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Roman Polański (born in 1933) left Poland for the West in 1962 as a famous filmmaker. He had international successes: first the award-winning etude Dwóch ludzi z szafą (Two People With a Wardrobe), then a full-length debut Nóż w wodzie (Knife in the water) (1963), the first Polish film nominated for an Oscar. He returned to Poland as a film director at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, working on the adaptation of Władysław Szpilman's wartime memories The Pianist. "For many years, I wanted to make a film about this period, but I couldn't find the right topic, the right material," he said. Earlier, Steven Spielberg had offered him directing Schindler's List, but Polański decided that a film about the Krakow ghetto would be too close to his personal experiences. "If I were to work in places that are of historical and personal importance to me, they would lose their significance for me and would only become decorations for the film" (Wywiad z Polańskim (Interview with Polański), https://kultura.onet.pl/film/wiadomosci/ interview-z-polanskim / 34t9ll0, accessed on 28/08/2020).

However, his first return was when, in June 1981, he staged Peter Shaffer's play Amadeusz at the Teatr na Woli in Warsaw. He directed it and played the role of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tadeusz Łomnicki played his fierce enemy, Antonio Salieri). The premiere took place on 23 June 1981, while the photo of Krzysztof Gierałtowski was taken in the theatrical dressing room.

Renata PIątkowska