Polish director Marcin Wrona laid to rest

“We sometimes think that someone who is dear to us, a brother, a friend, is strong and powerful, and yet he is fragile inside, sensitive, hypersensitive,” said Father Andrzej Luter in his funeral oration at St Joseph's Church of the Sisters of the Visitation.

“We did not see this during his life,” he added.

Outgoing head of the Polish Film Institute (PISF) Agnieszka Odorowicz spoke of the loss for Poland's film community.

“With each new film he had showed that he was increasingly capable, that he had more to say, and that he had a great artistic future ahead of him.

“So we are all the more gripped by grief and immense sadness, that we will see no further new films directed by Marcin Wrona.”

The 42-year old director's latest film 'Demon' had been one of 18 movies entered for the main competition of the Gdynia Film Festival. The event provides the key annual showcase of new Polish films.

His body was found in the early hours of Saturday morning in his Gdynia hotel room. An autopsy carried out on Monday indicated that he committed suicide.

The director's ashes were interred at Warsaw's historic Powązki Cemetry, where many distinguished Poles have been laid to rest.

'Demon', the director's third feature, is an unconventional exploration of the aftermath of the Holocaust. The film follows the emergence of a 'dybbuk', a Jewish spirit, which possesses the groom at a rural wedding. (nh/rk)

Radio Poland's interview with Marcin Wrona about his final film