Kazimierz Julian Kutz (16 February 1929 – 18 December 2018) 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, p ...

, author, journalist and politician, one of the representatives of 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 a deputy speaker of the

Senate of Poland The Senate ( pl, Senat) is the upper house of the Parliament of Poland, Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first co ...

Biography

Kazimierz Kutz was born on 16 February 1929 in

Szopienice Szopienice-Burowiec () is a district of Katowice, Poland, located in the north-eastern part of the city. It has an area of 8.47 km2 and in 2007 had 17,139 inhabitants. The area of a district encompasses two historically important settlements ...

, since 1960 district of

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

, to a railway worker and a former partisan of the

Silesian Uprisings The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...

. After the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Kutz graduated from gymnasium in

Mysłowice Mysłowice ( szl, Myslowicy; german: Myslowitz) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The population of the city is 74,085. It is located in the south district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union in the Silesian Highlan ...

and in 1949 was admitted to the

Łódź Film School The Leon Schiller National Film School ( pl, Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Filmowa, Telewizyjna i Teatralna im. Leona Schillera) is a Polish academy for future actors, directors, photographers, camera operators and television staff. It was founded o ...

. After finishing his studies in 1954 he started working as an assistant to

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 ...

. His film debut was ''

Krzyż Walecznych The Cross of Valour ( pl, Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the fi ...

'' (1959). Since then he finished more than 20 pictures, including six about his home region -

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. He is also famous for directing theatre plays on some of the most prominent scenes of Poland, including

National Stary Theatre The Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków (Polish: ''Narodowy Stary Teatr im. Heleny Modrzejewskiej'') is one of the oldest public stages in Poland and a national institution of culture, first opened in 1781. It was named after re ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and National Theatre 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 ...

, as well as several plays for the Polish television. In 1972, he founded the Silesia Film Company in Katowice and, until 1978, was its Artistic Director. In the 1970s he became the main director of the

Polish Television Telewizja Polska S.A. (; "Polish Television"; TVP), also known in English as the public Polish Television is a Polish state media corporation. It is the largest Polish television network, although viewership has been declining in the 2010s. Sinc ...

branch in

. He was also working for several branch and cultural organisations. After the

Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

had been imposed in Poland in 1981 Kutz was interned by the communist authorities, but was released soon afterwards. Between 1981 and 1983, lectured in the Radio and Television Faculty at Silesian University in Katowice, and, between 1985 and 1991, taught directing at the Higher Theatre School in

. Since 1987, was Principal Director in the Polish Television Centre in Katowice and, between 1990 and 1991, headed the Centre. After the peaceful transition to democracy in 1989 Kutz became the head of the Polish TV branch in Kraków (until 1991). For his involvement in the matters of Silesia, and for his films depicting the traditions and problems of that part of Poland, he is considered by some the spokesman of all Silesians. In a plebiscite organised by

Gazeta Wyborcza ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It is the first Polish daily newspaper after the era of "real socialism" and one of Poland's newspapers of record, covering the g ...

newspaper he was chosen the third most famous Silesian ever and the first among the living people. In 1997 he was awarded with the title of

doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by the

University of Opole The University of Opole ( pl, Uniwersytet Opolski) is a public university in the city of Opole. It was founded in 1994 from a merger of two parallel educational institutions. The university has 17,500 students completing 32 academic majors and 53 ...

. He is currently a promoter and patron of several

-based cultural feasts and societies, including the ''Festiwal Filmów Kultowych'', ''Festiwal Sztuki Reżyserskiej'', ''Cultural Congress of the

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

'', ''Council of Culture of the

Silesian Voivodship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian V ...

'',

Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

and ''Committee for the Construction of

Silesian Museum Silesian Museum in Katowice ( pl, Muzeum Śląskie w Katowicach) is a museum in the City of Katowice, Poland. History The museum was founded in 1929 by the Silesian Sejm, while the region was recovering from the Silesian Uprisings. In the XX ...

''. He is also one of the supporters of development of the Silesian language. His 1995 film '' Reverted'' was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1997 Kutz took part in the elections to the

(from the list of Freedom Union party, Katowice constituency) and was supported by approximately 500,000 Silesians. In 2001 he was elected for his second term as a non-partisan candidate, and in 2005 re-elected for the third term. Recently, he was the deputy speaker of the Senate of Poland. For his social involvements he was awarded with many of the highest Polish awards. Kazimierz Kutz was married to Iwona and had two sons (Gabriel and Tymoteusz) and two daughters (Wiktoria and Kamila).

Filmography

* 1958 - ''Krzyż walecznych'' * 1960 - ''Nikt nie woła'' * 1961 - ''Tarpany'' * 1961 - ''Ludzie z pociągu'' * 1963 - ''Milczenie'' * 1964 - ''Upał'' * 1966 - ''Ktokolwiek wie...'' * 1967 - ''Skok'' * 1969 - ''

Salt of the Black Earth ''Salt of the Black Earth'' ( pl, Sól ziemi czarnej) is a Polish historical film that takes place during the Second Silesian Uprising. It was directed by Kazimierz Kutz and released in 1970. The film was selected as the Polish entry for the Best ...

(Sól ziemi czarnej)'' * 1971 - '' Pearl in the Crown (Perła w koronie)'' * 1974 - ''Linia'' * 1975 - ''Znikąd donikąd'' * 1979 - ''The Beads of One Rosary (Paciorki jednego różańca)'' * 1983 - ''Na straży swej stać będę'' * 1986 - ''Wkrótce nadejdą bracia'' * 1993 - ''Straszny sen Dzidziusia Górkiewicza'' * 1994 - '' Reverted (Zawrócony)'' * 1994 - ''Śmierć jak kromka chleba'' * 1995 - '' Colonel Kwiatkowski (Pułkownik Kwiatkowski)'' * 1997 - ''Sława i chwała'' * 2004 - ''Stare srebra''

References

External links

Official webpage

*
Kazimierz Kutz
a
Culture.pl

A Kind Mocker: Kazimierz Kutz's 10 Most Important Works
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Kutz, Kazimierz 1929 births 2018 deaths People from the Province of Upper Silesia People from Katowice Politicians from Katowice Łódź Film School alumni Polish film directors Polish screenwriters Polish atheists Members of the Senate of Poland 1997–2001 Members of the Senate of Poland 2001–2005 Members of the Senate of Poland 2005–2007 Members of the Polish Sejm 2007–2011