The Institute Of National Remembrance, Fish Ladder And Juice Studio Present “The Unconquered”

With this film we wish to launch an international educational campaign aimed at presenting the Polish, historical perspective on the key events of 1939-1989. I feel that with “The Unconquered” we have restored the perspective of General Anders’ soldiers of II Corps. That is, the relentless struggle for Poland’s freedom - says Adam Hlebowicz, deputy director of the Institute’s National Education Office. - This is a voice of a sovereign state that had the fourth largest army in the war, suffered the greatest losses and was the only one to fight in the conflict from the first to the last day. Without the Polish perspective one cannot fully understand the course and consequences of World War II, he adds.

The film’s premiere will be held before the 78th anniversary of Soviet invasion and will show the key moments of Poles’ fifty year long fight for freedom. These efforts will be presented by a character, who on one hand is a universal symbol of the struggle, and on the other, refers to iconic historical figures such as Capt. Witold Pilecki, Irena Sendler or Witold Urbanowicz. Some of the heroes appear for the first time in film: Gen. Stanisław Maczek, Jan Karski or Marian Rejewski.

Krzysztof Noworyta, producer and creative director at Fish Ladder points out that the film wonderfully corresponds with current conversations and debates surrounding Poland’s cultural and historical policy:- Important countries take great care of the manner in which their history is represented. They are excellent in placing their narration in the collective consciousness of the nation. “The Unconquered” marks the beginning of a new style of narration of Poland’s history. We speak the language of popular culture, because it is the contemporary lingua franca, spoken by the whole world.

The film was one year in the making. Apart from designing the story and narration, significant research was undertaken for finding appropriate visual language and aesthetics for the film.

We were looking for an original artistic style for the film, says Michał Misiński, of Juice studio, the film’s director. - On the one hand it was meant to carry powerful emotions, and on the other give space to construct non-literal messages and a poetic mood. The artistic convention allowed to construct poignant symbols such as that from the first scene, when the hero is being crushed by two walls, or the scene of Karski’s conversation with Roosevelt.

The character of the animation is educational and is meant to popularise Poland’s history. After watching it, the viewers will be referred to a specially made web site, which will help them better understand the history presented in the film and learn about the fate of the true heroes.

Our thinking about the film and our early work on its conception were founded on the idea that the war did not end in 1945 for everybody. - says Rafał Pękała, project coordinator of the Institute’s National Education Office. - It was our intention to emphasise how unjustly was Poland treated, but primarily how undervalued were the efforts of Polish soldiers, who heroically fought for the country’s freedom and that of the whole world, and who were not invited to the victory parade. Our allies never apologised, while for the Poles the end of the war brought another occupation, and thus another 45 years of fight, after “the war ended”. The fils is thus meant to show historical truth in a modern and at the same time symbolic manner. The film has an enormous educational potential, which we would like to utilise in the different projects of The National Education Bureau. The animation marvellously and synthetically shows Poland’s road to freedom from 1939 to 1989, a road of the Accursed Soldiers, the pro-independence opposition and of Solidarity, he adds.