Jacob Burns Film Center Celebrates the Centennial of Andrzej Wajda with Weeklong Retrospective

Eight essential films from the legendary Polish filmmaker screen October 9–15, including newly restored works

The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) will celebrate the centennial of legendary Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda with a retrospective featuring eight of his essential films, October 9–15, 2026. Several films in the series have been newly restored after being unavailable in theaters for years.

A cinematic trailblazer and one of the most influential figures in Polish cinema, Wajda explored the defining political and social questions of his time through a body of work spanning more than six decades. His films grapple with war, resistance, political repression, censorship, capitalism, democracy, and freedom, while remaining deeply attentive to the individual lives caught within the forces of history.

Wajda’s work has earned admiration from some of cinema’s most celebrated filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Spielberg praised Wajda for having “inspired audiences around the world, giving them an artist’s view of history, democracy and freedom.”

“Andrzej Wajda is a true master filmmaker whose work demands to be experienced on the big screen,” said Ian LoCascio, JBFC Film Programmer. “This retrospective offers audiences a rare opportunity to discover, or rediscover, the extraordinary work of a filmmaker whose influence continues to be felt around the world.”

The retrospective opens with Wajda’s feature directorial debut, A Generation (1954), the first film in his acclaimed war trilogy. Set during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw, the film follows a group of young resistance fighters and establishes themes of honor, courage, and sacrifice that would recur throughout Wajda’s career.

The series continues with Kanał (1957), a harrowing account of resistance fighters navigating Warsaw’s sewer system during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising; Ashes and Diamonds (1958), Wajda’s celebrated postwar drama starring Zbigniew Cybulski; and Innocent Sorcerers (1960), a jazz-fueled portrait of Poland’s socially modern but politically disengaged postwar youth.

The retrospective also includes The Promised Land (1974), Wajda’s Academy Award-nominated satire of wealth, capitalism, and industrialization; Man of Marble (1976), a landmark examination of censorship, ideology, and the responsibility of artists to challenge authority; and Man of Iron (1981), the Palme d’Or-winning follow-up that directly engages with Poland’s political climate and the Solidarity movement.

The series concludes with Katyń (2007), Wajda’s deeply personal account of the 1940 Katyń massacre and its aftermath. Wajda’s own father was among those killed in the massacre, and the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The Andrzej Wajda Centennial is presented in collaboration with Di Factory, the Polish Film Institute, and WFDiF.

Screening Schedule:

A Generation (1954, 87 min.)
Friday, October 9 at 1:00 pm & Sunday, October 11 at 7:30 pm

Innocent Sorcerers (1960, 87 min.)
Friday, October 9 at 3:10 pm & Monday, October 12 at 4:30 pm

Kanał (1957, 96 min.)
Friday, October 9 at 5:15 pm, Sunday, October 11 at 2:45 pm, and Tuesday, October 13 at 5:00 PM

Ashes and Diamonds (1958, 100 min.)
Friday, October 9 at 7:30 pm, Sunday, October 11 at 5:00 pm, and Wednesday, October 14 at 5:00 PM

The Promised Land (1974, 163 min.)
Saturday, October 10 at 12:00 pm & Monday, October 12 at 6:45 pm

Man of Marble (1976, 161 min.)
Saturday, October 10 at 3:40 pm & Thursday, October 15 at 1:00 pm

Man of Iron (1981, 152 min.)
Saturday, October 10 at 7:00 pm & Thursday, October 15 at 4:10 pm