Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since 1985 until 1989.

Life and career

Kawalerowicz was born in Gwoździec,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, as one of the few Poles living in an ethnically-mixed Ukrainian and Jewish town. Kawalerowicz's father's family originated from

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, originally having the surname Kavalarian. Jerzy Kawalerowicz was noted for his powerful, detail-oriented imagery and the depth of ideas in his films. After working as an assistant director, he made his directorial debut with the 1951 film '' The Village Mill'' ''(Gromada)''. He was a leading figure in the

Polish Film School Polish Film School ( pl, Polska Szkoła Filmowa) refers to an informal group of Polish film directors and screenplay writers active between 1956 and approximately 1963. Among the most prominent representatives of the school are Andrzej Wajda, And ...

, and his films ''

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'' (''Cień'', 1956) and '' Night Train'' (''Pociąg'', 1959) constitute some of that movement's best work. Other noted works by Kawalerowicz include ''

Mother Joan of the Angels ''Mother Joan of the Angels'' ( pl, Matka Joanna od Aniołów, also known as ''The Devil and the Nun'') is a 1961 Polish art film on demonic possession, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, ...

'' (''Matka Joanna od Aniołów'', 1961) for which he was awarded the

Jury Prize A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England duri ...

at the

1961 Cannes Film Festival The 14th Cannes Film Festival was held from 3 to 18 May 1961. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Une aussi longue absence'', directed by Henri Colpi and '' Viridiana'', directed by Luis Buñuel. The festival opened with '' Che gioia vivere'', directed ...

, and a 1966 adaptation of

Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world li ...

' historical novel, ''

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

'' (''Faraon''), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1955 Kawalerowicz was appointed head of the prestigious KADR production unit. He held that position again in 1972. He always resisted pressures from the communist administration to produce propaganda films. His studio produced some of the best Polish films by

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

Tadeusz Konwicki Tadeusz Konwicki (22 June 1926 – 7 January 2015) was a Polish writer and film director, as well as a member of the Polish Language Council. Life Konwicki was born in 1926 as the only son of Jadwiga Kieżun and Michał Konwicki in Nowa Wilejka, ...

and

Juliusz Machulski Juliusz Machulski (born 10 March 1955 in Olsztyn) is a Poles, Polish film director and screenplay writer. Son of noted actor Jan Machulski, Juliusz became notable for his comedies ridiculing the life in communist-ruled Poland of the 1970s and 198 ...

. In 1969 he was a member of the jury at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1975 he was a member of the jury at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1976 he was the head of the jury at the

26th Berlin International Film Festival The 26th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June – 6 July 1976. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film '' Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson'' directed by Robert Altman. The Japan ...

. Two years later, his film '' Death of a President'' won the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution at the 1978 festival. At the

11th Moscow International Film Festival The 11th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 14 to 28 August 1979. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian-French film ''Christ Stopped at Eboli'' directed by Francesco Rosi, the Spanish film '' Siete días de enero'' directed ...

he was a member of the jury and was awarded with the Honourable Prize for the contribution to cinema. He died on 27 December 2007 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. His last film, ''

Quo Vadis ''Quō vādis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Pete ...

'', had the largest budget for a Polish movie as of 2011.

Selected filmography

*'' The Village Mill'' (''Gromada'', 1952) *'' Celuloza'' (1953) *'' Under the Phrygian Star'' (''Pod gwiazdą frygijską'', 1954) *''

'' (''Cień'', 1956) *'' The Real End of the Great War'' (''Prawdziwy koniec wielkiej wojny'', 1957) *'' Night Train'' (''Pociąg'', 1959) *''

'' (''Matka Joanna od Aniołów '', 1961) by short story of

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz, also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter (20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJaros ...

*''

'' (''Faraon'', 1966) by novel of

*'' The Game'' (''Gra'', 1968) *'' Maddalena'' (1971) *'' Death of a President'' (''Śmierć prezydenta '', 1977) *'' Encounter on the Atlantic'' (''Spotkanie na Atlantyku'', 1980) *'' Austeria'' (''The Inn'') (1983) *'' The Hostage of Europe'' (''Jeniec Europy'', 1989) by novel of Juliusz Dankowski *' (''Bronsteins Kinder'', 1991) *'' Why?'' (''Za co?'', 1995) by short story of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

*'' Quo Vadis?'' (2001) by novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawalerowicz, Jerzy 1922 births 2007 deaths Film people from Warsaw Polish people of Armenian descent Polish film directors German-language film directors Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Politicians from Warsaw People from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Life and career

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links