Pekin. Whole Life for the Club is a 58-minute Polish documentary directed by Konrad Aksinowicz and completed in November 2024. The film recounts the long, intense life of Jerzy “Pekin” Piekarzewski, a sports activist and historical figure of the Polonia Warszawa football club in the 1930s.
The film's central subject is football, experienced through Piekarzewski's total devotion. During the Nazi occupation, he discovered his passion for sport and for Polonia Warszawa, which at the time won a clandestine championship in occupied Warsaw. The documentary spans 80 years of history, interweaving the man's biography with that of the club and the Polish historical and social context, marked by war, communism, and political and economic transformations.
The narrative unfolds through historical reconstructions, archive materials and testimonies. At the heart of the story is the visceral relationship between the man and the club, for which he sacrificed everything—family relationships, financial stability and personal possessions—to protect its identity and existence, threatened by the communist authorities.
The documentary aims to convey a message of commitment and absolute loyalty, highlighting the personal cost paid for a passion pursued without compromise. It is also a story about the power of sport as a tool of collective identity and cultural resistance in a nation shaken by profound upheavals.
Written by Konrad Aksinowicz together with Piotr Kubiaczyk (also the film's producer), Pekin. Whole Life for the Club is Konrad Aksinowicz's first film. The project is not a student production and belongs to the European documentary landscape, with a budget of EUR 90,000. The film was shot and produced entirely in Poland.
Film Information
Title: Pekin. Whole Life for the Club
Original title: Jerzy Piekarzewski całe życie dla klubu
Direction: Konrad Aksinowicz
Production: Piotr Kubiaczyk
Country: Poland
Language: Polish
Running time: 58 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Sport featured: Football
Main subject(s): Jerzy “Pekin” Piekarzewski
Completion date: 11 November 2024
Premiere: [Information not available]
Distributor: [Information not available]
Shooting format: Digital, 16:9, colour
Director's first film: Yes
Student project: No