The Way Back by Peter WeirAcclaimed film director Peter Weir is set to visit Poland for the official Polish premiere of his latest film, The Way Back (Niepokonani).
The film will inaugurate Krakow’s OFF PLUS CAMERA Festival, which begins on April 8.
According to historian Anne Applebaum, wife of Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and an advisor to the director, The Way Back is one of the first films to provide an authentic portrayal of life in the Soviet Gulag.
The film, which is based on a book by Slawomir Rawicz, tells the story of Janusz, a young Pole arrested by the Soviets at the beginning of the Second World War.
Deported to Siberia, the hero leads an escape from a forced labour camp, walking 4,000 miles over the Himalayas to India.
The authenticity of the Rawicz’s book – originally purported to be a memoir - has been questioned in recent years.
However, the film will be keenly observed in Poland. Several hundred thousand Poles were deported by Stalin during the war, many of whom were compelled to trek vast distances following Moscow’s official amnesty of 1941, during which Stalin allowed Poles to regroup to form an army that would fight against the Nazis.
The cast for The Way Back includes Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess and Colin Farrell as a Russian convict.
Peter Weir, an Australian by birth, is best known for films such as Master and Commander, Dead Poets Society and The Truman Show.
The OFF PLUS CAMERA Festival is now in its 4th year, and it has earnt a reputation as one of the finest international film festivals in Central Europe.
The premise of the festival is to present World Cinema that breaks the blockbuster mould. The event runs from April 8 – 17. (nh)