On October 5, 2025, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. will host a screening of Afterimage (Powidoki), directed by Andrzej Wajda. The event is organized by the National Gallery of Art, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, and the Wajda Film Centre.
This was Andrzej Wajda’s final film, made shortly before his death, and at the same time a work that closes an impressive career spanning more than six decades. Afterimage tells the story of Władysław Strzemiński, an outstanding avant-garde painter and art theorist who, after World War II, opposed the imposition of socialist realism on artistic creation. For his uncompromising stance he paid a high price – he was expelled from the university, deprived of his livelihood, and systematically erased from the public sphere. Wajda presents the drama of an individual who refuses to compromise and defends the right to artistic independence.
Although the story is set in postwar Poland, its message is universal. Afterimage is a film about artistic freedom, the courage to resist political pressure, and the boundaries an artist will not cross in the name of personal conviction. These themes remain relevant around the world and may be of particular interest to American audiences – viewers deeply engaged with questions of free expression, individual independence, and the role of art in shaping society.
The screening of Afterimage at the National Gallery of Art is part of a broader presentation of Andrzej Wajda’s work in the United States.
To mark the 25th anniversary of Andrzej Wajda receiving an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Wajda Film Centre presented his films in New York and Los Angeles, attracting significant public interest.
This event is a natural continuation of the dialogue between Polish culture and American audiences, for whom Wajda’s cinema remains not only a testimony to Polish history but also a reflection on the fate of the individual in a world full of political, social, and moral tensions.
Admission is free, but registration is required:
Organizers:
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state special-purpose fund.
The event is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
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