National Remembrance – The Pianist – Sunday, May 4 at 1:30 PM
During the National Remembrance Day on May 4, the Netherlands commemorates the victims of World War II and of subsequent conflicts and peacekeeping missions. On this day, the powerful film The Pianist will be screened once.
Director Roman Polanski called The Pianist his “most personal film.”
This film, based on his harrowing experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto, is an unforgettable epic about the power of hope and the resilience of the human spirit. A miraculous survival story, masterfully brought to life. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody stars as Szpilman, the most celebrated young musician of his time, portraying his inspiring journey of survival as war breaks out. Along the way, he receives unexpected help from a sympathetic German officer.
Roman Polanski’s masterpiece The Pianist won 3 Academy Awards and the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Adrien Brody, who plays the lead role, won his second Oscar for Best Actor this year for his performance in The Brutalist.
About Director Roman Polanski
During World War II, Polanski’s family, like other Jews in Krakow, was forced into the ghetto by the Nazis. His father cut a hole in the barbed wire and pushed the 9-year-old Roman through it. He found shelter with a farming family in the area. His father survived the Mauthausen concentration camp, but his mother perished in Auschwitz.
Polanski was originally approached by Steven Spielberg to direct Schindler’s List, but he declined, saying the subject was still too personal. After reading Władysław Szpilman’s memoir Death of a City, he decided to make a World War II film after all – and that became The Pianist.
