In his second documentary Poland’s Kuba Mikurda takes a closer look at the unfinished 1970s epic ‘On the Silver Globe.’
In 1975, following the international success of his Romy Schneider starrer “That Most Important Thing: Love,” helmer Andrzej Żuławski returned to Poland. He was supposed to deliver the biggest spectacle in its history with science fiction epic “On the Silver Globe.” Based on “The Lunar Trilogy” written by his great-grandfather, Jerzy, it saw a group of astronauts leave Earth, only to crash on another planet. Years later, another astronaut arrives and is welcomed as a god. The project was interrupted in 1977, due to the decision by Deputy Minister of Culture Janusz Wilhelmi. “To any cinephile, there is nothing more exciting than an unfinished or unmade film,” says director Kuba Mikurda, now exploring its tragic backstory in “Escape to the Silver Globe” (Ucieczka na Srebrny Glob), world premiering at Millennium Docs Against Gravity and produced by Silver Frame’s Daria Maślona and Stanisław Zaborowski. “Everyone had a theory. Some said it was just too subversive, others blamed its religious content. To me, it was a display of power by the new minister. He knew that if he would ‘hit’ this film, everyone would take notice.
