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1-50 of 3,860
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Krzysztof Kieslowski graduated from Lódz Film School in 1969, and became a documentary, TV and feature film director and scriptwriter. Before making his first film for TV, Przejscie podziemne (1974) (The Underground Passage), he made a number of short documentaries. His next TV title, Personnel (1975) (The Staff), took the Grand Prix at Mannheim Film Festival. His first full-length feature was The Scar (1976) (The Scar). In 1978 he made the famous documentary From a Night Porter's Point of View (1979) (Night Porter's Point of View), and in 1979 - a feature Camera Buff (1979) (Camera Buff), which was acclaimed in Poland and abroad. Everything he did from that point was of highest artistic quality.- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Born in Lvov, Ukraine; then he moved with his father Miroslaw Zulawski to Czechoslovakia and later to Poland. In the late 1950s, he studied cinema in France. In the 1960s, he was an assistant of the famous Polish film director Andrzej Wajda. His feature debut The Third Part of the Night (1971) was an adaptation of his father's novel. His second feature The Devil (1972) was prohibited in Poland, and Zulawski went to France. After the success of his French debut That Most Important Thing: Love (1975) in 1975, he returned to Poland where he spent two years in making On the Silver Globe (1988). The work on this film was brutally interrupted by the authorities. After that, Zulawski moved to France where became known for his highly artistic, controversial, and very violent films. Zulawski is well known for his ability to discover and "rediscover" actresses. Romy Schneider, Isabelle Adjani and Sophie Marceau played their best parts in his films.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Andrzej Wajda is an Academy Award-winning director. He is the most prominent filmmaker in Poland known for The Promised Land (1975), Man of Iron (1981), and Katyn (2007).
He was Born on March 6, 1926, in Suwalki, Poland. His mother, Aniela Wajda, was a teacher at a Ukrainian school. His father, Jakub Wajda, was a captain in the Polish infantry. Wajda described his childhood as a happy pastoral country life before the Second World War. In 1939, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. In 1940, Wajda's father was killed by Stalin's agents in the Katyn massacre.
Young Wajda survived the Second World War with his mother and his brother in Nazi-occupied Poland. In 1942, Wajda joined the Polish resistance and served in the Armia Krajowa until the war ended in 1945. In 1946 he moved to Kraków. There Wajda went to Academy of Fine Arts. He studied painting, particularly the impressionist and post-impressionist painting, and was especially fond of Paul Cezanne. From 1950-1954 he studied film directing at the High Film School in Lódz under directors Jerzy Toeplitz and Aleksander Ford. Later, Wajda described the influential and eye-opening experience from seeing French avant-garde films, like Ballet mécanique (1924) by artist-director Fernand Léger.
In 1955 he made his debut as director of full-length A Generation (1955), about the generation of youth coming of age during the Nazi occupation of Poland. His award-winning Kanal (1957) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958) concluded the trilogy about life in Poland during WWII. Although he was under pressure from the Soviet-dominated Polish authorities, Wajda positioned himself as an artist who was above the conflict. He still managed to show the undeclared civil war between two anti-Nazi Polish forces, which were divided by political ideology: the Polish communists and the partisans - folk heroes of the Home Army.
His Oscar-nominated The Promised Land (1975) was a work of multi-layered allegory and Symbolism. Wajda's witty depiction of the 19th century capitalism in Poland actually alluded to the contemporary Communist politics. The shooting of workers in the final scenes was actually unmasking of the official politics of killing workers in the Soviet Union in 1962, under Nikita Khrushchev, and in Poland a few years later. The story of a film student who traces the life of defamed "hero" in Man of Marble (1977) was a deconstruction of the false impressions that official propaganda was using to brainwash the public. The same main characters in Man of Iron (1981) continued unmasking the Communist regime's manipulations against working class people. In 1981, Wajda joined the "Solidarity" labor movement of Lech Walesa.
From 1989 to 1991 Wajda was elected Senator of the Republic of Poland. From 1992 to 1994 he was Member of Presidential Council for Culture. In 1994 he founded the Center of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków, and was awarded the Order of Rising Sun in Japan (1995). Wajda was President of Polish Film Association (1978-1983). He was Member of "Solidarity" Lech Walesa Council (1981-1989). He won an honorary Oscar (2000) for his contribution to cinema, and an honorary Golden Bear (2006) at the Berlin Film Festival.
