Ashes and Diamonds

Ashes and Diamonds is set on the last day of World War II and the first day of peace. And between them, a night that changes everything. Seen through the eyes of Maciek, a young Polish resistance soldier, the old is rapidly mixing with the new. In a few hours dawn will end the Nazi slavery of the country, but also will bring a new communist regime to Poland. This is not the independence the idealistic young man and his brothers in arms have been fighting and dying for. Should Maciek continue his combat when he wants so badly to live a normal, peaceful life? An iconic portrait of the dilemma of a whole generation in Poland, rooted in the literary tradition of great, tragic dramas of romanticism.

Accolades

1960 BAFTA Awards – BAFTA Film Award – nomination. 1956 Venice Film Festival – FIPRESCI Prize – winner.

Cast & Crew

Directed by Andrzej Wajda. Written by Jerzy Andrzejewski and Andrzej Wajda. Cinematography: Jerzy Wójcik. Production design by Roman Mann. Music by Jan Krenz. Editing by Halina Nawrocka. Production management Stanisław Adler. Produced by Studio Filmowe Kadr. Cast: Zbigniew Cybulski (Maciek Chełmicki), Ewa Krzyżews- ka (Krystyna), Wacław Zastrzeżyński (Szczuka), Adam Pawlikowski (Andrzej), Bogumił Kobiela (Drewnowski).