Wilhelm Brasse, a twenty-three-year-old man from Żywiec, was sent to Auschwitz. He spent more than four years there and, commissioned by the Nazis, kept photographic records. After the war, his photographs spread throughout the world, bearing witness to the tragedy of more than a million people. After what he had seen at Auschwitz, Brasse never returned to his profession. The dark memories of the camp prevented him from taking ordinary photographs.
The meeting will take place on 13 January 2023 at 5:00 p.m. in the conference room of the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre – International Ceramics Centre. The programme also includes a screening of the film “The Portraitist,” in which Wilhelm Brasse talks about his work as a photographer at the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the meeting, visitors will be able to see a special exhibition of photographs, presenting a simplified thematic cross-section of the book.
Anna Dobrowolska is an author, journalist and film producer. Since 2002, she has been responsible for producing feature films, documentaries, musicals and television programmes. She made the film “The Portraitist,” which received numerous awards in Poland and around the world. The book was based on an interview for the film The Portraitist. Most recently, together with Leonardo DiCaprio, she produced the documentary “Struggle, Life and the Lost Art of Szukalski” for Netflix.
She is currently working on a feature film about Wilhelm Brasse, produced as an international co-production.
“The Portraitist” is an award-winning film—it received, among others, the Silver Lajkonik at the Krakow Film Festival and the Grand Prix at the International Documentary Film Festival Humanity in the World in Stockholm. It tells the story of Wilhelm Brasse, a pre-war portrait photographer who was a participant in and witness to the most tragic chapters of twentieth-century history, and whose work became both a curse and a salvation during the war.
Invitations can be collected from the secretariat of the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre – International Ceramics Centre and the Forum Cinema box office from 5 January 2023, during the institutions’ opening hours. Due to the content presented in the film, it is intended for adults only.