Andrzej Wajda's most important films

Over six decades, Andrzej Wajda chronicled the history of his country. His works received numerous awards at international film festivals. He was also awarded an honorary Oscar in 2000. Wajda often visited Berlin - like here during the premiere of his film "Katyn" during the 2008 Berlin Film Festival. He died on October 9, 2016, at the age of 90. DW presents a survey of his life's work in photos.

Topics that were to dominate filmmaker Andrzej Wajda's entire career already appeared in his very first film in 1955. "A Generation" is about Poland under German occupation during World War II. At the same time, the protagonists also looked towards the postwar era. Communism and capitalism, resistance and opportunism - these themes already played a role in the director's debut feature.

Wajda achieved world fame with his third film, "Ashes and Diamonds" (1958), set on May 8, 1945 - the day of Germany's capitulation. In this realist film, Wajda reflected on what the events meant for Poland. The movie is also an exploration of inner conflicts within Polish society, torn between communist dictatorship and the desire for freedom.

Following some other important works in the 60s, Andrzej Wajda emerged as an internationally acclaimed and respected director in the mid 70s. In 1974, he shot "The Promised Land," set in the city of Lodz, where Wajda had completed his studies at the renowned film academy many years earlier.

A new chapter in the career of the Polish director started in 1977 with the film "Man of Marble." Here, Wajda portrayed a character suffering under the socialist state-directed economic system. The interplay of fiction and documentary scenes is truly impressive.

Three years later, Wajda (right) directed "The Orchestra Conductor," a rather personal work that explored the relationship between art and reality, starring British theater actor John Gielgud along with Polish actress Krystyna Janda.

One year later, the director finished his next masterpiece. "Man of Iron" (1981) is all about the radical political transformation of his home country: the activities of the Solidarity labor movement and the state of emergency. Activist Lech Walesa even visited the team during the shooting of the film that was awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or during the Cannes Film Festival.

As a result of his political views, Wajda was forced to work outside Poland. But even while in exile he proved to be a highly successful filmmaker. His film "Danton," depicting the intrigues and racketeering of the French Revolution, feels like a thriller about politics and terror, passion and idealism. It starred the then young French actor Gérard Depardieu.

The Polish filmmaker also directed his next work in exile. In 1983, Wajda shot his film "A Love in Germany" in West Berlin and the southern federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Once again, this is all about German-Polish history and the relations between the two nations. Starring in the film is Polish actor Daniel Olbrychski and German actor Armin Mueller-Stahl.

After the end of the Cold War, Andrzej Wajda returned to work mainly in his home country. In the mid-90s, he directed "Holy Week," a drama about the fate of a Polish-Jewish woman during World War II. Here, the director showed what it meant to be of Jewish origin during the German occupation, even for someone who's not particularly religious.

In one of his last works, to be followed by "Afterimage" in 2016, Wajda referred to his most successful films, "Man of Marble" and "Man of Iron," all describing historical upheavals in Poland. In "Walesa. Man of Hope," he portrayed the life of electrician Lech Walesa who became the union leader at the Lenin dockyard before becoming President of Poland.