Press & Media
All Film Resources for Press & Media
About the Film
FILM SYNOPSIS
In the harrowing confines of Auschwitz’s starvation cell, Catholic priest St. Maximilian Kolbe volunteers to die in place of another prisoner, joining nine others condemned by the Nazis. As despair and fear grip the group, the pressures of starvation, internal ideological division, mount. But throughout, Kolbe’s appeal to their shared humanity and Polish identity forges a brotherhood that culminates in a poignant act of sacrifice that echoes beyond the cell, illuminating hope in one of history’s darkest moments.
PRODUCER
Cecilia Stevenson
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Andrew Holzschuh
WRITER & DIRECTOR
Anthony D’Ambrosio
RELEASE DATE
September 12, 2025
Trailer
Other Facts
Logline
A Catholic priest volunteers to join nine men in a starvation bunker and fights to forge a brotherhood of hope in the darkest place on earth.
Tagline
Into death & beyond it.
Film Specifications
PROJECT TYPE
Feature
COMPLETION DATE
July 12, 2025
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
United States of America
COUNTRY OF FILMING
Poland
PRODUCTION BUDGET
355,000 USD
LANGUAGE
English
FILM COLOR
Color
ASPECT RATIO
4:3
GENRE
Historical, Drama
RUNTIME
~ 1 hour 57 minutes
FIRST-TIME FILMMAKER
Yes
SHOOTING FORMAT
RED
Social Media Accounts
Instagram: @triumphoftheheart
Facebook: @triumphoftheheart
YouTube: @triumphoftheheartmovie
Media Assets
To assist in sharing our story, we have prepared a collection of press materials, including high-resolution images, trailers, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
In The News
Emily Malloy, The Federalist
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP
Theresa Civantos Barber, Aleteia
Clare McCallan, National Catholic Reporter
In Media
The Cast
Marcin Kwaśny
Actor - St. Maximilian Kolbe
Marcin Kwasny graduated Academy of Drama Arts in Warsaw in 2002.He is an actor, screenwriter and director. He won the main award as an actor for the movie „Preserve” during international film festival in Odessa(Ukraine). He also won a main prize for the script during international film festival in Svietlogorsk. (Russia) His debut as an director is the movie Confession. He won the main award during international catholic film festival Niepokalana. (Poland) Marcin was also a producer of the movie „Cursed”about polish solders fighting with the communists after Second World War in Poland. He has a wife and tree children.He loves horses, traveling and playing the guitar.
Rowan Polonski
Actor - Albert
Rowan is an English actor of Polish heritage. His grandfather Czesław Polonski, born in eastern Poland (Oszmiana) in 1924, was deported to Siberia by Russian forces at the age of 15 to work in labour camps. Following the amnesty, Czesław went looking for the Polish Army, enduring periods of appalling suffering and near starvation on his travels. He eventually found and joined the Polish army, becoming one of the Polish Karpathian Lancers, a tank commander, seeing much of the world and becoming a decorated soldier; receiving the Polish Military Cross for Valour and a number of campaign medals including a cross for fighting at Monte Cassino. Much of Rowan’s experience filming Triumph of the Heart was connected to and in honour of his grandfather. Rowan received classical training in London, graduating with a first-class degree in 2013. Professionally he has appeared in TV productions such as Doctor Who (BBC), The Witcher (Netflix), and Good Omens (Amazon). He has appeared in feature films such as Kingsman: The Secret Service (Warner Bros), Custom (Paranoid Android) and Breaking Cover (WestEnd Films). Alongside his screen work he has worked extensively in theatre, starring in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, playing on the West End, and working as a frequent fixture on the London theatre scene with top UK directors.
“Triumph of the Heart was a profound and formative experience for me both personally and as an actor. It connected me directly to my Polish roots and heritage, and took me into a deep creative collaboration with dedicated artists from all over the world. There was a culture created within this team of filmmakers that is rare. A group mentality was present throughout the shoot that centred us all around Kolbe’s sacrifice, message and passion. It was this shared meditation that allowed some truly inspired moments to be shared between the men within the cell, and ultimately to be caught on camera. I’m extremely proud of the work we all did and grateful for the perspective it has given me. My wish is that this film guides audiences towards Kolbe’s vision of hope and dignity – one that always exists within our lives, even in the darkest of times. That’s what it has done for me”.