Wajda's Katyn (2007) was nominated for Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year in 2008, and received many other awards and nominations. The film shows historic events in Katyn during WWII, where Wajda's father was among thousands of Polish officers killed by Soviet communists under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Wajda's film was well received by the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, who initially opened the facts about Katyn to help people understand each other and overcome the tragic past.
"We never hoped to live to see the fall of the Soviet Union, to see Poland as a free country", said Andrzej Wajda.- Rudolf Hoess was born on 25 November 1900 in Baden-Baden, Germany. He was married to Hedwig Hensel. He died on 7 April 1947 in Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland.
- Malgorzata Braunek was born on 30 January 1947 in Szamotuly, Wielkopolskie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Tulipany (2004), Lalka (1978) and Wniebowstapienie (1969). She was married to Andrzej Zulawski, Andrzej Krajewski and Janusz Guttner. She died on 23 June 2014 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerzy Kawalerowicz was born on 19 January 1922 in Gwozdziec, Stanislawowskie, Poland [now Hvizdets, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for Night Train (1959), Mother Joan of the Angels (1961) and Death of a President (1977). He was married to Lucyna Winnicka, Maria Güntner and Malgorzata Dipont. He died on 27 December 2007 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Piotr Szulkin was born on 26 April 1950 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland. He was a director and writer, known for The War of the Worlds: Next Century (1981), Golem (1980) and Ga-ga: Glory to the Heroes (1986). He was married to Renata Karwowska-Szulkin. He died on 3 August 2018 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Won international fame with the leading role of Maciek Chelmicki in Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds (1958). He created a character which was imitated not only in Poland; often compared with James Dean.
Graduated from the Higher State School of Acting in Cracow; also studied journalism. From 1953 to 1960 worked with Wybrzeze Theatre, Bim-Bom Student Theatre and Teatr Rozmow (all in Gdansk). From 1961 to 1967 acted and directed in Theatre Ateneum in Warsaw, Poland.
Major leading roles: Kostek in Wajda's A Generation (1955) ("Generation"), Maciek Chelmicki in Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds (1958), Jacek in Janusz Morgenstern's A demain (1961) ("See You Tomorrow", co-scr.), Edmund in Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers (1960) ("Innocent Sorcerers"), Wiktor Rawicz in Wojciech Has's Jak byc kochana (1963) ("How to Be Loved"), Alfons Van Worden in Has's The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), trainer Janczak in Aleksander Scibor-Rylski's Jutro Meksyk (1966) ("Mexico Tomorrow"), Rodecki in Scibor-Rylski's Morderca zostawia slad (1967) ("The Killer Leaves a Trace"). - Leon Niemczyk was born on 15 December 1923 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Knife in the Water (1962), Inland Empire (2006) and Das unsichtbare Visier (1973). He was married to Diana, Krystyna, Dorit, Jadwiga and Tatiana Zuanar. He died on 29 November 2006 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Wladyslaw Szpilman was born in 1911 in Sosnowiec. On leaving school, he went to Warsaw to study music (piano) in the Chopin School of Music, under Professor Jozef Smidowicz, and later, under Professor Aleksander Michalowski (both scholars of Franz List). In 1931 he went to Berlin to the Academy of Music studying under Professor Leonid Kreutzer and Arthur Schnabel (piano) and Professor Franz Schreker (composition). At this time he wrote his Violin Concerto, Piano Suite "Zycie Maszyn" (The Life of Machines), Concertino for piano with Orchestra, many works for piano and violin and also some songs. In 1935 Szpilman entered the Polish Radio, where, except during the war, he worked until 1963. In 1946, he published his book "Death of a City" - memories from 1939 to 1945. Since 1945, Szpilman has appeared in concerts as a soloist and with chamber groups in Poland, throughout Europe and in America. He and Bronislav Gimpel formed a very successful piano duet in 1932, which grew in 1962 to the Warsaw Piano Quintet, that performed about 2,500 concerts until 1987 worldwide, with the exception of Australia. In 1936 he also started his career as a composer of songs (about 500). About 150 of