Łukasz Karwowski (born December 30, 1965, in

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

) is a Polish film director, screenwriter and producer.

Early and personal life

Karwowski grew up in

, Poland, in the turbulent years of Solidarity and the struggle against the martial law. His father spent time in prison for his anti-communist activity. He lives in Warsaw, married to Weronika Karwowska and has six children: Franciszek, Roch, Mia, Leon, Tymon and Iwo.

Education

Karwowski studied Polish philology at the

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń or NCU ( pl, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born in Toruń in 1473.National Film School in Lodz, where he was taught by

Wojciech Jerzy Has Wojciech Jerzy Has (1 April 1925, Kraków – 3 October 2000, Łódź) was a Polish film director, screenwriter and film producer. Early life and studies Wojciech Jerzy Has was born in Kraków. Has himself was agnostic. However, his family ...

(Winner of Cannes Grand Jury Award for

The Hourglass Sanatorium ''The Hourglass Sanatorium'' ( pl, Sanatorium pod klepsydrą) is a 1973 Polish surrealist film directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, starring Jan Nowicki, Tadeusz Kondrat, Mieczysław Voit, Halina Kowalska and Gustaw Holoubek. It is also known as ''The ...

and nominee for several more). In 1989 he studied directing at the National Film and Television School in the UK. In the same year in Belgrade, he was elected for a film masterclass by Istvan Szabo. As a student, he already started gaining accolades for his work. The Möbius Strip (1989), won best short film and best young filmmaker of the year in

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

, best original screenplay in Nimes Short films festival, main prize in The Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival, as well as being nominated for the

Student Academy Awards The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first ...

(AKA Student's Oscar).

Career

Karwowski says his life view and creative style were shaped by his upbringing in Communist Poland. His early films were influenced by his teacher

, being more abstract with an inner world of reason and aesthetics, and later shifted to gritty realism and dramatic plots with powerful acting roles. In 1992, he made his debu
November
a feature length Polish-French co-production thriller with cinematography by

Paweł Edelman Paweł Edelman (born 26 June 1958) is a Polish cinematographer from Łódź, known for his collaborations with acclaimed directors Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda. He was named Best European Cinematographer in 2002 at the European Film Awards ...

('' The Pianist'',

European Film Award for Best Cinematographer The European Film Award for Best Cinematographer, also known as Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer Award, is an award given to cinematographers working in the motion picture industry by the European Film Academy. Winners and nominees 1980s ...

, César Award for Best Cinematography, Academy Award and a BAFTA nominations and many more). For it, he received the Polish Cultural Foundation Award at the Polish

Gdynia Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every year sinc ...

(1992). In the 1990s, he moved to France, where with the production company he founded Moon Movie, he directed over 150 commercials (Daewoo, Danone, Johnson & Johnson, LOT, MK Cafe). He also spent some time in Los Angeles. Later, with his production company of 20 year
Zoomedia
he has produced over 120 and directed over 300 television commercials - initially in France and then in Poland. His commercials have gone to receive many awards at festivals. In 2006, he returned to his true passion, feature films. Hi
South by North
(2006), a drama with

Borys Szyc Borys Michał Szyc-Michalak (; born Borys Michalak; 4 September 1978) is a Polish film and theatre actor and musician. Life and career He was born in Łódź, Poland. He graduated from High School No. 26 in Łódź. In 2001, he graduated from W ...

( Cold War), Agnieszka Grochowska and Robert Więckiewicz, won the huge achievement of opening the 22nd

Warsaw Film Festival Warsaw Film Festival ( pl, Warszawski Festiwal Filmowy, abbreviated as WFF) is an annual film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries from all around the world. The festival ha ...

, and went on to win several awards. South by North was also the first Polish film made entirely with no public funding to achieve market success. Another film
"Expecting Love"
(2008), with Mała wielka miłość and cinematography b
Arkadiusz Tomiak
was the first Polish production to be co-produced in the U.S with a full production team. It featured a mixed Polish-American cast (including

Agnieszka Grochowska Agnieszka Grochowska (born 31 December 1979) is a Polish film and theatre actress. Life She was born on 31 December 1979 in Warsaw. She graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw in 2002. In 2003, she started working at the ...

Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), '' Higher G ...

(star of Blair Witch Project),

Agata Kulesza Agata Kulesza-Figurska (; born 27 September 1971) is a Polish film, television and stage actress, and a member of the Polish Film Academy.

(Oscar-winning Ida)
Mikolaj Grabowski

Marcin Bosak Marcin Bosak (born 9 September 1979 in Łódź) is a Polish actor. He appeared in more than twenty-five films since 1995. Biography He was born and raised in Łódź. He has a younger sister, Anna, finalist of the You Can Dance: Po prostu tań ...

