Walesa stayed close to his country roots, even throughout his rise to power. Those roots lay at the heart of his enormous success, but were also the source of the criticism from his opponents. He managed to combine the sober voice of reason, which elevated him above the rest, with a frankness that beggared belief. When Lech Walesa became a strike leader in the shipyards of Gdansk, Poland in 1980, ten million people soon joined him. This paved the way to the first peaceful overthrow of a Communist regime. The young electrician made history. Over the course of his career, Lech Walesa withstood it all – from adoration to humiliation and hatred. He was known for his sharp judgments and his apt and often witty one-liners. He knew how to work a crowd, and when to use a joke, an argument, some pathos, or a lie. And the masses followed him as if hypnotized.The intention for “Lech Walesa, a portrait” is simply to help him to make a documentary on himself, which as former President admits: “is not an easy thing to accomplish”.