them were in Poland's pop charts and they are "evergreens" of Polish pop music culture to this day. In the 50s he wrote also about 40 songs for children, for which he received in 1955 the award of the Polish Composers Union. He also wrote many orchestral pieces (ballet, Small Overture, etc.), musicals, music for children's theater and music for about 50 children's radio broadcasts, as well as film music: "Wrzos" (1937); "Dr. Murek" (1939); "Pokoj Zwyciezy Swiat" (1950); "Call My Wife" (1957), and others. In 1961, he initiated and organized the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland, and also founded the Polish Union of Authors of Popular Music. In 1964, he became a member of Presidium of Polish Composers Union, and ZAIKS (Polish ASCAP). In April 1998, his book "Death of the City" will be published by ECON Verlag, a leading German publisher, with commentary by a famous German writer and poet: Wolf Biermann.- One of the most famous Polish cinema and theater actors. He graduated from the National Theater School in Warsaw in 1965. During 1966-69 he worked at the Classical Theater in Warsaw, and during 1970-77 he worked as an artistic director at the Comedia Theater. In the 1980s, Perepeczko emigrated to Australia, but he returned to Poland in the early 1990s. During 1998-2003, he worked as an artistic director at the Adam Mickiewicz Theater in Czestochowa.
- Amon Göth was born on 11 December 1908 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He died on 13 September 1946 in Kraków, Poland.
- Director
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Born in Kraków, Poland, in 1925. Feature film director. Graduated in 1946 from Cracow Film Institute, also studied painting. From 1947 to 1957 made a number of documentary shorts and educational films. Feature film debut: _The Noose_ (Petla, 1958, co-scr.). Other films: _Farewells_ (Pozegnania, 1958, co-scr.), awarded in Locarno and London 1959; _Roommates_ ((Wspolny pokoj, 1960, co-scr.); _Parting_ (Rozstanie, 1961); _Gold_ (Zloto, 1962); _How to Be Loved_ (Jak byc kochana, 1962), Polish Film Critics award, also awarded in San Francisco 1963 and beirut 1964; _The Saragossa Manuscript_ (Pamietnik znaleziony w Saragossie, 1964), awarded in San Sebastian and Edinburgh 1965, in Sitges 1966; _Codes_ (Szyfry, 1966), _The Doll_ (Lalka, 1968, co-scr.), awarded in Panama 1969; _The Sandglass_ (Sanatorium pod Klepsydra, 1973), awarded in Cannes 1973, Grand Prix in Trieste 1974.- Ryszard Zabinski was the son of Warsaw Zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski. During the Holocaust, the family successfully hid 300 Jewish men, women, and children in their villa and in the zoo's animal cages and tunnels. Ryszard carried food to the 'guests' and performed a number of chores without ever inadvertently giving away the family's secret activities.
For young Ryszard, life at the zoo was a childhood dream come true. It was also an adventure he would never forget. He shared space with sick or orphaned new-born animals. Ryszard long remembered all of the animals roaming freely throughout his home. The zoo he remembered prior to the war was filled with love.
On October 30, 1968 a tree planting ceremony was held at Yad Vashem honoring Righteous Among the Nations. Ryszard's parents were among the honorees. Ryszard lived his entire life in Warsaw, Poland. - Anna Przybylska was born on 26 December 1978 in Gdynia, Pomorskie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Rh+ (2005), Day of the Wacko (2002) and Sezon na leszcza (2001). She was married to Dominik Zygra. She died on 5 October 2014 in Gdynia, Pomorskie, Poland.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Wojciech Kilar was born on 17 July 1932 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a composer, known for Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), The Ninth Gate (1999) and The Pianist (2002). He was married to Barbara Pomianowska. He died on 29 December 2013 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland.- Stanislaw Lem was a visionary Polish author known for Solaris (1972).
He was born on September 12, 1921, in Lwów, Poland. His father, Samuel Lem, was a wealthy laryngologist who served in the Austrian army. His mother, Sabina Woller, was a homemaker. Although he was born into a Polish-Jewish family, Lem was raised a Catholic and later became an atheist. He graduated from the Lwów Gymnazium in 1939, then studied medicine at the Lvov Medical Institute in 1940-1941. During WWII, he survived the Nazi occupation of Lwów and worked as a mechanic and welder for a German firm until 1944.
