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Krzysztof Kieslowski graduated from Lódz Film School in 1969, and became a documentary, TV and feature film director and scriptwriter. Before making his first film for TV, Przejscie podziemne (1974) (The Underground Passage), he made a number of short documentaries. His next TV title, Personnel (1975) (The Staff), took the Grand Prix at Mannheim Film Festival. His first full-length feature was The Scar (1976) (The Scar). In 1978 he made the famous documentary From a Night Porter's Point of View (1979) (Night Porter's Point of View), and in 1979 - a feature Camera Buff (1979) (Camera Buff), which was acclaimed in Poland and abroad. Everything he did from that point was of highest artistic quality.

Born in Lvov, Ukraine; then he moved with his father Miroslaw Zulawski to Czechoslovakia and later to Poland. In the late 1950s, he studied cinema in France. In the 1960s, he was an assistant of the famous Polish film director Andrzej Wajda. His feature debut The Third Part of the Night (1971) was an adaptation of his father's novel. His second feature The Devil (1972) was prohibited in Poland, and Zulawski went to France. After the success of his French debut That Most Important Thing: Love (1975) in 1975, he returned to Poland where he spent two years in making On the Silver Globe (1988). The work on this film was brutally interrupted by the authorities. After that, Zulawski moved to France where became known for his highly artistic, controversial, and very violent films. Zulawski is well known for his ability to discover and "rediscover" actresses: Romy Schneider, Isabelle Adjani, Valérie Kaprisky and Sophie Marceau played their best roles in his films.

Andrzej Wajda is an Academy Award-winning director. He is the most prominent filmmaker in Poland known for The Promised Land (1975), Man of Iron (1981), and Katyn (2007).

He was Born on March 6, 1926, in Suwalki, Poland. His mother, Aniela Wajda, was a teacher at a Ukrainian school. His father, Jakub Wajda, was a captain in the Polish infantry. Wajda described his childhood as a happy pastoral country life before the Second World War. In 1939, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. In 1940, Wajda's father was killed by Stalin's agents in the Katyn massacre.

Young Wajda survived the Second World War with his mother and his brother in Nazi-occupied Poland. In 1942, Wajda joined the Polish resistance and served in the Armia Krajowa until the war ended in 1945. In 1946 he moved to Kraków. There Wajda went to Academy of Fine Arts. He studied painting, particularly the impressionist and post-impressionist painting, and was especially fond of Paul Cezanne. From 1950-1954 he studied film directing at the High Film School in Lódz under directors Jerzy Toeplitz and Aleksander Ford. Later, Wajda described the influential and eye-opening experience from seeing French avant-garde films, like Ballet mécanique (1924) by artist-director Fernand Léger.

In 1955 he made his debut as director of full-length A Generation (1955), about the generation of youth coming of age during the Nazi occupation of Poland. His award-winning Kanal (1957) and Ashes and Diamonds (1958) concluded the trilogy about life in Poland during WWII. Although he was under pressure from the Soviet-dominated Polish authorities, Wajda positioned himself as an artist who was above the conflict. He still managed to show the undeclared civil war between two anti-Nazi Polish forces, which were divided by political ideology: the Polish communists and the partisans - folk heroes of the Home Army.

His Oscar-nominated The Promised Land (1975) was a work of multi-layered allegory and Symbolism. Wajda's witty depiction of the 19th century capitalism in Poland actually alluded to the contemporary Communist politics. The shooting of workers in the final scenes was actually unmasking of the official politics of killing workers in the Soviet Union in 1962, under Nikita Khrushchev, and in Poland a few years later. The story of a film student who traces the life of defamed "hero" in Man of Marble (1977) was a deconstruction of the false impressions that official propaganda was using to brainwash the public. The same main characters in Man of Iron (1981) continued unmasking the Communist regime's manipulations against working class people. In 1981, Wajda joined the "Solidarity" labor movement of Lech Walesa.

From 1989 to 1991 Wajda was elected Senator of the Republic of Poland. From 1992 to 1994 he was Member of Presidential Council for Culture. In 1994 he founded the Center of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków, and was awarded the Order of Rising Sun in Japan (1995). Wajda was President of Polish Film Association (1978-1983). He was Member of "Solidarity" Lech Walesa Council (1981-1989). He won an honorary Oscar (2000) for his contribution to cinema, and an honorary Golden Bear (2006) at the Berlin Film Festival.

Wajda's Katyn (2007) was nominated for Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year in 2008, and received many other awards and nominations. The film shows historic events in Katyn during WWII, where Wajda's father was among thousands of Polish officers killed by Soviet communists under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Wajda's film was well received by the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, who initially opened the facts about Katyn to help people understand each other and overcome the tragic past.

"We never hoped to live to see the fall of the Soviet Union, to see Poland as a free country", said Andrzej Wajda.