Christopher Sherwood
Actor - Karl Fritzsch
Christopher grew up in a small town called Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire, England. After graduating from Oxford University in Human Sciences, he moved to London and now lives next to the Imperial Warm Museum. That he shares his surname with the Texan production company behind the film, Sherwood Fellows, is a pure coincidence! He trained as an actor at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and did his screen acting training with David Penn. He has recently completed filming a recurring role in a new TV series for Apple TV called Star City - a spinoff series of For All Mankind, due for release in 2026. He recently won a Best Actor Award at the London 2024 New Renaissance Film Festival for his lead role in Read To Me.
“Filming Triumph of the Heart was the most profound and moving experience of my career, for which I am deeply grateful. Being immersed in this subject matter for so long inevitably took a toll and I'll never forgot the uncontrollable outpouring of emotion and grief that overwhelmed me after I finished filming my final scene of the film. Someone filmed it actually, so the footage may still exist somewhere! The experience brought home to me the reality of the horror that so many people faced, helped in part by the immense commitment of the actors playing the prisoners. I recall being in the cell with them between takes and just losing myself in the reality of it because of how committed and convincing their performances were, which kept running even when the camera wasn't. I also opted to live apart from the rest of the cast, which served both to maintain emotional distance between us and to give me some useful character insight - There I was living in relative luxury with my own apartment while they were sharing dormitories. I was eating nice meals out each night while they were on severely restricted diets. I was materially better off but I felt a real loneliness and indeed envy of what I could see forming between them - a deep and loving camaraderie. There was definitely some useful insight in this to help me understand at least some of Fritzsch's reaction to what was unfolding in the cell.”
The Crew
Anthony D’Ambrosio
Writer, Director & Editor
Anthony D’Ambrosio is a storyteller and marketing specialist who has spent the last five years studying how movements can be ignited by shared purpose and belonging. Through his company Sherwood Fellows, he is known for partnering with organizations for innovation, including projects with Catholic University of America, Ascension Press, Our Sunday Visitor, and many others. Now he is the writer and director of the Triumph of the Heart, a feature length film about the passion of St Maximilian Kolbe.
His interests span from philosophy to the mythology and rituals of tribal peoples. He ran an underground fight club in his seminary, and among his favorite things are simmering a pot of homemade Italian red sauce, keeping houseplants alive, and writing poetry.
Cecilia Stevenson
Producer
Cecilia Stevenson is a film producer with a background in live media, narrative film and television, and corporate video production. She has a passion for stories that explore faith, purpose, and sacrifice and she specializes in producing faith-based and mission-oriented projects. After graduation from Texas A&M University, she pursued a career in video production, however she eventually found herself falling in love with the world of narrative filmmaking and has worked on large production sets, including those of Washington’s Armor and The Chosen.
In 2016 she met Anthony D'Ambrosio (writer/director of Triumph of the Heart) and the duo quickly discovered the complementarity of their strengths and similar shared values to produce faith-based films. Cecilia enjoys downhill mountain biking, creating spreadsheets, and playing board games and she is a devoted Catholic who calls producing Triumph of the Heart the most challenging—and most meaningful—experience of her life.
Andrew Holzschuh
DP, Post Supervisor & Editor
Andrew Holzschuh is the Director of Photography, Post Supervisor, and Co-Editor of Triumph of the Heart, a feature film set for theatrical release in Fall 2025. The film marks his first major feature involvement and showcases his strengths in visual storytelling and post-production leadership. Based in Colorado, he brings over 15 years of experience in film, spanning directing, cinematography, editing, and producing.
With a deep appreciation for human-centered stories and a background in both commercial and independent work, he approaches each project with empathy, precision, and a commitment to powerful, transformative storytelling.
