Maximilien Kolbe: A Life Given, a dramatic and historical film directed by Anthony D'Ambrosio, hits French theaters on May 20, 2026. An American-Polish independent production distributed by Saje Distribution, the feature centers on a single episode: the last days of Father Kolbe in the starvation bunker at Auschwitz, the moment most retellings stop.
Maximilien Kolbe: A Life Given
Film | 2025
In theatres: May 20, 2026
Drama, History | Duration: 1h 51m
By Anthony D'Ambrosio | Screenplay: Anthony D'Ambrosio
With Marcin Kwaśny, Rowan Polonski, Christopher Sherwood
Original title: Triumph of the Heart
Nationality: United States, Poland
Auschwitz, 1941. In retaliation for a prisoner's escape, ten men are sentenced to starve to death in a bunker. When a family man is chosen, Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan priest, steps forward to take his place. The film opens at that moment and follows Kolbe into the bunker, where he chooses to counter the Nazi dehumanization with an inner resistance grounded in love and faith.
Shot in 4:3, primarily in Łódź, Poland, the film adopts a tight visual frame that mirrors the claustrophobic bunker at the heart of the story. The project, born from the director's painful personal experience, was partly funded through a Kickstarter campaign launched in January 2024, which raised more than $160,000.
Canonized in 1982 by Pope John Paul II, Maximilian Kolbe is one of the best-known martyrs of World War II. The film sits within a wave of recent productions focused on his life, including an animated feature released in France in January 2026.
To extend the in-theater experience, check out the May movie releases, the must-see films right now, and our selection of the year's biopics.
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