After World War II Lem escaped from the Soviet occupation of Germany and moved to Krakow, Poland, as a repatriate. There he completed his medical studies at Jagellonian University, without taking the doctor's degree. He worked at the Konserwatorium Naukoznawcze as a research assistant for psychologist Dr. Choynowski. From 1946-1949 Lem was involved in medical research in psychology, which became a turning point in his life. He started writing poetry and science fiction in 1946, but his first serious novel, "Hospital of the Transfiguration", was suppressed by the Polish government for eight years. It was released only in 1956, when freedom of speech was earned after the "Polish October" popular uprising.
Lem quit medicine in 1949, because he did not want to be drafted into the army. He married a doctor instead of being one. In 1949 he became a professional writer and continued creating his increasingly unusual novels: "The Investigation", "Eden", "Return from the Stars". The 1960s and 1970s were the most productive for Lem. At that time he wrote 'Solaris', 'The Invincible', 'The Cyberiad', 'His Master's Voice', 'The Star Diaries', 'The Futurological Congress', and 'Tales of Pirx the Pilot'. His gift of a visionary materialized in 'Summa Technologiae' (Sum of Technologies, 1964), which tackled problems of virtual reality. Lem showed his talent for premonition in "Katar" (1975), which predicted international terrorism, and in "Observations on the Spot"' (1982), which showed absurdity of a conflict between two civilizations.
His novel 'Solaris' was adapted into eponymous films twice. First came the Russian-made film adaptation by director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972, starring Donatas Banionis and Natalya Bondarchuk. Lem spent six months working with Tarkovsky in Moscow, but their collaboration ended in a bitter conflict over the changes and additions to the original story. After seeing edited parts of the 1972 film, Lem said of Tarkovsky: "Instead of focusing on deeper moral questions related to frontiers of human knowledge, he made a drama-type 'Crime and Punishment' in space, by making up unnecessary characters of parents and relatives, then adding a hut on an island." "Tarkovsky was a genius, but he was moving in the opposite direction from my book", also said Lem. Upon his doctor's advice Lem did not want to see the 2002 remake by director Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone.
"Solaris" (1961) is arguably the best known work of Lem's works. It deals with the problem of human existence in the world of the unknown. It also shows the inevitability of misunderstandings in human contacts with other worlds. Planet Solaris is inhabited by a single Plasma Ocean organism with the eerie ability to materialize human thoughts. When astronauts become more aggressive in forcing contact with Solaris, it confronts them with pushing the buttons of their most painful thoughts by recreating their dead wives and relatives, and virtually bringing the dead back to life in front of their eyes. Obsolete biological human impulses are shown in stark contrast with the magnitude of the ocean-size organism. At some point humans become an irrational liability to their machine partner, the spaceship. Lem's imagination and talent for creation of alternative reality challenges the limits of human knowledge.
"Past is more perfect than future, which makes me sad," said Lem. Although some of his predictions came true, he expressed his disappointment about the failure of many positive prognosis that were made during the 1960s and 1970s. He died on March 27, 2006, in Kraków, and was laid to rest in the Salwatorski cemetery in Kraków, Poland. His books sold over 27 million copies in 41 languages. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Wojciech Pszoniak was born on 2 May 1942 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor and director, known for Danton (1983), The Promised Land (1975) and Korczak (1990). He was married to Barbara. He died on 19 October 2020 in Warsaw, Poland.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kalina Jedrusik was born in Czestochowa, Poland in 1931. Her parents brought her up together with two other children. In 1953 she debuted on stage and year later married famous Polish writer Stanislaw Dygat (Jezioro Bodenskie, Disneyland). Her long list of theatre work includes plays by Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz and Bertolt Brecht among others.
