A feature film will be produced about Mieczysław Fogg. The director will be Magdalena Lazarkiewicz

last year Mariusz Ceselec He took a fresh look at the life of the Polish comedy film director in the documentary All the Roles of Stanislaw Pareja, and now he has decided to present his rather extraordinary biography. Mieczyslaw Foggartists of the unforgettable hits: “Tango milonga,” “This Sunday Last Sunday,” and “Autumn Roses.”

– I remember him as the dean of Polish songs, a nice old man who sang old tangos. Geli Fogg remembers from a series of jokes, for example this one: A mummy was discovered in Egypt, scientists opened its lid, and the mummy got up from the coffin and asked: “And Mitech Fogg is still singing?”

– For me, Mieczysław Fogg was a fossil from distant times. I didn't know his story at all – admits Mariusz Ceselic, adding that while reading Vogue's biography, he came across a sudden war incident and began to deepen his knowledge. – I thought, what an interesting character – adds Cieślik.

He lists the achievements of Mieczysław Voj: – He was awarded the “Righteous Among the Nations” medal because he saved his Jewish friends, including: Io Wisby and his family. He appeared 104 times at the barricades of the Warsaw Uprising. In September 1939, he and Hanka Ordonovna said goodbye to the soldiers who had gone to the front. He participated in the Home Army conspiracy, and in his apartment there were secret groups from Batory Junior High School.

– He was simply an incredibly brave and courageous man – emphasizes Cieślik.

But first there was a project for a musical.

– I was looking for someone interested in producing a theatrical performance about Mieczysław Fogg. If the Americans or the British had biographical productions of their stars, why wouldn't they make a musical about Mieczyslaw Fogg? I was about to finish it – with Emilian Kaminsky as Vogue – he had a great voice, he could sing the tango… It was supposed to be a biographical story illustrated with greatest hits. Since Emilian fell ill and it was no longer possible to do this at the Kamenica Theater, I began to wonder what to do next. I thought that since I worked with Pareja, I would suggest Vogue on TV. TVP accepted it with absolute enthusiasm. They were also aware that no film had been made about him in 45 years [ostatni dokument o Mieczysławie Foggu to zrealizowany w 1979 roku “Sercem śpiewane”] – Cieślik explains.

He points out that the documentaries or reports on Mieczysław Fogg produced so far have not provided the full picture of this complex character.

The problem is that he wasn't telling the truth there. Not that he lied, but he never told everything. Those were the times. The whole truth has not been told about the pre-war times, especially the participation in the Polish-Bolshevik War – stresses Celik in an interview with Interia, pointing out that few people knew that Mieczysław Fogg was a hero of the Polish-Bolshevik War.

– He participated in it, was injured, and in the end he was decorated. When I started to discover all this, it suddenly turned out that he was a very fascinating personality – admits Cieślik, who met the singer's grandson – Michał Fogg, during the initial work on the musical at the Kamienica Theater.

– I could not imagine that such a performance could take place without the consent of the family. It turned out that we got along well and from word to word we came to the conclusion that it would be good to take up the topic further and make a documentary – says Cieślik.

The impact of their joint work – Michel Fogg is not only the co-writer of the documentary “The Fogg Phenomenon”, but also the narrator – will be revealed on December 31 on TVP1 (5:30 p.m.).

The film shows Fogg not only as “the greatest singing star of the interwar period, or one of the most important figures in popular culture of the time of the Polish People's Republic.” Cieślik and Fogg also devote significant space to Mieczysław Fogg's non-musical activities.

– We discovered information revealed by theater critic Anna Miszkowska that Mieczysław Fogg collected money among artist friends for several years and took it to the ghetto to Jerzy Gorandot, trying to help Jewish artists survive. He may also have refused to sign to the popular list. We learned some things that were not known. What emerged, Cecilik says, was a portrait of a man with a dramatic resume.

Music lovers will be able to find out how Vogue began his singing career and what role the first Polish breakthrough group – Dana Choir played in it.

– They were pioneers. In everything. When they began their careers in the mid-1920s, they encountered the beginnings of the science of sound recording. Since they performed so well on recordings, they automatically became pop culture stars. Although it is worth noting that before the war, she was not earning much money in the emerging show business in Poland. Until the 1930s, Mieczysław Fogg worked as treasurer of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKP). To make a living singing, you had to work a lot – says Mariusz Celik.