Friday, September 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Aero Theatre, Santa Monica
### **ABOUT THE FILMS:** **ASHES AND DIAMONDS, 1958, Dir. Andrzej Wajda, 103 Mins, Janus Films, Poland** The final moments of World War II. A young Home Army soldier, Maciek Chełmicki, is given one last order—to assassinate a communist official who has arrived in a provincial town to assume power. As time passes, Maciek begins to question the purpose of the ongoing struggle. He falls in love with a bartender at the local hotel and witnesses the former pre-war elite celebrating the end of an era. In a world transitioning from war to peace, Maciek yearns to live and love—but he must keep fighting, remember the fallen, and sacrifice his own life. FORMAT: 35mm **EVERYTHING FOR SALE, 1969, Dir. Andrzej Wajda, 105 Mins, Poland** An auto-thematic story about the loss of a friend and a great actor. In this deeply personal film—his first with a screenplay written entirely by himself—Andrzej Wajda reflects on the phenomenon of Zbigniew Cybulski, offers a portrait of the Polish film industry, and, for the first and only time in such a direct way, speaks about himself. Wajda’s alter ego is played by Andrzej Łapicki, while the other actors infuse their roles with their own experiences and personalities. As a result, EVERYTHING FOR SALE becomes an intimate response to words Cybulski is said to have spoken shortly before his death: “Tell him he’ll miss me yet.” FORMAT: DCP