Search Film, Company, People...

HERBERT, BARBARIAN IN THE GARDEN

HERBERT, BARBARZYŃCA W OGRODZIE

By Rafael LEWANDOWSKI

DONTEN & LACROIX FILMS - as PROD

Documentary - Post-Production 2020

- Year of production
- 2020
- Genres
- Documentary
- Countries
- POLAND, FRANCE
- Duration
- 90 mn
- Director(s)
- Rafael LEWANDOWSKI
- Writer(s)
- Andrzej FRANASZEK
- Cast
- Andrzej CHYRA
- Producer(s)
- Maria BLICHARSKA (Donten & Lacroix/ Blick Productions), Damien MCDONALD (Blick Productions)
- Synopsis
- "Herbert. A Barbarian in the Garden", directed by Rafael Lewandowski, is the first feature-length documentary on the life of Zbigniew Herbert, one of the most outstanding poets of the 20th century, respected in literary circles around the world. His works have been translated into 40 languages, acclaimed and awarded worldwide for their timeless and universal dimension. In his native Poland, Herbert is all the more important because he was an exemplary moral figure. His underground poetry became a symbol of opposition during the struggle against communism.
  
  However, behind the pure beauty of his poetry, there was a man who struggled with his inner demons. His story, told by his wife Katarzyna and his relatives, reveals the image of a unique but complex artist who struggled with anger and physical pain on the one hand and mental illness on the other.
  
  More than 20 years after his death, this documentary film shows the complexity of the artist. Only by discovering Herbert's history, life and personality, can we better understand his works.
  This project, carried out in close collaboration with the poet's heirs and the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation, is the result of several years of work, filming in 11 countries with over 23 interviews.
  This film commemorates the difficult fate of this exceptional Polish artist and supports the values he defended.
  
  The exploitation of this film has an educational dimension, it serves future and present generations as a source of knowledge of Polish culture, of the exceptional personalities who built a bridge between Western European culture and Polish identity in the most difficult times of communism.
  
  Following Herbert's footsteps from East to West, through Poland, Europe and the United States, this film shows us the price Herbert had to pay for freedom and independence.