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

(Oscar nominated for

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel '' Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Jac ...

). The compelling love story between an American lawyer and a Polish student, is still on broadcast in many TV stations, and was also adapted to a four-part tv series. A project close to Karwowski's heart is his 2009 documentar
Doctor
about his beloved grandfather, Otton Karwowski, who was a legendary rural doctor. Currently, Karwowski is working (producer, director and screenwriter) on two feature films: One Soul (Jedna Dusza) starring

Dawid Ogrodnik Dawid Ogrodnik (born 28 May 1986, Wągrowiec) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than ten films since 2010. Filmography References External links * 1986 births Living people Polish film actors Polish male film actors Po ...

an
Malgorzata Gorol
The cinematographer i
Adam Bajerski
and Weronika Karwowska is set designer. The film is distributed by

Kino Świat Kino Świat ("world cinema") is a Polish independent film distributor and producer. The company was founded in Warsaw in 2001. It was honored by the Polish Film Institute Polish Film Institute ( Polish: Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej ) is a s ...

. The second film in production is a psychological drama, The Truth (Prawda) wit
Natalia JedrusJasmina Polak
and atryk Michalak Patryk Michalak Another project, currently in Post-Production, which is very close to Karwowski’s heart, is the film Two Sisters (Dwie Siostry, 2023), almost entirely shot near the frontline in eastern Ukraine (Bucha or Kharkiv), and tells the story of two estranged sisters who reunite for a journey to save their injured father. The production has been lucky enough to have some great Ukrainian actors such a
Irma VitovskaVitalina BiblivMaryna Koshkina
o
Oleksandr Rudynskyi
As well as Polish actor
Karolina Rzepa
and
Diana Zamojska

Awards and nominations

International Film Festival

Tofifest The TOFIFEST International Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Toruń, Poland. It is one of the fastest growing film festivals in Poland and the mission of the Festival is to promote independent cinema. The festival comb ...

- The Flisak Award
South by North
Cieszyn Film Festival - The Golden Horseshoe for Best Feature Film
South by North

- The Polish Culture Foundation Award (November)

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

- The Jury Prize (Playing from the plate) Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival – Main Award (Mobius Ribbon)

– Best short film and young filmmaker of the year award (Mobius Ribbon)

Student Academy Award The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first ...

(so-called student's Oscar) - nomination (Mobius Ribbon) Film School Festival in Nimes - screenplay award (Mobius Ribbon)

Filmography

Director L'amour (L'amour – czyli życie jest trudne, 1986) The Passage (Przejście, 1987) Nieroby (1987) The woman who waits (Kobieta, która czeka, 1987) Carousel, carousel… (Karuzela, karuzela…, 1987) It’s good (Jest dobrze, 1987) Mobius Ribbon (Wstęga Möbiusa,1988) The Registration (Rejestracja, 1988) The Fears (Strachy, 1989) Maria (1990)
Sal
(1991)
November
(1992)
South by North
(2006) The Baby (Dziecko, 2007) ''

Expecting Love ''Expecting Love'' ( pl, Mała wielka miłość, ) is a 2008 Polish/American film directed by Łukasz Karwowski and written by Łukasz Karwowski and Kas Graham, starring Joshua Leonard, Agnieszka Grochowska, Robert Forster, Michael Dunn, Mikolaj ...

'' (''Mala wielka milosc'', 2008)
Doctor
(Doktor, 2009) Kac Wawa (2012) Son of the city (Syn miasta, 2013) Torun - The European Capital of Culture (2016) TZMO Global (2018) TZMO Global (2022) The Truth (Prawda, 2022) One Soul (Jedna Dusza, 2023) Two Sisters (Dwie Siostry, 2023) Screenwriter Carousel, carousel… (Karuzela, karuzela…, 1987) Mobius Ribbon (Wstęga Möbiusa,1988) Registration (Rejestracja, 1988) Maria (1990)
November
(1992)
South by North
(2006) ''

'' (''Mala wielka milosc'', 2008)
Doctor
(Doktor, 2009) Torun - The European Capital of Culture (2016) TZMO Global (2018) TZMO Global (2022) The Truth (Prawda, 2022) One Soul (Jedna Dusza, 2023) Two Sisters (Dwie Siostry, 2023) Producer Playing from the plate (Grający z talerza, 1995)
South by North
(2006) Torun - The European Capital of Culture (2016) TZMO Global (2018) TZMO Global (2022) The Truth (Prawda, 2022) One Soul (Jedna Dusza, 2023) Two Sisters (Dwie Siostry, 2023)

External links

lukaszkarwowski.com
* 1965 births Living people Polish film directors People from Toruń Alumni of the National Film and Television School Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń alumni {{Poland-film-director-stub