By Cailin Acosta
LA MESA, California – The Champion (also known as The Champion of Auschwitz) is a 2020 Polish sports drama film directed by Maciej Barczewski. It tells of the story of Tadeusz Pietrzykowski (Piotr Glowacki), a Polish boxer who gains fame for his string of boxing victories. The music was composed by Bartosz Chajdecki. This film can be viewed on Netflix.
The Champion is notable for being the first film for which a foreign-language version (in English) was created in which the actors’ facial movements are modified so that they appear to be speaking that language. Wikipedia reports that he work was done using a technology like deepfake, proprietary to the Tel Aviv-based tech startup Adapt Entertainment, which bought the English-language distribution rights for The Champion so that it could serve as a proof of concept for its technology.
Pietrzykowski joined the boxing section of the Legia Warsaw club and was trained by Feliks Stamm. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland and Pietrzykowski attempted to flee to France but was arrested, tortured, and deported to Auschwitz. Pietrzykowski began competing in unofficial boxing matches defeating German officials.
Due to Pietrzykowski’s unique fighting style, he was nicknamed the “Weiss Nebel” (White Fog). He lost only one fight during his time in Auschwitz and received privileges as a reward for his wins.
After camps were liberated in 1945, Pietrzykowski worked as a sport and physical education teacher and boxing instructor in Warsaw.
This film was difficult to watch and even though he was winning boxing matches, he was not getting much sustenance of protein. With a diet of only a small piece of bread, he struggled to stay healthy enough to compete.
But as with many Shoah stories, it is important to watch and see the act of survival, perseverance and the will to live.
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Cailin Acosta is the assistant editor of the San Diego Jewish World.