Portrait of a Soldier
The story of a girl-soldier coming of age,
amidst the bloodiest resistance fight of World War II
1 x 58 min Documentary
Available on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and Google Play.
DVD available from distributor Journeyman Pictures.
Portrait of a Soldier is the story of one of the most brutal and bloody battles of WW2.
In Poland, the subject is seen from many different perspectives and, like all battles, has it’s own specific circumstances; military, political, social and seen from Poland’s history of Uprisings – cultural.
Yet, the Warsaw Uprising, remains a battle that is little known outside of Poland:
Fought from the 1 August – 2 October 1944 the outcome of the 63-day battle is a tragedy. An estimated 18 000 Polish Insurgents lost their lives. Between 180 000 – 200 000 Civilians died during the Rising. Following the capitulation of the Home Army, Warsaw became a city of ruins.
The story of the Warsaw Uprising is the story of Allies who fought for freedom – and lost.
Yet despite the tragic end, it is also a story of immense beauty: of heroism and resistance against all odds...
At 5 pm, on the 1st of August 1944,
Europe's largest underground resistance army -
The Polish Home Army, rose up against the Germans.
Men, women and children fought to liberate Warsaw.
This is the story of one of them.
Portrait of a Soldier is the story of the Warsaw Uprising told through the experiences of one soldier.
Wanda ps.“Paczek” Traczyk-Stawska was 17 years old at the time of the Rising and she may, at first, seem like an unlikely soldier...
The majority of women in the Polish Home Army served as nurses or couriers, but Wanda felt a different calling:
“I was a shooter – liaison girl. In battle I fought just like a boy. It was a need from the heart.”
ABOVE: "Samorobka" - a "home-made" gun.
Photograph © Marianna Bukowski from the collection at the Warsaw Rising Museum.
Though in many ways Wanda’s story is also characteristic of the Polish resistance fighter: “We were children of the occupation – we wanted to be free and it was for this freedom that we fought so fiercely.”
Belonging to what is known in Poland as ‘Generation 20’, many of the resistance fighters taking part in the Uprising were born in the 1920's and only at the brink of adulthood in 1944...
Portrait of a Soldier is the story of coming of age – on the battlefield.
“At a different age, this would be impossible – it only exists in teenagers…When an idea is more important than life…Because we had experienced such a brutal treatment by the Germans, just at the time when you leave childhood …and enter this time of youth where you look for ideals… So, we were friends for life and death”
ABOVE:
Ms. Wanda Traczyk-Stawska during the Warsaw Rising of 1944.
Photo centre: Wanda - dressed in a pilot's cap firing her "Blyskawica" / "Lightning" (Polish version of a Sten gun) establishing fire-contact with the Germans to locate their positions.
The interviews for Portrait of a Soldier were filmed over several years, and this has allowed for an intimate documentary with a unique insight. The narrative structure is built to create an interesting personal perspective for viewers both familiar, and unfamiliar, with the 63-day battle and it's aftermath.
Portrait of a Soldier is the story of a specific and unique battle within the context of World War II - yet Wanda's experiences also transcend their time; becoming a universal story - of anyone young, caught up in an armed conflict in times of war.
Photograph © Jerzy Tomaszewski. May not be reproduced, used here with permission.
The archive material for Portrait of a Soldier has been meticulously sourced:
With beautiful and rarely seen archive filmed during the Warsaw Rising (cleaned original negative HD transfer), the film also contains a vast collection of photographs, of both soldiers and civilians - amongst them, the acclaimed work of photographers Jerzy Tomaszewski, Eugeniusz Lokajski and Sylwester Braun.
Original film score composed by Wayne Urquhart.
Online Edit by Dean Wyles at ENVY Post Production.
SELECTED FOR SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST VIDEOTHEQUE 2015!
1 x 58 min HD Color and B/W. 2.0 and 5.1 Dolby Sound
Polish language with English / Polish GFX elements and English subtitles.
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures Ltd.
Broadcast / Sales Contact:
Lucy Matthias +44 (0)208 786 6057
email: films@journeyman.tv
http://www.journeyman.tv
