Sass, Barbara

(Barbara Sass-Zdort, Barbara Zdort, 1936-)

   After working since 1960 as an assistant director on films by Andrzej Wajda (Samson, 1961), Wojciech J. Has (The Saragossa Manuscript, 1964), and Jerzy Skolimowski (The Barrier, 1966), Sass directed her breakthrough film in 1980—Without Love (Bez miłości). Following the success of this film, she developed a body of work characterized by thematic unity (she is also a scriptwriter) and by a simple documentary-like visual style; her husband, Wiesław Zdort, always participated as a cinematographer. Sass presented a feminist perspective and confronted issues largely ignored in overtly political Polish cinema: the plight of women and gender relations. Her early works, such as Without Love, The Debutante (De-biutantka, 1981), The Shout (Krzyk, 1982), The Girls from Nowolipki (Dziewczęta z Nowolipek, 1985), and its sequel, Crab Apple Tree (Rajska jabłoń, 1985), portrayed young women struggling to achieve their goals in spite of political and social pressures. In the 1990s, Sass completed five films, including perhaps her best works: An Immoral Story (Historia niemoralna, 1990) and Temptation (Pokuszenie, 1995). An Immoral Story comments on the creative process of filmmaking. Featuring the star of Sass's early films, Dorota Stalińska, the film tells a fictional story about an actress and reflects on being an artist (actress/filmmaker) at the same time. Temptation, a film set in Stalinist times, was inspired by the factual experience of the Polish Roman Catholic primate Stefan Wyszyński. The film tells the story of a young nun (Magdalena Cielecka) who is transferred from a prison to a remote location where a high-ranked Catholic priest is being held and the attempts by the secret police to take advantage of their relationship.

   Other films: In the Cage (W klatce, 1988), Spider Women (Pajęczarki, 1993), Nothing but Fear (Tylko strach, 1993), Like a Drug (Jak narkotyk, 1999).

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof