To listen to more of Andrzej Wajda’s stories, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVV0r6CmEsFy6EEYt468zst0wxZgLIw2T Polish film director Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016), whose début films portrayed the horror of the German occupation of Poland, won awards at Cannes which established his reputation as storyteller and commentator on Polish history. He also served on the national Senate from 1989-91. [Listener: Jacek Petrycki] TRANSCRIPT: We had seen various different images of the war, but an image showing the war being fought in the sewers - we had never seen an image like that. I have to say that American screenwriters picked this up very quickly when together with Jerzy Stawiński I found myself in Cannes where we showed 'Kanał' at the '58 Cannes Film Festival. The film was acclaimed and was awarded a prize by the jury. As soon as the film had been screened, American screenwriters who were also attending the festival rushed over to us, and I was present at a conversation they had with Stawiński. They said, 'How did you come up with such a fantastic idea? This is wonderful, you've got what it takes to write films for American cinema, come back with us to America.' To which he replied, 'No, this is real, it happened to me, we went into the sewers somewhere in Czerniakowo and came out in the city centre.' They said, 'OK, OK, OK, it's a fantastic idea. Come back with us and we'll make American films.' This shows to what extent it was an artistic conceit and not a real truth to those members of the public who were spectators. The truth was only sounded when Polish audiences saw the film, and I have to admit that this wasn't an easy moment for me because these audiences felt that somehow, these weren't the kind of heroes they wanted to see. It wasn't possible to deny this film its power and vividness but the more powerful it was and the more vivid, the worse matters became. The film is convincing whereas the partisans were different, they were all motivated by high ideals, and it was the idealistic ones who died. Here, instead of building a monument to those who lost their lives, we were showing the hell they'd endured in the sewers. I have to say that if it hadn't been for the award in Cannes, my prospects as a film director would have been bleak. That award saved me in a manner of speaking because Poles care greatly about what the world thinks of them, and this was a rare prize in those days for a Polish film. Therefore, when I returned with this award the younger generation, the younger audiences seemed to understand what Stawiński and I had wanted to say in this film. It gradually established itself and has remained part of the history of our cinema. But I have to say that, and come back to the fact that people were expecting a different kind of film. So here the consideration whether to make the film or not found its justification. If it hadn't been for the strength of Stawiński's narrative, if not for the acting of Janczar and the other actors, if not for Lipman's vivid photography, if not for several memorable scenes which were received with great ambivalence by the audiences, such as the moment when the dying Korab and the courier reach the grating. What do they see beyond the grating? Everyone who lived in Warsaw knew that the Soviet army was standing on the other side of the Vistula, but here there was no Soviet army. This was a suggestion that even the censors couldn't attack. They had simply reached a grating. Because of this, the film found its place while I was greatly encouraged. Firstly, I was noticed by international film critics. I was awarded the prize of a great international festival and felt that I would be allowed to make another film. Perhaps this isn't much but in those days, it was a great deal. And this is where the story of my choice begins because I was faced with the possibility of choosing from among several projects one of which I later completed, namely 'Ashes and Diamonds'.