This year also marks the 10th anniversary of his death.
In a resolution declaring the Year of Andrzej Wajda, Poland’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, said his contribution to Polish culture "cannot be overestimated," praising his combination of artistic courage and social commitment.
Senators described Wajda’s body of work as a cornerstone of Poland’s cultural heritage.
In films including Canal (1957), Ashes and Diamonds (1958), Man of Marble (1977), Man of Iron (1981) and Katyn (2007), Wajda explored key themes in Poland’s 20th-century history—from the tragedy of the Nazi occupation and the experience of World War II to the Stalinist period and the political and social changes that led to the country's democratic transition, including the rise of the Solidarity movement.
Cultural institutions across Poland are marking the centenary with exhibitions, screenings and discussions.
The Museum of Cinematography in the central city of Łódź is hosting an exhibition titled Along Wajda’s Trail and a screening of Ashes and Diamonds, the first event in a broader retrospective that will include talks and panel discussions over the coming months.
In Radom, 100 km south of Warsaw, where Wajda lived from 1935 to 1946 and attended school, a local photo gallery is staging an exhibition of photographs by Barbara Polakowska, documenting the director’s visits to the city.
Photographs from the sets of more than 20 of Wajda’s films by the late photographer Renata Pajchel are also on display at an art gallery in central Warsaw.
Events commemorating the anniversary have also been scheduled abroad.
Last year, a retrospective of Wajda’s films took place in Los Angeles, organised by the American Cinematheque.
On its website, the organisation said that Wajda’s work "grows from the very core of the Polish experience—from the history, culture and values that have shaped generations," adding that his films blend romanticism with pragmatism, rebellion with compromise and memory with a vision of the future.
In 2000, Wajda received an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.
Four of his films were nominated for an Oscar for best foreign-language film: The Promised Land (1975), The Maids of Wilko (1979), Man of Iron and Katyn.
In 2013, American director Martin Scorsese included The Promised Land in a festival of masterpieces of Polish cinema he curated.
Among Wajda’s many honours was the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state distinction.
Wajda died on October 9, 2016 at the age of 90.
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Click on the audio player above for a report by Elżbieta Krajewska.