Aleksander Ford

Active - 1933 - 1976  |   Born - Nov 24, 1908   |   Died - Apr 29, 1980   |   Genres - Drama, Romance, Historical Film

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Biography by AllMovie

Polish filmmaker Aleksander Ford was a key figure in establishing his country's international reputation for creating excellent cinema. One of his protégés Andrzej Wajda became one of the world's most respected filmmakers. After a year of making short films, Ford made his first feature films and documentaries in 1930. When WW II erupted, he went to the Soviet Union to work closely with Jerzy Bossak and establish the film unit for the Polish military. Ford then became its chief. After the war, he was assigned to head the government-controlled Film Polski. Ford opposed the communist takeover in his country and frequently used his films to voice his discontent and expose the effects of the new regime upon the poor and Polish Jews as can be seen in his documentary films such as Street of the Young(1936) and Eighth Day of the Week (1959); both films were banned in Poland. Still he continued making films in Poland but moved to Israel for two years during the 1960s after a resurgence of anti-Semitism in his country. He later resettled in Denmark.

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