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Documentary about US filmmaker who fought in Polish Air Force premieres in Warsaw

08.11.2024 14:00
A documentary about an American aviator and filmmaker who fought in the Polish Air Force more than a century ago premieres in Warsaw on Friday.
US aviator and filmmaker Merian Cooper and Cedric Fauntleroy, an American pilot who in 1919 volunteered to serve in the Polish Air Force during the Polish-Bolshevik War.
US aviator and filmmaker Merian Cooper and Cedric Fauntleroy, an American pilot who in 1919 volunteered to serve in the Polish Air Force during the Polish-Bolshevik War.Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Three Deaths of Merian Cooper will have its world premiere at Warsaw's Kultura cinema, the filmmakers have announced.

Directed by Rafał Sałata, the film tells the story of Merian Cooper, an American filmmaker and creator of King Kong, who, before embarking on a film career, served in the Polish Air Force during the 1919-1921 Polish-Soviet War.

He was a member of a volunteer American flight squadron called the Kościuszko Squadron.

On July 13, 1920, Cooper’s plane was shot down and he spent nine months in a Soviet POW camp.

He received the highest Polish military decoration, the Virtuti Militari, from Polish commander-in-chief Józef Piłsudski.

Anita Gargas, a co-producer of The Three Deaths of Merian Cooper, told Poland's Solidarność weekly that the documentary features interviews with Cooper’s grandsons, now living in London, as well as archive materials that were traced in several countries.

Gargas said the film captures only a fraction of Cooper’s adventurous life, which contains enough material for several Hollywood-style movies.

Cooper produced 62 films, two of which he directed himself. In 1952, he received an Oscar for his creative contribution to cinema. He died in 1973.

The film’s premiere coincides with the opening of an exhibition entitled Trails of Hope: The Odyssey of Freedom. It documents the military effort of the Polish armed forces during World War II and the fate of Poles evacuated from the USSR with the Anders Army.

In the summer of 1942, over 115,000 men, including 37,000 civilians, freed from Soviet prisons and labour camps, were evacuated to Iran, Iraq and Palestine.

There, Gen. Władysław Anders formed and led the 2nd Polish Corps, which fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino in the Italian campaign.

Trails of Hope: The Odyssey of Freedom is a touring exhibition that has already been displayed in many countries. Last month, it was showcased at the Palace of Westminster in London.

(mk/gs)