Set in 1942, on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Wajda’s striking feature debut centres on Stach, and a group of young, anti-German underground fighters, as they prepare for a new mission. The film not only established Wajda as a director to watch, it foregrounded key recurring themes in his work – honour, courage and sacrifice – and presents a stark account of the tragedies of conflict. A landmark film and the first in the director’s acclaimed war trilogy, A Generation helped change the trajectory of Polish cinema.