Ewa's Letter - Student Short Film Fundraiser

As martial law grips 1980’s Poland, a single mother spearheads the Solidarity movement defying the oppressive government in the hopes of providing a brighter future for her son.

At its core, Ewa's Letter is a story of resilience, strength, patriotism, and hope. This film follows Ewa, a member of the Solidarity movement, as she struggles to take care of her younger son during the day while fighting for their freedom and for their flag by night. It depicts the atrocities that the MO, and ZOMO (military police) conducted on the Polish people and the systemic, mundane, and censored lifestyle they were forced to live under.

Inspiration

The film is deeply inspired by the experiences of Michal’s parents and grandparents, who lived under Soviet rule in Poland. They endured the challenges of food shortages, curfews, propaganda, censorship and martial law, all the while living under the watchful eye of the USSR. Ewa's Letter is a film inspired by Michal’s reflections on the stories his parents shared about their childhood during that time and the realization of how drastically different their experiences were from his own. Having been born in Poland and immigrating to Canada with his family at the age of six, Michal learned about events that took place in post-World War II Poland, including Communist rule, Martial Law, and the Solidarity Movement. In this time period between 1947 to 1989, approximately 22,000 people were killed or simply disappeared. Unfortunately, this piece of history is not particularly common knowledge nor portrayed in Western media.

This time period and subject matter deserves far more attention and we hope to shed light on it with this film. By utilizing a few key locations and focusing on intimate character-driven scenes, Solidarity will deliver a powerful story within the constraints of a student production. We are all eager to take on this challenge and create a film we can be proud of! Solidarity will explore the bond between mother and son, resilience in the face of tyranny, and ultimately, the power of hope, all while paying respect to the hardships that Poles were forced to endure under the USSR.

Our Goal

Our goal for this project is to recreate the world of Poland from the 1980s, with small towns and specific locations here in Ontario, Canada. This will be possible by getting specific permits and set decorating, and we need your help to make all this possible.

Meet the Crew!

Director:

Keaton James Browning has successfully directed The Chain (2023) and Subprime 2023). He brings a unique maturity to the crew and has worked closely through all stages of production with Michal Kedzierski and Yarron Jesuratnam on many previous productions.

Producer:

Yarron Jesuratnam has extensive experience as a 1st AD and Production Manager. In addition to this, he is a seasoned director, having directed Konami (2024), The Last Goodbye (2023) and Liberation (2024).

Cinematographer:

Michal Kedzierski has an impressive portfolio and a variety of cinematography experience. In 2023, he won the William F. White Vilmos Zsigmond Scholarship Award.

Writer:

Hunter Diletti wrote the script for the documentary A-Okay (2023) and wrote/edited How Great Thou Art (2023). Both documentaries were among the seven CBC was interested in. He was also the story editor for Their Last Friend (2024) and Skin Deep (2024).