''Death of a President'' ( pl, Śmierć prezydenta) is a 1977 Polish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Jerzy Kawalerowicz Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since ...

. It was entered into the

28th Berlin International Film Festival The 28th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 February to 5 March 1978. Director Wolf Donner successfully managed to shift the festival's date from June to February, a change which has remained ever since. This was the firs ...

, where it won the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution. The film was also selected as the Polish entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

51st Academy Awards The 51st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1978 and took place on April 9, 1979, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 7:00 p.m. ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The film depicts the 1922

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of the first

President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...

Gabriel Narutowicz Gabriel Józef Narutowicz (; 29 March 1865 – 16 December 1922) was a Polish professor of hydroelectric engineering and politician who served as the first President of Poland from 11 December 1922 until his assassination on 16 December, five d ...

by artist and Endecja sympathizer Eligiusz Niewiadomski.

Cast

* Zdzisław Mrożewski as president

Marek Walczewski Marek Walczewski (9 April 1937 – 26 May 2009) was a Polish actor. He appeared in 55 films and television shows between 1963 and 2004. Partial filmography * ''Passenger'' (1963) - Tadeusz, husband of Marta * ''Ruchome piaski'' (1969) - Fa ...

as painter Eligiusz Niewiadomski *

Henryk Bista Henryk Bista (12 March 1934 – 8 October 1997) was a Polish actor. He appeared in over 110 films between 1961 and 1997. He starred in the 1977 film '' Death of a President'', which was entered into the 28th Berlin International Film Festiva ...

as priest Marceli Nowakowski * Czesław Byszewski as Prime Minister Julian Nowak * Jerzy Duszyński as marshall

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

Edmund Fetting Edmund Andrzej Fetting (10 November 1927, in Warsaw, Poland – 30 January 2001 there) was a Polish film and theatrical actor and occasional singer. Fetting was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1980) and the Gold C ...

as general Józef Haller * Kazimierz Iwor as Herman Lieberman * Julian Jabczyński as count Stefan Przezdziecki * Zbigniew Kryński as Stanisław Thugutt * Leszek Kubanek as

Norbert Barlicki Norbert Barlicki (6 June 1880, in Sieciechów, Radom Governorate, Congress Poland – 27 September 1941, in Auschwitz) was a Polish publicist, lawyer and politician of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). Barlicki was murdered during the Second Wo ...

* Włodzimierz Saar as Stanisław Stroński * Jerzy Sagan as Wincenty Witos * Janusz Sykutera as Stanisław Car *

Tomasz Zaliwski Tomasz Zbigniew Zaliwski (15 December 1929, Rudzieniec, Poland – 13 July 2006, Warsaw) was a film, theatre, and radio actor. Biography He interrupted his studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (mathematical faculty) to move ...

as Maciej Rataj * Teodor Gendera as Marian Zyndram-Kościałkowski

References

External links

* 1977 films 1977 drama films 1970s political drama films 1970s historical drama films Polish historical drama films 1970s Polish-language films Films based on actual events Films set in Warsaw Films directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution {{historic-film-stub

Cast

See also

References

External links