In 1948, Polish artist Wladyslaw Strzeminski, co-founder and lecturer at the Lodz State Art School (later renamed the Strzeminski Academy of Art Lodz), begins his work as a champion for modern art. Amid a surge of Stalinism, Strzeminski's students and daughter watch as the Polish government puts his art and livelihood in danger. This final work from legendary filmmaker Andrzej Wajda is a defiant look at artistic freedom, an autumnal portrait of an artist and theorist, and a recognition of service from one Polish master to another.