Andrzej Wajda, from his debut in 1954 until today, is a major contributor to Polish cinema. He has won numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2000 (Horton). He has 54 films to his credit as a director (Andrzej). During an interview, he expressed his feelings about cinema and filmmaking: "When a film is created, it is created in a language, which is not only about the words, but also about the way in which this language codes our perception of the world. our understanding” (Why not). This quote defines Andrzej Wajda's vision for his films and what he thinks about when developing ideas for his films. This explains his deep understanding of what it takes to make a film an international success; this is probably why he is so well recognized in the film community. Its debut took place right in the middle of World War II. He was born in Suwalki, Poland on March 6, 1926, to Aniela Wajda and Jakub Wajda. His childhood was described as a "happy pastoral life" before the war, then Poland was invaded in 1939 by the Nazis. During the war, his father died in the Katyn massacre. After his father's death, he decided to join the Polish resistance in 1942. Later, his father's death would inspire a film that would become one of Andrzej's favorite and most treasured films. The reason the film didn't premiere until 2007 was because of the restrictive censorship in Poland (Andrzej). After the war ended, he began to develop an interest in cinema that would eventually bear fruit. He studied with Jerzy Toeplitz and Aleksander Ford from 1950 to 1954. In 1954, he made his first film, A Generation. It was the story of a man who joined the resistance group during the World War II occupation in P...... middle of paper ......drej gave the film industry all he had by creating many films and creating truthful films to share with the world. He led Poles through two movements and remained strong through difficult times of censorship and oppressive governments. His mark on the film industry changed the Polish film industry forever. Works Cited “Biography of Andrzej Wajda. » IMDb. IMDb.com, nd Web. April 16, 2014. Horton, Andrew J. “Polish Cinema. » Green Cinema. GreenCine LLC, 2005. Web. April 16, 2014. Goulding, Daniel. “Central and Eastern European Cinema: Defining two moments”. 93. Print. “Why not have our own world? » Interview with Andrzej Wajda." Interview with Renata Murawska. Sense of cinema 2005: Conversations with filmmakers. Internet. .