Wiktoria 1920 (2020) - FeedingTrends

Plot: During the Polish-Bolshevik War, a mysterious report arrives at the Polish camp for urgent delivery across enemy lines. It's up to the viewer, an American fighter pilot, and a team of Polish heroes to deliver the vital dispatch.

Original Title: Wiktoria 1920

Director: Tomasz Dobosz

Writer: Tomasz Dobosz , Mariusz Laszuk

Producer: Tomasz Dobosz , Szymon Gonera , Mariusz Laszuk , Jan Kowalski , Emilia Mitka , VRheroes

Type: movie

Year: 2020

Genres: Short, History

Cast: Mateusz Banasiuk , Miroslaw Haniszewski , Marek Kossakowski , Zacharjasz Muszynski , Szymon Myslakowski , Piotr Choma , Mikolaj Chroboczek , Philipp Mogilnitskiy , Patryk Szwichtenberg , Katarzyna Zarychta , Rose Klekotko , Maciej Miszczak , Mateusz Kmiecik , Marcin Piotrowiak , Mariusz Urbaniec , Mateusz Lipinski , Zofia Stafiej , Kinga Bobkowska , Karol Czajkowski , Dariusz Pierog , Wojciech Zietek , Michal Balicki , Viktor Kukla , Adam Borysowicz , Adam Rosa , Kamil Wnuk , Andrzej Debski

Runtimes: 42

Countries: Poland

Languages: Polish

Color Info: Color

Original Air Date: 15 Aug 2020 (Poland)

Production Companies: VR Heroes Studio , Biuro Programu Niepodlegla , Narodowe Centrum Kultury , Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego

Synopsis: It's 1920's Poland, and the country is steeped in war against the Bolsheviks as they fight for Westward expansion.In the forest outside of Warsaw, Johnny and Richard, two members of the Polish army, rest around a fire for the night. The viewer sits alongside them, following the story from the POV of another member of the army. Their peace is disturbed by the sound of laughter and a wagon approaching. Aboard the wagon is American fighter pilot and eventual famed director Merian C. Cooper, a member of the Kosciuszko Squadron that arrived in Poland to fight the Bolsheviks during the war. As the trio greet one another, a wounded rider approaches on horseback, holding a blood-soaked envelope. Johnny reads its contents in disbelief.Johnny and Richard reveal to their commander that the message they've received contains the Bolshevik's radio codes. With this information, Johnny explains, they could access the Bolshevik's frequencies and know their army's every move. They must travel to Warsaw to deliver the codes to the cipher bureau, where they can be used effectively. The commander is unimpressed, reminding Johnny and Richard that their orders are to guard the forest path, not to embark on what would effectively be a suicide mission across enemy lines for the sake of a simple letter. Johnny and Richard are at a loss, until Cooper enters the tent. They have a way to get where they need to go after all: Cooper's plane.Cooper and the viewer fly toward Warsaw, expecting it to be a quick trip to deliver the message and get out, but enemy fire strikes the plane, and the viewer jumps as Cooper attempts to land safely.Back on the ground somewhere in the countryside, Cooper, Johnny, Richard, and the viewer meet Pola, a Polish spy, who kills two Bolshevik soldiers in front of their eyes. When the group tells Pola they need a way to get to Warsaw, she has an idea. Johnny, who speaks Russian, will wear the Bolshevik uniform, and sneak them straight through the enemy camp.The group travel by wagon along toward Warsaw. As Cooper and Richard make small plays for Pola's attention, they notice they're being followed by Bolsheviks on horseback. A fight ensues as the opposing army overtakes the Polish wagon, but the team is victorious as Pola knocks the last Bolshevik soldier off his horse with the flash bulb of her camera.Parked for the night, the team sits around the campfire talking about their dreams for after the war. Cooper plans to make a movie, and he launches into an animated description of what we know will eventually become King Kong. While Johnny fears the Bolsheviks may take Warsaw, Richard reminds the team that they're not the first to try. The Poles can win this thing, he reminds them.The next morning, Cooper leaves the team to fix his plane while the Poles continue on to meet up with the commander of the Polish cavalry. Together, they launch a sneak attack on the Bolshevik forces in the area. The viewer is wounded in the battle, knocked unconscious by a Bolshevik cavalryman, and they wake up in the trenches with Pola, Johnny, and Richard firing around them. Ammunition is low, and they're outnumbered. Eventually, the Poles are surrounded in the trenches. Hope seems lost until a nearby radio crackles with static, and Cooper can be heard on the other side. The Poles duck into the trenches as Cooper flies overhead, shooting down the unsuspecting Bolsheviks.On the other side of enemy lines, the team makes it to the cipher bureau in Warsaw. Johnny offers the idea of broadcasting in Morse Code over the Bolshevik frequencies, drowning out their own orders, so that the Polish army can close in around them and catch them by surprise. It's a crazy idea, and the radio engineers will have to broadcast for 24 hours straight, a seemingly impossible feat. Eventually, everyone agrees. They have to try.The Poles broadcast passages from the Bible in Morse Code for 24-hours straight over Bolshevik frequencies. The radio interference allows the Polish army to surprise the Bolsheviks, leading to an astounding victory in the Battle of Warsaw. At the end of the battle, Richard, Johnny, Cooper, and Pola are awarded with the Virtuti Militari, the highest medal of honor in the Polish Military. Their persistence to deliver the message changed the course of the entire war.

