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In 1995 Walesa bitterly lost his re-election bid to former communist Aleksander Kwasniewski, and has withdrawn from active politics. He lectures around the world about Poland's peaceful transformation to democracy, culminating in June 1989 general elections. That vote paved the way for similar change in other countries of the communist bloc. Wajda, who received a lifetime achievement Academy Award in 2000, said he wanted his film to show his "admiration" for the man. In Poland, Wajda's friendship with Walesa has raised questions about how objective the filmmaker can be in creating any movie about the Solidarity leader's life. The film ends before the start of Walesa's controversial presidency. Wajda met the electrician Walesa during the 1980 wage and labor rights strike at the Gdansk Shipyard, where he successfully led thousands of protesters and founded the free Solidarity union, rising to be the nation's independence leader. Wajda still believes that Walesa is the "hero of our times"
-- and wants his movie to help young people appreciate Poland's history. "My aim was to make a movie about a people's hero, a politician who came from the social lows and rose to his position purely and only thanks to his own will, his own strength, his own energy, his intelligence." But he conceded that it was the "hardest movie that I ever made" because it tells a story that is still in the making, with the hero still alive and able to comment on how he was portrayed. Neither Walesa nor his family were consulted during the making of the film. But Walesa recently saw it in a private screening and his reaction was "good," Wajda said
-- albeit with a hint of hesitation.
[Associated
Press;
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