A documentary film about an American reporter who documented the desperate defense of Warsaw against the Nazi attack in September 1939 is being premiered today at a special screening at the National Opera in Poland’s capital.

Journalist Julien Bryan left Warsaw on 21 September, taking with him several thousand feet of film and some 700 photos focusing on the plight of the city’s civilian population.

Bryan’s photographs of a besieged Warsaw were published in December 1939 on the covers of American Look and Life magazines, and a 10-minute film entitled Siege had an audience of 80 million.

Most of Julien Bryan’s unique material has been recently discovered and restored to an incredible quality thanks to the Steven Spielberg Foundation.

The documentary Correspondent Bryan is the work of the Polish filmmaker Eugeniusz Starky, now living in the United States. It presents the events of September 1939 in Warsaw through the eyes of Julien Bryan, using his accounts as a narrative commentary. Most of the footage used in the film has never been shown before.

Among the consultants in the making of the film is Julien Bryan’s son, Samuel Bryan, a historian and documentary filmmaker.

Correspondent Bryan is a Polish-American co-production.