Jan Świderski
Acting
Known For

Set in the time of Napoleon wars, shows how the wars swept over the unfortunate Polish country at the beginning of the XIX-th century. Story revolves around the Polish legion under command of General Dabrowski, who then fought on Napoleon's side with the hopes of Poland's revival.
The Ashes

After escaping across Europe from Stalag camp, Dolas's ride to Cyprus is stopped when his ship in sunk by an Italian submarine. Although he and some of his fellow sailors are rescued by an Allied ship, they find themselves conscripted into the French Foreign Legion in Beirut, Dolas becoming a cook.
How I Unleashed World War II, Part II: Following the Arms
Karwowski, son of a pre-war colonel, is transferred from the West to Poland with the task of assembling a spy and diversion network. The task seems to be easy. However, after landing in Poland, it turns out that nobody wants to cooperate with him. Karwowski's "100% reliable" contacts with potential collaborators turn out to be completely outdated.
Career

Set during the German occupation of Warsaw during WWII, this musical tells the story of several inhabitants of the same tenement house.
Forbidden Songs

In what appears to be an inexplicable incident, a man drives up to a resort hotel in midwinter, throws away his car keys, enters, and proceeds to agitate everyone he meets with his urgency -- a message he is somehow unable to communicate. Then he leaves, disappearing in the snow. Later, the people he appeared to have upset have gathered to search for him and find him frostbitten, but alive. Visiting him at the sanatorium to which he has been taken, they gradually discover what was really happening.
The Spiral

Zbigniew Cybulski and Sonja Ziemann play lovers struggling to find happiness and privacy in overcrowded Warsaw. The movie shows an honest picture of life in a war-damaged city, contrasting the characters' difficulties with their dreams of a better life. It was banned in Poland in 1958 and would not be seen anywhere until its European release one year later.
The Eighth Day of the Week

Warsaw after the fall of the Warsaw Uprising. The Germans expel the civilian population and then proceed to systematically destroy the city. The capital is transformed into a sea of rubble, among which a few survivors hide – modern-day Robinsons. One of them is Piotr Rafalski, who rescues Krystyna, a wounded Jewish woman. Three soldiers of the People's Army, cooperating with a Soviet telegraph operator, are also in the city.
Unvanquished City
A wealthy German family is divided by the immorality of Nazi Germany, circa 1944. Former professional colleague, Joachim Peters, escapes from a Nazi concentration camp, and seeks refuge with his friends, the Sonnenbruchs. Torn between their duty as German citizens, and their greater humanitarian sensibilities, the family is divided in how to deal with Joachim's presence.
Niemcy

All the ambiance of an old-fashioned circus comes across with great clarity in this otherwise routine psychological tale about a mean-spirited mime and his effects on his colleagues. The small, traveling circus has been sliding downhill for awhile, and unless some new life is infused into its acts, its future does not look very rosy. Into this precarious situation comes a new mime with the uncanny ability to sap the confidence of his fellow performers. If he continues for long in this vein, no one will be able to believe they have any talent left at all.
The Impossible Goodbye

After WWII a soldier returns to his Polish homeland from Scotland.
Far Is the Road

A ruminative, understated drama on the nature of overwork versus an "unachieving" life away from the city, Pelnia examines the experience of one man. After leaving his high-pressured existence as a successful architect, the newly resolved dropout goes to live in a small community of cabins and summer homes in a lake-filled region north of Warsaw. His interactions with the villagers, including a drunkard and other eccentrics, provide an informative background for what happens next. The ex-architect's wife is a professional singer who has not abandoned the city or her life -- and she soon arrives to spend some time with her very changed husband.
Full Moon

Ola, a local school teacher, meets Janek, a sanatorium patient, and his friend Ark.
Lovers from Marona

A gamekeeper kills the deer against hunting regulations. The witness of the incident begins to blackmail him.
Troje i las

An old worker secures the future of his steel mill during the war.
Pierwsze dni
Tomasz, an old peasant, tries to find himself in the new reality after the First World War.