkut, a bricklayer who became a working-class hero in the 1950s and then disappeared from public consciousness. Through film journals, interviews, and archival materials, she exposes the gap between the myth created by the regime and the life of the man behind it. Wajda transforms a cinematic investigation into a gripping political drama about the making and erasure of heroes, and about the power of the camera to challenge the official narrative.

Introductory remarks in Hebrew: Benjamin Friedenberg

November 10 — Man of Iron

Andrzej Wajda | Poland | 1981 | 153 minutes | English subtitles

Gdańsk, summer 1980. Against the backdrop of a shipyard workers’ strike, a radio journalist is sent to gather material that will discredit a leading activist in the struggle. But his encounters with the strikers and with those close to the activist shake his loyalty to the assignment and force him to confront a moral choice. In this sequel to Man of Marble, Wajda combines fictional drama, historical documentation, and appearances by members of the Solidarity movement, capturing a moment when the struggle for workers’ rights becomes a demand for freedom and political change.

Introductory remarks in English: Laura Bialis

November 17 — The Promised Land

Andrzej Wajda | Poland | 1975 | 180 minutes | English subtitles

In the industrialized Łódź of the late nineteenth century, three friends—a Pole, a Jew, and a German—join forces to establish a textile factory and dream of wealth and success. In a world of ruthless competition, dubious deals, and intense passions, their ambition puts their friendship and moral boundaries to the test. In his adaptation of Władysław Reymont’s novel, Wajda creates a magnificent and powerful epic: a portrait of a city where everything is for sale, and of industrial progress built on exploitation and human lives.

November 24 — Afterimage

Andrzej Wajda | Poland | 2016 | 98 minutes | English subtitles

In postwar Poland, the painter and avant-garde artist Władysław Strzemiński refuses to subordinate his work to the dictates of socialist realism. While his students are drawn to his artistic vision, the authorities gradually restrict his ability to teach, create, and survive. Wajda’s final film is a poignant and moving portrait of an artist fighting for independence of vision and thought, and a cinematic meditation on creative freedom, a teacher’s responsibility, and the personal cost of remaining true to one’s path.