The red-carpet event on Wednesday marked the global debut of the historical drama in the Polish capital.
The film tells the story of Franciscan friar St Maximilian Kolbe, who volunteered to die in place of another prisoner at Auschwitz during World War Two.
Triumph of the Heart - in theaters this September
Set largely in the camp’s starvation bunker, the narrative follows Kolbe in the days leading up to his execution, interwoven with flashbacks to earlier chapters of his life.
Polish actor Marcin Kwaśny, who portrays Kolbe, called it the most demanding role of his career - not because of the weight loss or performing in English, but for the challenge of portraying “the process of maturing towards death” in such extreme circumstances.
Cast members spent long hours filming in damp, unheated cells, surviving on meager rations to better capture the prisoners’ suffering.
Kwaśny said the experience deepened his understanding of Kolbe’s selflessness, recalling how the friar transformed fellow inmates’ final moments from despair to hope, and from curses to prayer.
Despite its grim setting, the actor believes the film leaves audiences with “hope in their hearts,” portraying Kolbe as a guide who led others through darkness with compassion.
Actor Marcin Kwaśny (left), portraying Maximilian Kolbe, during the international premiere of the film directed by Anthony D'Ambrosio in Warsaw, August 13, 2025. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
Kolbe was executed on 14 August 1941 by lethal injection, later becoming the first Polish martyr of the Second World War to be canonized. He was beatified in 1971 and declared a saint in 1982.
Triumph of the Heart opens in theaters on 12 September.
Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
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Source: PAP/YouTube.com/@triumphoftheheartmovie