Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

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 ''O ...

, 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 silhouett ...

'' (''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 at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, and a 1966 adaptation of Bolesław Prus' 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 th ...

'' (''Faraon''), which was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. 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 Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

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 and Juliusz Machulski. In 1969 he was a member of the jury at the

6th Moscow International Film Festival The 6th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 22 July 1969. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Cuban film '' Lucía'' directed by Humberto Solás, the Italian film '' Serafino'' directed by Pietro Germi and the Soviet film '' ...

. In 1975 he was a member of the jury at the

9th Moscow International Film Festival The 9th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1975. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Polish film '' The Promised Land'' directed by Andrzej Wajda, the Soviet-Japanese film '' Dersu Uzala'' directed by Akira Kurosawa ...

. In 1976 he was the head of the jury at the 26th Berlin International Film Festival. 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 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 officiall ...

. His last film, '' Quo Vadis'', 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 ''The Real End of the Great War'' is the English title for ''Prawdziwy koniec wielkiej wojny'', a film released in 1957, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Plot Roza (Lucyna Winnicka) marries a promising young architect, Juliusz ( Roland Glowacki). ...

'' (''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 Bolesław Prus *'' The Game'' (''Gra'', 1968) *'' Maddalena'' (1971) *'' Death of a President'' (''Śmierć prezydenta '', 1977) *'' Encounter on the Atlantic'' (''Spotkanie na Atlantyku'', 1980) *''

Austeria ''Austeria'' (aka ''The Inn'') is a Polish feature film directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, produced by ''Zespół Filmowy "Kadr"'' and released in 1983. ''Austeria'' takes place during the opening days of World War I, in the Austro-Hungarian prov ...

'' (''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 Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, espe ...

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