Jedrusik first appeared on screen in 1957 with the movie Eva Wants to Sleep (1958). She is mostly known for playing Joanna in comedy Lekarstwo na milosc (1966) and Lucy Zuckerowa in The Promised Land (1975). Her filmography also includes adaptations of her husband's work - Jezioro Bodenskie, Jowita and many others. Apart from her movie career she was also a talented singer. The Double Life of Véronique (1991) was her last screen appearance. She died on August 7, 1991 in Warsaw. She was 60.- Franciszek Pieczka was born on 18 January 1928 in Godów, Slaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for The Scar (1976), Zywot Mateusza (1968) and Jancio Wodnik (1993). He was married to Henryka. He died on 23 September 2022 in Poland.
- Teresa Izewska was born on 8 April 1933 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Kanal (1957), Nafta (1961) and Spotkanie w 'Bajce' (1962). She died on 26 August 1982 in Gdansk, Gdanskie [now Pomorskie], Poland.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jan Nowicki was born on 5 November 1939 in Kowal, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland. He was an actor and writer, known for Jeszcze nie wieczór (2008), Sztos (1997) and Lawa. Opowiesc o 'Dziadach' Adama Mickiewicza (1989). He was married to Anna Kondratowicz, Malgorzata Potocka and Márta Mészáros. He died on 7 December 2022 in Krzewent k. Kowala, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Marian Kociniak was born on 11 January 1936 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Pan Tadeusz (1999), Television Theater (1953) and How I Unleashed World War II (1970). He was married to Grazyna Kociniak. He died on 17 March 2016 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Krzysztof Komeda was born on 27 April 1931 in Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland. He was a composer and actor, known for Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) and Knife in the Water (1962). He was married to Zofia von Tittenbrun. He died on 23 April 1969 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Tadeusz Lomnicki began his education in the theatre arts in 1945 when he enrolled in the Theatre Studio at the Stary Teatr in Krakow. In 1946 he spent a season at the Teatr Slaski in Katowice. He returned to Krakow in 1947, appearing on stage at both the Teatr im. Juliusza Slowackiego and the Stary Teatr. In 1949 he left for Warsaw, where he signed on with the Teatr Wspolczesny. Lomnicki would remain there until 1974, though during this period he performed occasionally at the National Theatre in Warsaw. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1951; during his initial years in Warsaw he also studied stage direction at the State Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw. He was awarded a directing degree in 1956. In 1970, he became the rector of the theatre school in Warsaw, retaining this position until 1981. In 1975, Lomnicki was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. He was trusted by those in power at that time and received an opportunity to create his own theatre. His initiative lead to the creation in 1976 of the Teatr na Woli, which he headed until his resignation in 1981. At around the time he left the theatre, two days after Martial Law was declared in Poland, he handed in his Communist Party membership card. That same year he joined Warsaw's Teatr Polski, and in 1983/84 was an actor at the Teatr Studio in Warsaw. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he was not linked to any institutional theatre, instead making numerous guest appearances at a number of Warsaw theatres.
He had dreamed of playing the part of King Lear for a long time before he finally succeeded in mounting a production and going into rehearsal. He first asked noted translator and poet Stanislaw Baranczak to produce a new translation of the play. The translation in hand, he approached a number of directors about working with him on the production. Among those who turned him down at the time was Andrzej Wajda. Ultimately, Eugeniusz Korin agreed to direct the production at Poznan's Teatr Nowy. One week before the premiere, on February 22, 1992, Tadeusz Lomnicki passed away while rehearsing.- Actress
- Writer
- Composer
Ligia Branice was born on 7 December 1932 in Krasnystaw, Lubelskie, Poland. She was an actress and writer, known for Behind Convent Walls (1978), La Jetée (1962) and Spotkania (1957). She was married to Walerian Borowczyk. She died on 6 September 2022 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Henryk Bista was born on 12 March 1934 in Kochlowice, Ruda Slaska, Slaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Lawa. Opowiesc o 'Dziadach' Adama Mickiewicza (1989), Schindler's List (1993) and Curse of Snakes Valley (1988). He was married to Urszula Mordzewska. He died on 8 October 1997 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont was born on 7 May 1867 in Kobiele Wielkie, Poland, Russian Empire [now Kobiele Wielkie, Lódzkie, Poland]. He was a writer, known for Chlopi (1922), Ziemia obiecana (1927) and Komediantka (1987). He was married to Aurelia Szablowska. He died on 5 December 1925 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Gerron fled to France (because he was Jewish), then settled in Amsterdam in 1933. He was arrested by the SS in 1943 and was sent to Theresienstadt in 1944 to direct a staged documentary intended to persuade world public opinion that Jews were well treated in concentration camps. He made a film called "The Fuhrer Donates a City to the Jews" or in German "Der Fuhrer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt". After he completed the film he was sent to Auschwitz where he was murdered.- Ewa Salacka was born on 3 May 1957 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Pierwsza milosc (2004), Curse of Snakes Valley (1988) and Poverie za beliya vyatar (1990). She was married to Krzysztof Krauze and Witold Kirstein. She died on 23 July 2006 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Stanislaw Mikulski was born on 1 May 1929 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Hans Kloss: More Than Death at Stake (2012), Stawka wieksza niz zycie (1968) and Zaczarowane podwórko (1974). He was married to Wanda, Malgorzata Bloch and Jadwiga Rutkiewicz. He died on 27 November 2014 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Edward Zentara was born on 18 March 1956 in Sianów, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Hard to Be a God (1989), Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe (1991) and Dziki 2: Pojedynek (2005). He died on 25 May 2011 in Tarnów, Malopolskie, Poland.
