Everything for Sale

The film set falls silent, waiting for an actor who suddenly vanishes without a trace. Uncertainty paralyzes the crew, and two women—Ela (E. Czyżewska), his wife, and Beata (B. Tyszkiewicz), the director’s wife—attempt to find out what really happened to him. When they receive the tragic news that the actor died after jumping from a moving train, the work on set completely loses its rhythm. Director Andrzej (A. Łapicki) faces a difficult question: can the film be completed when the central figure of the story suddenly disappears? And if so—can the film become a story about the very emptiness left by the deceased? His attempt to answer this leads him to the decision to bring in a new lead actor: Daniel (D. Olbrychski). This self-reflexive film, written and directed by Andrzej Wajda, is more than just a story about the behind-the-scenes of a film production. It is the creator’s personal reckoning with the loss of Zbigniew Cybulski—a legend of Polish cinema and one of the most important actors of his generation.