Not only Lviv residents, but also Lutsk residents can boast that the streets of their city became a filming location for the famous Polish director Jerzy Hoffman, who decided to create a three-part documentary film about Ukraine. Jerzy Hoffman is a iconic figure not only in Polish cinema. Who among us at one time did not stealthily wipe away an uninvited tear while watching his melodrama "The Quack"? And there was also "Pan Wolodyjowski" (1968), which broke all records for popularity and box office revenue. In 1974 — the longest film "The Deluge" (316 minutes) was nominated for an "Oscar." And the most expensive film in the entire history of Polish cinema, "With Fire and Sword," was released in 1999 and had incredible box office success. In the first six months, seven million viewers saw it in Poland alone. In Ukraine, the screen adaptation of Sienkiewicz's novel also aroused both enormous interest and ambiguous reviews. On this matter, Jerzy Hoffman said in one interview: — Our nationalists told me that "With Fire and Sword" was an anti-Polish film. And nationalists in Ukraine claimed that I had made an anti-Ukrainian film. But a huge number of people both in Ukraine and in Poland perceived it as their own. I think it is possible to create a film about the dramatic relations between two peoples that will not divide these peoples but unite them. I read the book very carefully and found in it what I wanted to find. Without changing Sienkiewicz in the process. The 72-year-old living classic of Polish cinema continues to work actively, travel to festivals, and communicate with audiences. Last year's "Molodist" festival in Kyiv opened with his film "An Ancient Tale." It is a screen adaptation of a novel by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. As for the current plan to create a documentary film about Ukraine, it also has a solid foundation. First, Jerzy Hoffman began his career as a documentary director and made almost thirty films in precisely that capacity. Second, he loves and knows history, as evidenced both by his historical films and by his personal confession: "If I hadn't become a director, I would have become a historian." And third, perhaps most importantly, his personal fate is tightly interwoven with our history. — All my ancestors were rabbis in Zhovkva... And the director found his wife, Valentyna, in Kyiv. So he has special sentiments toward Ukraine. It is no coincidence that one of the working titles for the future film was: "Ukraine — my pain and love." Jerzy Hoffman was born on March 15, 1932, in Krakow in the family of a doctor. In 1940, together with his family, he was deported to Siberia and returned to Poland only after the Second World War. In 1955 he graduated from VGIK in Moscow. He maintains friendly relations with Bohdan Stupka, who starred in the film "With Fire and Sword." As for the new work, the future documentary will consist of three 45-minute episodes. The first will cover the time span from Kyivan Rus to Bohdan Khmelnytsky. In the second, viewers will see the events that took place from the Pereiaslav Council to the first Council of the twentieth century. The third will introduce the version of events that took place over the last 90 years. The director plans to bring the picture before audiences in September of next year. Filming will be conducted in Ukraine (Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kaniv, Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Crimea, Transcarpathia), in Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw), as well as in archives, museums, and libraries of the USA and Canada. In Lutsk, Jerzy Hoffman and his film crew were interested in the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Chelm, the antiquities of Lutsk Castle, and the historical portraits preserved in the picture gallery. The famous director greatly liked the Museum of the Volyn Icon, about which he left an entry in the guest book. And everyone who last Saturday happened to observe the work of the film crew, which includes representatives of various nationalities, noted its coordination, efficiency, and ability to use every minute rationally. — The most important result of the future film — is that people in Ukraine, after watching it, will say with pride: I am Ukrainian! And abroad they will say this: Ukraine is a wonderful country, — believes Jerzy Hoffman, who has an excellent command of Russian but also understands Ukrainian well, as he demonstrated in communicating with museum staff. From Lutsk the film crew set off for Kamianets-Podilskyi, where work on the film will continue. Valentyna SHTYNKO