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Tadeusz Chmielewski was born on 7 June 1927 in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Lódzkie, Poland. He was a writer and director, known for Eva Wants to Sleep (1958), Wierna rzeka (1987) and In Heaven as It Is on Earth (1998). He was married to Halina Chmielewska. He died on 4 December 2016 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Production Designer
- Art Department
- Art Director
Adam Kilian was born on 13 February 1923 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a production designer and art director, known for Television Theater (1953), Król Macius I (1958) and The Decalogue (1989). He died on 25 June 2016 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Anna Ciepielewska was born on 7 January 1936 in Ostróg, Wolynskie, Poland [now Ostroh, Rivne Oblast, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Orzel i reszka (1975), Dluga noc (1967) and Taranthriller (1997). She died on 20 May 2006 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Anna German was a Polish pop-singer of the German origin (her surname has nothing in common with her ethnic origin - this is a purely casual coincidence in English only; the Polish word for "German" is niemiecki (m), niemiecka (f), niemiec "a German man", niemka "a German lady", Niemcy "Germans", "Germany" etc.). She was born in the Soviet Union. Her parents as well as other Soviet Germans, were banished to Central Asia after the Nazi Germany had attacked the USSR. Her father was killed in the labor camp. During the war her mother married a Pole and moved to Poland after World War II had been over. Anna German's main profession is geologist. She became a pop singer in the early 1960s after winning a song competition at University of Wroclaw where she was studying. In August 1967 she was badly injured in the road accident (car crash) in Italy. The process of her rehabilitation lasted three years until in 1970 she started singing again. She was popular both in Poland and in the USSR. The cause of her death in the age of 46 is cancer, which is in no way bound with the road accident as many people mistakenly suppose.- Teresa Tuszynska was born on 5 September 1942 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Prague Nights (1969), Goodbye, See You Tomorrow (1960) and Drugi czlowiek (1961). She died on 19 March 1997 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Lucyna Winnicka was born on 14 July 1928 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Night Train (1959), Mother Joan of the Angels (1961) and Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960). She was married to Jerzy Kawalerowicz. She died on 22 January 2013 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Zygmunt Malanowicz was born on 4 February 1938 in Wilno, Wilenskie, Poland [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was an actor and writer, known for Knife in the Water (1962), Jaroslaw Dabrowski (1976) and Bez ulik (1992). He died on 4 April 2021 in Poland.- Roman Wilhelmi was born on 6 June 1936 in Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for The Moth (1980), Hotel Pacific (1975) and The Story of Sin (1975). He died on 3 November 1991 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Antonina Zabinska was born on 18 July 1908 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She was married to Jan Zabinski. She died on 19 March 1971 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Wladyslaw Kowalski was a Polish actor and pedagogue. He graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw in 1959. His debut role was Chuch in the play "Hat Full of Rain" by Michael V. Gazzo, directed by Andrzej Wajda, at the Wybrzeze Theatre in Gdansk. He then performed on the stages of Warsaw theaters: Ateneum (1960-1974) and Powszechny (1974-2005). From 2005, he was an actor of the Gustaw Holoubek Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw. In the 80s, he was an academic teacher at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw. He is known for his roles in the movies Kartka z podrózy (1984), The Double Life of Véronique (1991), and Avalon (2001).
