Local Catholics host St. Maximilian Kolbe crowdfunded film screening in September

Tickets to see 'Triumph of the Heart' at local theaters must be purchased by Thursday, Aug. 28, for the show to go on

DETROIT — Dan Piaskowski, a parishioner at St. Aloysius in Detroit, remembers reading a comic book about St. Maximilian Kolbe when he was a kid.

St. Maximilian, a Polish Franciscan friar, was imprisoned at Auschwitz and volunteered to take the place of a man who was condemned to death at the Nazi concentration camp in 1941.

“Growing up in a Polish family, learning about anything from Poland was always interesting to me,” Piaskowski said. “I was given that comic book when I was 6 or 7 years old, and his story absolutely captivated me. It stuck with me.”

When it was time for Piaskowski to choose a confirmation saint at age 14, he didn’t hesitate to take Maximilian Kolbe as his name. Since then, the saint has followed him throughout his life in little ways, inspiring him in prayer and in his faith.

“Even as a young boy, I admired his piety. As a 10-year-old, St. Kolbe had a vision of Our Lady offering him two crowns, one of martyrdom and one of purity, and asked him which one he wanted. He said he wanted both,” Piaskowski said. “And then, of course, I’m inspired by his courageousness in the sacrifice that he made to take the place of fellow prisoner Franciszek Gajowniczek. It’s a beautiful witness of a person who lives as Christ would have him live.”

While listening to the “Catching Foxes” podcast in January 2024, Piaskowski learned that a film, "Triumph of the Heart," was being produced about his favorite saint. Anthony D’Ambrosio, the film’s writer and director, was a guest on the show that day. D'Ambrosio mentioned the need for financial support through a Kickstarter campaign for the movie.

Piaskowski and his wife, Catherine, decided to contribute to the crowdfunding campaign. In October, he received an email from the film’s producers inviting supporters to view a rough cut of the film and provide feedback.

“It was really incredible to be part of it at that point,” Piaskowski said. “I knew then how powerful this movie was going to be.”

When "Triumph of the Heart" was finished and ready to be shared more broadly, the film’s producers continued with the crowdfunding model. They asked individuals to host local screenings this September by making a small investment of $89 and then inviting others to buy tickets for their showing of the movie. Each screening accommodates 80 people.

The deadline to purchase tickets is this Thursday, Aug. 28. For any screenings not sold out at that time, ticket holders may choose to receive a refund or to “give forward” to a national pool of tickets for priests, seminarians, students, missionaries, and religious to see the film.

As of publication, nearly 30,000 tickets have been sold at 480 theaters around the country. Fourteen theaters are in the Metro Detroit area; about half are sold out.

“We chose this grassroots, crowdfunding release because, like Kolbe's Militia of the Immaculata, it's about igniting a movement from the ground up, without relying on Hollywood studios that often dilute or ignore stories of real faith,” D’Ambrosio told Detroit Catholic. “It's miraculous how this mirrors Kolbe's own entrepreneurial spirit, turning ordinary people into evangelists, ensuring the film's impact isn't top-down but born from shared sacrifice, love, and prayer, just like the Holy Spirit showed up on our set.”

Piaskowski decided on St. Maximilian’s feast day, Aug. 14, that he would host a screening in Detroit on Sept. 14. He hopes he’ll be able to sell all 80 tickets by Thursday’s deadline.

Stephen Estey, a parishioner at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, and his wife, Julie, signed up to host a screening in the Plymouth area. They consider St. Maximilian a patron saint of their family.

“We’ve always been attracted to his model of sacrificial love, redemptive suffering, and devotion to Mary,” Estey said.

The Estey family has visited the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Libertyville, Ill. One of their daughters and their son-in-law both chose Maximilian Kolbe as their confirmation saint. The Esteys even named pets after the saint, including their German Shepherd, Kolbe, who recently passed away.

When Estey read an article about the film online, there was no question he would host a screening.

“I think this movie is so important because, like the Cabrini movie last year, it shows that the quality of Catholic movies can compete with Hollywood. We need to support these types of films with high production values that are wholesome and attract people to the lives of the saints,” Estey said. “Hopefully people will get out to see this and experience the love that Maximilian Kolbe gave to everyone through his ministry and sacrifice.”

D'Ambrosio sees St. Maximilian’s story as relevant to the current times. His devotion to St. Maximilian began at age 26 as he battled an undiagnosed illness.

“When I discovered Kolbe's story and saw in it his willingness to shoulder the suffering of those men in the starvation bunker, it felt like he understood what I was going through, modeling Christ's love by stepping into my cross with me,” D’Ambrosio said. “In a world pushing assisted suicide and hopelessness, Kolbe shows us that choosing to live and hope sends shockwaves that transform history, turning places like Auschwitz into celebrations of love over evil.”

If Piaskowski’s screening sells out, he looks forward to sharing his love of his patron saint with others through the film.

“St. Maximilian Kolbe did so much in his life with ministries all over the world. But the movie focuses on the end of his life, kind of like ‘the passion of St. Maximilian Kolbe.’ It takes us to the time when he and these nine men go into the bunker, and he is a beacon of hope for them,” Piaskowski said. “It’s easy for us today to find so many reasons to lose hope. Yet, it’s in the face of those bitter circumstances that our hope in Christ can shine the brightest. That message is so needed in today’s world.”