Cinematographer: Marcin Magiera

Producer: Tomasz Dobosz , Szymon Gonera , Mariusz Laszuk , Jan Kowalski , Emilia Mitka , VRheroes

Production Manager: Jan Jungrav , Adrian Koscielny , Zuzanna Lis , Krzysztof Wolny , Filip Marczak , Anna Binkowska , Emilia Mitka

Composer: Wojciech Blazejczyk

Editor: Mariusz Laszuk , Michal Rumas

Editorial Department: Jaroslaw Kapuscinski , Dominik Deras , Mariusz Laszuk , Michal Rumas

Sound Crew: Jacek Szczepanek , Kamil Sajewicz , Tomasz Bogacki , Kamil Dzyr , Mateusz Andrzejewski

Miscellaneous Crew: Artur Mierzejewski , Grzegorz Sala , Arkadiusz Powalka , Adam Pietkiewicz , Aleksandra Folczak , Grzegorz Kolodziejak , Piotr Krukowski , Michal Rumas , Andrzej Olejko , Jan Sieminski

Costume Designer: Malgorzata Gwiazdecka , Joanna Pamula

Make Up: Anna Dabrowska , Blazej Pintara , Olga Weglowska , Marta Tesche-Klimek , Zuzanna Klimek , Kaja Jaloza

Assistant Director: Jakub Kostrzewa , Marek Leszczewski

Art Department: Tomasz Wysocki , Mariusz Komacki , Michal Krauze , Marek Lesniak , Andrzej Onufrowicz , Tomasz Wyderko , Piotr Witkowski , Katarzyna Stanczuk , Jan Piekarniak , Pawel Zlochowski , Michal Mikulski , Maciej Telka , Marcin Wydrzynski , Stefan Kopytkowski , Aga Maluchnik , Wladyslaw Rabkiewicz

Camera and Electrical Department: Pawel Roslon , Patryk Zalewski , Kris Michalczewski , Eryk Gluszczynski , Jakub Ostaszewski , Cezary Pomykalo , Sebastian Cybe , Krzysztof Michalczewski

Costume Department: Michal Barszczewski

Production Design: Tomasz Wysocki

Special Effects: Artur Sobieraj , Pawel Tywoniuk , Anna Sobieraj , Zbigniew Szarlej

Stunt Performer: Hubert Kostrzewa , Jakub Kostrzewa , Remigiusz Raciborski , Jakub Bartosiewicz , Arkadiusz Bujalski , Tomasz Jarzebski , Adam Racki , Arkadiusz Suwalski , Dawid Giera , Mateusz Kus , Rafal Giera , Franciszek Zuzak , Kamil Kozlowski , Maciej Domanski , Kacper Wierzbicki , Michal Zawadzki , Sebastian Giera

Number of Seasons: Norbert Mozdzynski , Kamil Janowski , Rafal Gawlowski , Mariusz Gawlowski , Rafal Wróblewski , Marcin Swiader

Seasons: Aleksandra Gruber