- Maciej Damiecki was born on 11 January 1944 in Podszkodzie, Swietokrzyskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Bokser (1967), Prom (1970) and Wiano (1964). He was married to Anita Dymszówna and Joanna Damiecka. He died on 17 November 2023 in Poland.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Henryk Mikolaj Górecki was born on 6 December 1933 in Czernica, Slaskie, Poland. He was a composer, known for Suicide Squad (2016), Mr. Nobody (2009) and Beautiful Boy (2018). He was married to Jadwiga Górecki. He died on 12 November 2010 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland.- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Krzysztof Penderecki was a Polish composer and conductor, whose music was often used in film. He seldom composed original film scores. Among the most notable films to use Penderecki's music are "The Exorcist" (1973), "The Shining" (1980), "Wild at Heart" (1990), "Fearless" (1993), "Inland Empire" (2006), "Children of Men" (2006), and "Shutter Island" (2010),
Penderecki was born in the town of Debica, in the historic province of Lesser Poland. His parents were the lawyer Tadeusz Penderecki and his wife Zofia. Tadeusz was an amateur violinist and pianist. Penderecki was a grandson of bank director Robert Berger, who had a side-career as a painter. Robert's father was Johann Berger, a German Protestant from Breslau (modern Wroclaw), who converted to Catholicism in order to marry a Catholic girl. Penderecki's grandmother Stefania was an Armenian from the town of Stanislau in Austria-Hungary (modern Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine).
Penderecki was 6-years-old when World War II begun. The Penderecki family had to move out of their apartment, as it was confiscated for use by the Ministry of Food. Penderecki's education was disrupted by the War. He started attending grammar school in 1946, at the age of 13. He graduated in 1951.
Penderecki started studying violin during his school years. His first teacher was military bandmaster Stanislaw Darlak, who also led a local orchestra in Debica. In 1951, Penderecki enrolled at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, where he continued his music studies. Stanislaw Tawroszewicz trained him as a violinist, while Franciszek Skolyszewski taught him music theory.
In 1954, Penderecki enrolled at the Academy of Music in Kraków. Having mostly completed his violin lessons, his education was focused entirely on the composition of new music. His original mentor was composer Artur Malawski, who was primarily known for choral and orchestral works. Malawski died in 1957, before Penderecki completed his lessons. His new mentor was composer Stanislaw Wiechowicz (1893-1963), who often drew inspiration from Polish folk music.
Penderecki graduated from the Academy of Music in 1958, and was immediately offered a teaching position there. He took the offer. He started publishing his original compositions, which were mostly influenced by the works of Pierre Boulez, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern. His works "Strophen", "Psalms of David", and "Emanations" premiered in 1959, and were critically well-received.
His first work to actually receive international recognition was "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" (1960), written for 52 string instruments. His next notable work was the controversial "Fluorescences" (1962) written for the Donaueschingen Festival in Germany. He experimented with using percussion instruments which were unusual for classical music, such as "a Mexican güiro", typewriters, and gongs.
His experimental phase lasted through the 1960s, and he was seen as part of the avant-garde scene. By the early 1970s, Penderecki started incorporating more influences from the music of post-Romanticism, and his works were seen as more traditional. Meanwhile he had become one of Poland's most notable composers, He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1964, and the Commander's Cross of the Order in 1974.
In the mid-1970s Penderecki became a professor at the Yale School of Music. His music became more melodic. His "Symphony No. 2, Christmas" (1980) was "harmonically and melodically quite straightforward", and made frequent uses of the tune used in an older Christmas carol, "Silent Night" (1818) by Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863). He explained his renunciation of the avant-garde, as he viewed the novelty of the music as "more destructive than constructive".
In 1980, the Polish trade union "Solidarity" commissioned to compose music commemorating those killed in anti-government riots at the Gdansk shipyards. Penderecki initially composed "Lacrimosa" for the occasion. He was inspired enough to expand the work to one of his most famous compositions, "Polish Requiem". He revised it several times between 1980 and 2005.
