presidency of the national filmmakers' association. He left Poland and continued to make films, among them 1982's Danton starring French actor Gérard Depardieu, and returned in 1989 to a country completely transformed by the fall of communism. Wajda relished the newfound freedom to pursue his craft unfettered, only to face what he calls his "moment of great disappointment." Works like
Korczak (1990), about a Polish-Jewish teacher who died in the Treblinka death camp, were critically praised but popularly ignored. Says Wajda, "I made the films I wanted to make, and the public did not come to see them."
These disappointments have made Wajda savor the blockbuster success of Pan Tadeusz all the more. The first time he saw the completed film in its entirety was in a private screening at the Vatican with former theater actor Pope John Paul II. The Polish-born Pontiff was moved to tears. And despite Wajda's delight with the Academy's embrace, it is the approbation of his fellow Poles that matters most to him. That is why he won't be making any Roberto Benigni-style attempts to deliver his acceptance speech in English. The audience that counts will be watching the broadcast live in the early hours of the morning, nine time zones away, so he will be speaking entirely in Polish.
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