A crew of amateur and student filmmakers are working on a short psychological drama set on the frontlines of World War II in what is today northwestern Poland.
The short, titled ‘Chłód’ (Polish: ‘coldness’) will tell the story of a Polish tank crew fighting in World War II, specifically in the East Pomeranian offensive carried out by the Soviet Red Army and the Polish Armed Forces in the East, which pushed toward the Baltic Sea and secured the flanks for the upcoming push toward Berlin.
“The film’s events are set in Pomerania in the final months of the war. The tank crew is fictional but a part of a real 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade,” Marek Łazarz, who serves as a historical consultant on the set, told the Polish state news agency PAP.
In spite of its setting, the film was shot in southeastern Poland, albeit in an area that itself is strongly tied to the history of World War II.
“The film’s events are set in Pomerania in the final months of the war. The tank crew is fictional but a part of a real 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade,” Marek Łazarz, who serves as a historical consultant on the set, told the Polish state news agency PAP.
In spite of its setting, the film was shot in southeastern Poland, albeit in an area that itself is strongly tied to the history of World War II.
In his everyday job, Łazarz serves as the director of the Prisoner of War Camps Museum in Żagań. Known prior to 1945 by its German name, Sagan, the town and its environs were home to several camps for Allied POWs. The best-known of those camps was Luftwaffe-operated Stalag Luft III for Allied airmen. The mass escape of the prisoners on the night of 24/25 March 1944 served to inspire the 1950 book and a subsequent 1963 film adaptation, ‘The Great Escape’. Tragically, of the 76 escapees only three evaded recapture. Of those who were caught, 50 were summarily executed by the prison guards.
‘Chłód’ will be a psychological drama. As Łazarz told PAP: “The film will depict the tank crew, specifically one of its members, whose mistake costs the life of two of his crewmates.”
The actors and the film crew are graduates and students of several schools, including the world-famous Łódź Film School Adam Lach, while a graduate of film studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań is both the author of the script as well as the film’s director.
Although the project is non-commercial, Łazarz said that the amateur and freshly-minted filmmakers sought to deliver a professional level work.
The filmmakers have received support from the military, with the 34th Armored Cavalry Brigade in Żagań lending them its operational T-34-85 tank. Moreover, the film crew has been allowed to operate out of the Prisoner of War Camps Museum in Żagań.
‘Chłód’ will be a psychological drama. As Łazarz told PAP: “The film will depict the tank crew, specifically one of its members, whose mistake costs the life of two of his crewmates.”
The actors and the film crew are graduates and students of several schools, including the world-famous Łódź Film School Adam Lach, while a graduate of film studies at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań is both the author of the script as well as the film’s director.
Although the project is non-commercial, Łazarz said that the amateur and freshly-minted filmmakers sought to deliver a professional level work.
The filmmakers have received support from the military, with the 34th Armored Cavalry Brigade in Żagań lending them its operational T-34-85 tank. Moreover, the film crew has been allowed to operate out of the Prisoner of War Camps Museum in Żagań.
Four tank-men, this time without a dog
The premise of the film may appear similar to a beloved Polish television series ‘Four Tank-Men and a Dog,’ produced by TVP between 1969 and 1970. The show, which combined action and drama with some comedic elements, enjoyed popularity not only in Poland but also internationally, especially in communist countries. In spite of the criticism the show faced after the collapse of communism in Poland for containing historical inaccuracies and essentially serving as a tool of soft propaganda intended to promote Polish-Soviet friendship, the series still enjoys cult status in Poland and continues to be rebroadcast.
The filmmakers, however, stress that their film is unrelated to the nearly six-decade-old show. The only connection between the two projects is that the grandfather of the director served as a historical consultant on the set of the series, having himself been a soldier in the 1st Armored.
Well, there is one more thing.
“The director and I are both fans of ‘Four Tank-Men and a Dog’,” Łazarz said.
The premiere of ‘Chłód’ is planned for the spring of 2025.
The filmmakers, however, stress that their film is unrelated to the nearly six-decade-old show. The only connection between the two projects is that the grandfather of the director served as a historical consultant on the set of the series, having himself been a soldier in the 1st Armored.
Well, there is one more thing.
“The director and I are both fans of ‘Four Tank-Men and a Dog’,” Łazarz said.
The premiere of ‘Chłód’ is planned for the spring of 2025.
Source: PAP, TVP World
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