The Last Stage

The Last Stage (Polish: Ostatni etap) is a 1948 Polish historical drama film directed by Wanda Jakubowska and written by Jakubowska and Gerda Schneider, depicting her experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The film was one of the early cinematic efforts to describe the Holocaust. Jakubowska’s film influenced subsequent directors that dealt with the subject, including Alain Resnais, Gillo Pontecorvo and Steven Spielberg. In film criticism, it is often referred to as "the mother of all holocaust films". It was Jakubowska's first theatrically-released film and was both a commercial and critical success. It was seen by more than 7.8 million people in Poland and exported to dozens of countries. It also was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film from Any Source in 1950.