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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.

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, Valérie Kaprisky and Sophie Marceau played their best roles in his films.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Danuta Szaflarska was born on 6 February 1915 in Kosarzyska, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Kosarzyska, Piwniczna-Zdrój, Malopolskie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Time to Die (2007), Diably, diably (1991) and How Much Does the Trojan Horse Weigh? (2008). She was married to Janusz Kilanski and Jan Ekier. She died on 19 February 2017 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Andrzej Blumenfeld was a Polish actor known for his work in film, television, theater, and voice acting. He graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw and performed in various theaters, including Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw, Teatr Wybrzeze in Gdansk, and Teatr Baltycki in Koszalin. Blumenfeld was best known for his roles in The Pianist (2002), Delivery Man (2013), and his voice work in The Witcher game series. Throughout his career, he was associated with several Warsaw theaters, including Teatr Narodowy.

Roman Wilhelmi was a prominent Polish actor known for his work in theater, film, and television. He graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Wilhelmi began his career on stage with the Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw. His most notable film roles include Hotel Pacific (1975), The Story of Sin (1975), and The Moth (1980). On television, he gained widespread recognition for his roles in the series Czterej pancerni i pies (1966) and Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (1980)

Gabriel Nehrebecki was born on 30 December 1937 in Gdynia, Pomorskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Zamach stanu (1980), Bokser (1967) and Dluznicy smierci (1986). He was married to Anna Nehrebecka. He died on 14 February 1991 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Edward Dziewonski was born on 16 December 1916 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor and director, known for 5 dni z zycia emeryta (1985), Television Theater (1953) and Adventure in Marienstadt (1954). He died on 17 August 2002 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Pawel Królikowski was born on 1 April 1961 in Zdunska Wola, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo (2014), Pitbull (2005) and Na dobre i na zle (1999). He was married to Malgorzata Ostrowska-Królikowska. He died on 27 February 2020 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

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.

Witold Pyrkosz was a Polish actor. He graduated from the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow in 1954. He gained early recognition for his role as Franek Wichura in the TV series Czterej pancerni i pies (1966). He is best known for his roles as Jedrus Pyzdra in the film Janosik (1974) and Lucjan Mostowiak in the TV series M jak milosc (2000). His acting career included performances at Teatr Ludowy in Krakow and Teatr Polski in Wroclaw. He was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit in 1974 and the Knight's Cross of Polonia Restituta in 1984.

Jan Machulski was born on 3 July 1928 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an actor and director, known for Vabank (1981), Lalka (1968) and Vabank II, czyli riposta (1985). He was married to Halina Machulska. He died on 20 November 2008 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Ignacy Machowski was born on 5 July 1920 in Rzeszów, Podkarpackie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Ashes and Diamonds (1958), Night Train (1959) and Zbrodniarz i panna (1963). He died on 11 January 2001 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Antoni Nurzynski was born on 7 February 1935 in Skierniewice, Lódzkie, Poland. He was a cinematographer, known for Prom (1970), Gangsterzy i filantropi (1963) and Trad (1971). He died on 19 February 1974 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.