“THE OFFICERʼS WIFE”

UK Premiere of “THE OFFICERʼS WIFE” a documentary about the collision of truth, justice and memory in Katyn.

(17 September 2012, 7pm at Riverside Studios, London. Followed by screenings in Southampton, Swansea, Reading, Liverpool, Manchester Edinburgh and Glasgow, 18-22 August 2012)

All events followed by a Q&A with director Piotr Uzarowicz.

70-year suppressed family tragedy is revealed when a son discovers his grandmother’s memoir: a few old photos of an officer and a mysterious postcard in his fathers safe deposit box.

Academy-award winner Jan A.P. Kaczmarek partnered with newcomer Piotr Uzarowicz to create a moving story that weaves dramatic interviews with bold animation about a family caught in the cross-fire of the Soviets and Nazis and the lifelong repercussions that followed.

The family tragedy that is a direct result of Katyn is rarely, if ever, discussed. Two million families (mostly wives, children and direct relatives of the murdered officers) were taken from their homes in Poland and deported to Siberia by the Soviets at the start of World War II. Over half were dead within one year. This documentary is their story. Today, the survivors’ journey leads to Strasbourg where the European Human Rights Court deliberates the case of the murdered officers. With this in mind, the film plunges into the depths of the former Soviet Union to retrace the officers’ and families’ final footsteps and to bear witness to their last moments. But can any ruling really deliver justice and heal a family 70 years after the crime?

“What moved me was the personal approach to the topic. Piotrʼs passion illuminates this family tragedy and difficult piece of history.”- Oscar winner and Producer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek

 “I watched THE OFFICER'S WIFE with gripping intensity and outraged emotions. It is a most effective presentation of the overall context of the crime." - Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Former NSA Director

 “It is on par with Andrzej Wajdaʼs KATYN, but from a unique, American point of view.” - Dr. Lukasz Kaminski, Director, IPN (Institute of National Remembrance)

 “THE OFFICER’S WIFE personalizes this unprecedented war crime, which reverberates down the generations of Polish families persecuted by the Soviets in World War II.” - Stefan Wiśniowski, Founder, Kresy-Siberia Foundation

The screenings are organized by the Polish Cultural Institute in partnership with Kresy Siberia and Dziennik Polski (Polish Daily in the UK).

Synopsis:

Officer’s Wife. Dir. Piotr Uzarowicz, 2011, 80 min. (USA)

Before the start of World War II, Cecylia is happily married to a decorated Polish army officer and is an adoring mother of three young boys. As Nazi and Soviet tanks roll across Poland, her husband suddenly disappears and she is forcibly deported to a Siberian gulag. While imprisoned, she must battle the Soviets and the wild to keep her family alive. Risking a daring escape, Cecylia searches for her kidnapped husband – uncovering only betrayal, murder and a shocking Allied cover-up.

Listing Information:

Monday 17 Sept 2012, 7pm, Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9RL, followed by a Q&A with director Piotr Uzarowicz;

Tickets: £9.50/£8.50 Box Office: 0208 237 1111, Book online: www.riversidestudios.co.uk

Times and venues for Southampton, Swansea, Reading, Liverpool, Manchester Edinburgh and Glasgow to be announced soon.

Please check www.polishculture.org.uk for further details.

All events followed by a Q&A with director Piotr Uzarowicz.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Polish Cultural Institute (www.polishculture.org.uk) is a part of the Polish diplomatic mission in the UK, with aim of promoting and fostering an understanding of Polish culture throughout the country. With offices based in Soho, the heart of creative London, the Institute devises programmes of cultural events in the genres of visual arts, film, theatre, music and literature, in collaboration with the most establishes as well as cutting edge British cultural organisations.

Kresy Siberia is an organization, which supports the worldwide research, remembrance and recognition of Polish citizens’ struggles under occupation and in exile in connection with the Second World War. www.kresy-siberia.org

Press tickets and high resolution images available on request. Please email: Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript.">Ten adres pocztowy jest chroniony przed spamowaniem. Aby go zobaczyć, konieczne jest włączenie w przeglądarce obsługi JavaScript. or T 0 (044) 207 440 0244.

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