Zbigniew Bzymek (born January 21, 1976) is a filmmaker, experimental theatre and music video artist who lives and works in New York City. He is best known for his film ''Utopians'', which premiered at The

61st Berlin International Film Festival The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film ''True Grit'' opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total ...

and for winning the Grand Prix at the 31st Rencontres Henri Langlois. He has been called "a young filmmaker to follow" by Stéphane Delorme in the French film journal ''

Cahiers du Cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

''. In theatre, he has worked with

Krystian Lupa Krystian Lupa (Polish pronunciation: ; born 7 November 1943) is a Polish theatre director, set designer, playwright, translator and pedagogue. He has been called "the greatest living European theatre director". He is the recipient of many nati ...

and

Elizabeth LeCompte Elizabeth LeCompte (born April 28, 1944) is an American director of experimental theater, dance, and media. A founding member of The Wooster Group, she has directed that ensemble since its emergence in the late 1970s.Mitter, Shomit, and Maria Shev ...

and has been a longtime member of

The Wooster Group The Wooster Group is a New York City-based experimental theater company known for creating numerous original dramatic works. It gradually emerged from Richard Schechner's The Performance Group (1967–1980) during the period from 1975 to 1980, an ...

Background

Bzymek was born in Warsaw, Poland and spent his early childhood with his family in Poland and later in Lund, Sweden. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Connecticut, after a two-year separation caused by Martial law in Poland. He lived with his family in

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,344 at the 2010 Unite ...

, until he attended

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

in Brunswick, Maine, from which he graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

,'' with a major in English and a minor in Russian. He received a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the Polish National Film School in Łódź, Poland in 2008.

Works

In 2001, he moved back to Poland to attend The

National Film School in Łódź National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. While in Poland, he collaborated with

creating original video projections and designs for seven major theatrical productions directed by Lupa. His dream sequence projections for Lupa's ''Zaratustra'' were shot on 35mm film and first projected on the stone back wall of the outdoor amphitheater Theatre of Herodes Atticus. Since 2006, Bzymek has been a member of

, a company of artists who make work for theater, dance, and media based in New York City. In 2008, Bzymek's diploma film ''Suddenly Forever'' (2008) received the grand prix du jury at Rencontres Internationales Henri Langlois (The Poitiers Film Festival) as well as two other Polish film prizes. Since 2010, Bzymek has been the main videographer and contributor to The Wooster Group's video journal ''The Dailies''. In 2011, Bzymek finished his debut feature film ''Utopians'', which premiered at The

. The Dailies led him to collaborate on two experimental documentary short films with playwright

Young Jean Lee Young Jean Lee is an American playwright, director, and filmmaker. She was the Artistic Director of Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to producing her work. She has written and directed ten shows for Yo ...

, the first of which, entitled ''Here Come The Girls,'' screened at

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...

and

The Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,660 ...

. In 2014, Bzymek directed the music video for debuting artist Mary Komasa's single ''City of My Dreams'' (Warner Music Poland) in New York City, bringing together the Berlin-based Polish expatriate artist with members of the NYC downtown dance community. In 2015, he collaborated with the Polish pop singer

Brodka Monika Maria Brodka (born 7 February 1988) is a Polish singer, who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of Polish Pop Idol (''Idol'') in 2004. She has since released 3 albums, including the 2010 album ''Granda'' which received critical ...

, on her album ''Clashes'' and directed the video for her single ''Horses'' (2016). In 2017, he received a

Fryderyk The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK's BRI ...

nomination for best alternative single for his work as a lyricist with

on '' Horses''. The same year, Brodka's album "Clashes" won the

for Best Alternative Album of the Year 2017, on which Bzymek co-wrote five songs. He has taught a course in

previsualization Previsualization (also known as previsualisation, previs, previz, pre-rendering, preview or wireframe windows) is the visualizing of scenes or sequences in a movie, prior to filming. It is also a concept in various creative practices, including an ...

CUNY , mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind , budget = $3.6 billion , established = , type = Public university system , chancellor = Fél ...

New York City College of Technology The New York City College of Technology (City Tech) is a public college in New York City. Founded in 1946, it is the City University of New York's college of technology. History City Tech was founded in 1946 as The New York State Institute of ...

Filmography

*''Bierność'' (2002) *''In Hotel Syren'' (2002) *''Taki Jak Ja'' (Just Like Me) (2003) *''Nagle na zawsze'' (Suddenly Forever) (2008) *''Utopians'' (2011) *''Here Come The Girls'' (cinematography and editing) dir.

(2013) *''A Meaning Full Life'' (cinematography) dir.

(2015) *''Xenophilia'' (2015)

Music videos

*Mary Komasa, City of My Dreams (2014 Warner Music Poland) *Brodka, Horses (2016 PIAS)

Video design in theatre and opera

*Zaratustra, dir. Krystian Lupa. Premiere 2004, Athens Festival, Odeon of Herodes Atticus. *Solaris, dir. Krystian Lupa. Premiere 2005, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. *Die Zauberflöte, dir. Krystian Lupa. Premiere 2005, Theater an der Wien. *Over All The Mountain Tops, dir. Krystian Lupa. Premiere 2006, Teatr Dramatyczny, Warsaw. *The Seagull, dir. Krystian Lupa. Premiere 2007, Alexandrinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. *Oh What War, dir. Mallory Catlett. Premiere 2007, Here Art Center. *Hamlet, The Wooster Group, dir. Elizabeth LeCompte - ''original video elements''. Premiere 2006 at Festival Grec, Barcelona. *La Didone, The Wooster Group, dir. Elizabeth LeCompte. Premiere 2008, , , Brussels.

Awards and nominations

*Fryderyk Award Nomination, for best single Brodka's ''Horses'' 2017; Polish Association of Music Producers. *Teddy Award Nomination,

. *Gregory Millard Fellowship in Film,

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

, 2009. *Grand Prix du jury for the film Nagle na zawsze (Suddenly Forever) (''Soudain pour toujours''); 31 Rencontres Henri Langlois, Poitiers, December 2008. *1st Place for the film Nagle na zawsze (Suddenly Forever); Young Cinema Art Festival Warsaw – 2008. *2nd Place for the film Nagle na zawsze (Suddenly Forever); 6th Annual „Łodzią po Wiśle” Warsaw, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bzymek, Zbigniew Polish emigrants to the United States Film people from Warsaw Polish film producers 1976 births Living people American film people