By the 2000s, Penderecki won many international awards and his fame was well-established. He started working on a number of compositions which were never finished, in part due to poor health. His plans included an opera version of the French tragedy play "Phèdre" (1677) by Jean Racine (1639-1699), and a composition commemorating the Armenian Genocide's centennial.
In March 2020, Penderecki died in his home in Kraków, Poland, following a long illness. He was 86-years-old, and several of his compositions were regarded among the famous film music of the 20th century.- Hanna Dunowska was born on 18 December 1958 in Minsk Mazowiecki, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Pierwsza milosc (2004), Radi semeynogo ochaga (1992) and Blood of the Innocent (1994). She was married to Pawel Luczyca-Wyhovski. She died on 1 August 2019 in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Mazowieckie, Poland.
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Robert Dunlap was born on 29 November 1942 and is an actor and producer.
His family is of Scottish/Czech descent. He studied at Lincoln High School in San Jose, and graduated in 1960. Upon graduation, Robert was accepted at the young age of 17 to train as an actor at Pasadena Playhouse. He became a contract player for Warner Brothers Studios in 1961. Robert Dunlap is often recognized because of his appearances in the media. His breakthrough roles include They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), and is also known for Dance 'Til Dawn (1988) and The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976) He has guest starred in many television shows, including: The Rockford Files, Joe Forrester, The Voyagers, Future Cop, My Three Sons, Peyton Place, and Wonder Woman. In 1970, he starred as 'Chester' in the play Chimes at Midnight which was aired live on the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He was first cast as Dr. Scott in an Educational Science series, and then went on to appear in 6 additional TV series including Delta, and sang in the opera "La Rondine" by Puccini. During his long acting career, Robert has worked with Gene Hackman, James Garner, George Kennedy, Tony Scott, Ernest Borgnine, Lloyd Bridges and Robin Williams on the Richard Prior series. His filmmaking career started in 1971, when he attended Los Angeles Valley College, and received an AA Degree and Technicians Certificate. He won Student Filmmaker of the Year and received an Emmy Citation for the Documentary "Grandpa." In 1982, he formed RED Productions, and produced "Anton," the story of a famous gay interior decorator in West Hollywood. The film received awards from numerous film festivals that include Aspen, Sinking Creek, the "Special Jury Gold Award" at the Houston International Film Festival and "Directors Fortnight" at Cannes. The film aired on Showtime and was selected to be included in "Since Stonewall," a retrospective of classic gay films of the 80s. He has worked on over 45 films as a producer, editor and writer and his work has been aired on the Discovery Channel including "Impact: Earth"; "Alaska: The Great Land"; and on PBS, "Dinosaur: The Arctic Expedition" and "Mass Extinctions" which also aired on Canal Plus and in the Middle East. In 2002, he produced the groundbreaking, award-winning documentary, "Beyond Vanilla: An unforgettable Journey into the Wilder Side of Sex", which documents the kink and fetish scene. In 2008, he produced "Xaviera Hollander, the Happy Hooker: Portrait of a Sexual Revolutionary." After shooting "Beyond Vanilla", he studied at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS) in San Francisco, earned his Phd in 2005, and is a now a Clinical Sexologist and Certified Sex Coach. He is the author of Aphrodisiacs 101, from which he based his doctoral dissertation for IASHS. Dunlap hosts a monthly radio show, The Boom Doctors, with his partner (Dr. Patti Britton), which is aimed at the baby boomer generation (people born between 1946 and 1964) and discusses and explores all aspects of boomer life.- Director
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Andrzej Munk was born on 16 October 1920 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was a director and writer, known for Passenger (1963), Eroica (1958) and Man on the Tracks (1957). He died on 20 September 1961 in Lowicz, Lódzkie, Poland.- Max Spiers was born on 22 December 1976 in Canterbury, Kent, England, UK. He died on 16 July 2016 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
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Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz was born on 10 August 1898 in Okunevo, Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire [now Hlybokaye Raion, Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus]. He was a writer and actor, known for District Attorney (1933), Bialy Murzyn (1939) and Znachor (1937). He died on 20 September 1939 in Kuty, Stanislawowskie, Poland [now Kuty, Ukraine].