Outsider Pictures is proud to announce the US premiere of Triumph of the Heart, directed by American Filmmaker Anthony D’Ambrosio and shot on location in Poland.
Auschwitz, 1941.
Triumph of the Heart is a gripping drama set in the harrowing confines of a starvation cell, where Catholic priest Maximilian Kolbe volunteers to die in place of another prisoner, joining nine others condemned by the Nazi commandant Fritsch.
Inside the suffocating cell, while Kolbe urges hope and resistance through faith, tensions erupt. His initial appeals to piety fail, but when he sings to calm them, he starts to forge fragile bonds. Kolbe shifts tactics, encouraging the men to share nostalgic memories of favorite foods, with others joining in, finding solace in their shared humanity. Kolbe leads the prisoners in singing the Polish national anthem, defying Fritsch’s orders. The cell’s song spreads, inspiring other prisoners. After the war, a letter with Kolbe’s vision of a heavenly Polish wedding, filled with joy and dance, symbolizes the enduring triumph of hope and sacrifice in the face of unimaginable darkness.
The real Catholic priest Maximillian Kolbe was an entrepreneur journalist who ran one of the largest papers in Poland before the war. When the invasion in Poland started World War II, he was brought to Auschwitz along with other people who were part of the intelligentsia with influence, who were not friendly to the fascist movement. Witnessing an injustice Kolbe volunteers to die in place of another prisoner and joins nine others prisoners condemned to death through starvation by the Nazis.
If Kolbe’s story is well-known, less familiar are the stories of his nine companions and the period of time spent in the bunker. By way of gripping storytelling through flashbacks, we befriend these men alongside the saint and learn of their lives before the war.
Director's Statement
I didn’t set out to make a film about a Polish saint. But the Polish nation’s story really haunted me. Poland has suffered tremendously under constant oppression, and the Polish artistic tradition really shows a unique understanding of hope in the face of inevitable suffering. Polish culture has this amazing gravitas and a quality of dark, gritty hopefulness that I think has always attracted me- but especially when I was going through my own dark night of the soul, I found myself drawn to Polish history. As an American, I came to Kolbe from the outside. I think that afforded me a unique vantage point on how vital and universal it is. Right now, in a time when we are more isolated, more internally locked up in mental cells, starving for hope, St. Kolbe’s story shines like a brilliant lamp to light the pathway to heaven and to peace.
I didn’t come to it opportunistically. At the time I was suffering with chronic illness that caused life threatening insomnia. During the long, almost unending nights, I had dialogues with St. Kolbe and found him to become a companion in my suffering. As I meditated on how Kolbe built a brotherhood in that dark place, a light broke through. I wrote this story to share Kolbe's answer to my suffering and doubt with a world that desperately needs it. Kolbe is a saint for us and for our age. His story led me back to life. And to be honest, people are hungry for this story. We’re living in a culture that’s tired of noise and division. Kolbe’s story is real. It’s raw. It doesn’t flinch from evil. It stares evil right in the face and then offers songs, prayers, and beauty.
The performances, the way that we're approaching lighting, the camera department, everything art recreates these moments with such reality that it can be very hard to watch. I've found myself going to the bathroom and just crying in the bathroom, trying to come to grips with what happened, but also to come to grips with the beauty of it.
Feature, Historical Drama, 2025, United States, English
Runtime: ~1 hour 50 minutes
Country of Filming: Poland
Shooting Format: RED Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Film Color: Color
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