“Jadzia passed away three hours ago,” wrote Jerzy Antczak on social media on Friday around 3:00 a.m. Polish time (both of them had been living in the USA for years).
In the latest entry, the legendary director also revealed what his wife’s last hours were like.
“I was struggling with myself whether to write about it… Two weeks before her death, Jadzia developed terrible pain in her lower abdomen. No means could stop this pain. Its force was like an earthquake. There were painful screams. Jadzia’s suffering was intense. sky-high,” revealed Jerzy Antczak.
“In deep despair, Mikołaj (the couple’s son – editor’s note) and I asked for morphine. Our home doctor, one of the best at UCLA, tried to obtain permission to administer it. Unfortunately, in America the restrictions on this drug are unprecedented and only special the council could have agreed. Last week, after receiving morphine, Jadzia not only stopped suffering, but fell into a peaceful sleep and passed away with peace on her face. Dear friends, I’m sorry that I’m talking about this in such detail, but I just feel the need to share emotions with you,” wrote the director.
Jerzy Antczak also spoke about the funeral of Jadwiga Barańska. In an interview with “Fakt” he confessed that his beloved wife would be buried in Los Angeles, not in Poland. On Tuesday, it will be known when and where the farewell ceremony for the outstanding actress will take place.
“Ugly, thin and incapable” – Jerzy Antczak, a young assistant at the “Film School” in Łódź, had no mercy for the 17-year-old Jadwiga Barańska, who appeared before the committee. 16 years later, the actress played the main role in Antczak’s historical drama “Countess Cosel”. Once an assistant, then a renowned director, was already her husband.
It was Jadwiga Barańska who gave Jerzy Antczak the idea for a film adaptation of “Nights and Days”. It was the summer of 1969, the family and their son were vacationing in Yugoslavia. They were sitting on a rocky beach when Mrs. Jadwiga said casually: “Before leaving, I heard Gustaw Holoubek reading ‘Nights and Days’ on the radio. It made a huge impression on me. Maybe you would read it?”
Jerzy Antczak found the novel so boring that he never read it to the end. But he took his wife’s words to heart and after returning to Warsaw, he immersed himself in reading. And he had an epiphany: after all, it was a huge opportunity for both of them, because from the very beginning it was clear that only Jadwiga could play the role of Barbara Niechcic.
“Nights and Days” received an Oscar nomination. For her role as Barbara, Jadwiga Barańska was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. To date, Jerzy Antczak’s work has been seen in cinemas by 22 million viewers.
“I prepared for this role for half a year, during which time I took a leave of absence from the theater,” recalled the actress.
“We were all close on the set, each of us had inexhaustible energy, we weren’t afraid of sacrifices, we didn’t mind at all that we were playing in real pigsty or barns. I remember how, after shooting in a dusty brickyard, I started speaking in a different, changed voice. But it’s worth it it was, and the day I received the award in Berlin was one of the most pleasant days of my life,” said Barańska.
When asked about the most beautiful scene from “Nights and Days”, Barańska says that each one was important and unique to her. “In our wildest dreams, we never thought that the moment when Barbara receives water lilies from Toliboski would enter the history of Polish cinema,” added the actress.
Jadwiga Barańska also appeared in the films “The Nuremberg Epilogue” (1970, directed by Jerzy Antczak) and “The Leper” (1976, directed by Jerzy Hoffman). In 1979, together with Jerzy Antczak, she emigrated to the United States. The couple lives in Los Angeles, and Antczak taught there for years at the prestigious UCLA Film School.
In 2002, after a 25-year absence from the screen, she played in her husband’s film “Chopin: The Desire for Love”. She played the role of Fryderyk’s mother – Tekla Justyna Chopin. Jadwiga Barańska was also a co-author of the script. Jerzy Antczak also invited her to cooperate as a director, entrusting her with a very difficult task: working with an actor.
In September 2015, during the 40th edition of the Gdynia Film Festival, Jadwiga Barańska received the Platinum Lion for the best Polish actress. The star of “Nights and Days” received more votes from the audience than Krystyna Janda (“Interrogation”) and Danuta Szaflarska (“Time to Die”). Jerzy Antczak’s film was chosen the best Polish film of the 40th anniversary.
In 2021, Jerzy Antczak and Jadwiga Barańska celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary!