The Opening Gala of the 23rd Warsaw Jewish Film Festival will be dedicated to the memory of the late Marian Turski, an exceptional figure to our community. Turski was not only one of the leaders of Polish Jewish life but also an unquestionable moral authority.

Together with our main partner - the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews - and the Association Of The Jewish Historical Institute Of Poland, we have the honor of inviting you to an event commemorating Marian Turski. The official ceremony will be followed by a screening of the film My Happiest Day, directed by Michał Bukojemski. "My Happiest Day" is a deliberately paradoxical title drawn from Marian Turski's own life experiences. It does not refer to the birth of his daughter, his wedding ceremony, or an intimate memory from peacetime, but to the time of the Holocaust. It pertains to the day when the young Turski, experiencing terrible physical pain, humiliation, and various forms of suffering, understood that he had successfully passed the selection and would live. As it turned out, a long, fascinating, and turbulent life awaited him, but at that moment, only the present mattered - the fact that immediate death was not his fate. This poignant testimony was recorded by Michał Bukojemski, and we wish to recall it and experience it once more in the company of Marian Turski's friends and supportive audience.

Marian Turski was the Guest of Honour at our Closing Gala on November 10, 2024, during which the world premiere of Yoav Potash's film Among Neighbors took place. The film received the Camera of David Foundation's Special Award, funded by Polish Television. One year after that event we would like the voice of Turski to be heard again in the auditorium of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and so in this symbolic way, our mentor could bid farewell to the festival community.

Following the film screening, there will be a discussion featuring: Jerzy Baczyński, Editor-in-Chief of Tygodnik Polityka; Zygmunt Stępiński, Director of the POLIN Museum; and Joanna Turska, daughter of Marian Turski. The discussion will be moderated by Joanna Fikus, Vice-President of the Management Board of the Jewish Historical Institute Association.

03-11-2025 19:00, Muzeum POLIN

Language: polish   Subtitles: english