Malgorzata Braunek was born on 30 January 1947 in Szamotuly, Wielkopolskie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Tulipany (2004), Lalka (1978) and Wniebowstapienie (1969). She was married to Andrzej Zulawski, Andrzej Krajewski and Janusz Guttner. She died on 23 June 2014 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Kalina Jedrusik was born in Czestochowa, Poland in 1931. Her parents brought her up together with two other children. In 1953 she debuted on stage and year later married famous Polish writer Stanislaw Dygat (Jezioro Bodenskie, Disneyland). Her long list of theatre work includes plays by Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz and Bertolt Brecht among others.

Jedrusik first appeared on screen in 1957 with the movie Eva Wants to Sleep (1958). She is mostly known for playing Joanna in comedy Lekarstwo na milosc (1966) and Lucy Zuckerowa in The Promised Land (1975). Her filmography also includes adaptations of her husband's work - Jezioro Bodenskie, Jowita and many others. Apart from her movie career she was also a talented singer. The Double Life of Véronique (1991) was her last screen appearance. She died on August 7, 1991 in Warsaw. She was 60.

Piotr Szulkin was born on 26 April 1950 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland. He was a director and writer, known for The War of the Worlds: Next Century (1981), Golem (1980) and Ga-ga: Glory to the Heroes (1986). He was married to Renata Karwowska-Szulkin. He died on 3 August 2018 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Jerzy Kawalerowicz was born on 19 January 1922 in Gwozdziec, Stanislawowskie, Poland [now Hvizdets, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for Night Train (1959), Mother Joan of the Angels (1961) and Death of a President (1977). He was married to Lucyna Winnicka, Maria Güntner and Malgorzata Dipont. He died on 27 December 2007 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Wladyslaw Szpilman was born in 1911 in Sosnowiec. On leaving school, he went to Warsaw to study music (piano) in the Chopin School of Music, under Professor Jozef Smidowicz, and later, under Professor Aleksander Michalowski (both scholars of Franz List). In 1931 he went to Berlin to the Academy of Music studying under Professor Leonid Kreutzer and Arthur Schnabel (piano) and Professor Franz Schreker (composition). At this time he wrote his Violin Concerto, Piano Suite "Zycie Maszyn" (The Life of Machines), Concertino for piano with Orchestra, many works for piano and violin and also some songs. In 1935 Szpilman entered the Polish Radio, where, except during the war, he worked until 1963. In 1946, he published his book "Death of a City" - memories from 1939 to 1945. Since 1945, Szpilman has appeared in concerts as a soloist and with chamber groups in Poland, throughout Europe and in America. He and Bronislav Gimpel formed a very successful piano duet in 1932, which grew in 1962 to the Warsaw Piano Quintet, that performed about 2,500 concerts until 1987 worldwide, with the exception of Australia. In 1936 he also started his career as a composer of songs (about 500). About 150 of them were in Poland's pop charts and they are "evergreens" of Polish pop music culture to this day. In the 50s he wrote also about 40 songs for children, for which he received in 1955 the award of the Polish Composers Union. He also wrote many orchestral pieces (ballet, Small Overture, etc.), musicals, music for children's theater and music for about 50 children's radio broadcasts, as well as film music: "Wrzos" (1937); "Dr. Murek" (1939); "Pokoj Zwyciezy Swiat" (1950); "Call My Wife" (1957), and others. In 1961, he initiated and organized the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland, and also founded the Polish Union of Authors of Popular Music. In 1964, he became a member of Presidium of Polish Composers Union, and ZAIKS (Polish ASCAP). In April 1998, his book "Death of the City" will be published by ECON Verlag, a leading German publisher, with commentary by a famous German writer and poet: Wolf Biermann.

Wojciech Pszoniak was born on 2 May 1942 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor and director, known for Danton (1983), The Promised Land (1975) and Korczak (1990). He was married to Barbara. He died on 19 October 2020 in Warsaw, Poland.

Piotr Komorowski was born on 23 December 1937 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was an actor, known for The War of the Worlds: Next Century (1981), Roman i Magda (1979) and Quo vadis (2001). He was married to Ella Kasztanska, Malgorzata Maria Schmidt and Apolonia Andrzejewska. He died on 16 April 2017 in Warsaw, Poland.

Roman Wilhelmi was a prominent Polish actor known for his work in theater, film, and television. He graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Wilhelmi began his career on stage with the Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw. His most notable film roles include Hotel Pacific (1975), The Story of Sin (1975), and The Moth (1980). On television, he gained widespread recognition for his roles in the series Czterej pancerni i pies (1966) and Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (1980)

Teresa Tuszynska was born on 5 September 1942 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Prague Nights (1969), Goodbye, See You Tomorrow (1960) and Drugi czlowiek (1961). She died on 19 March 1997 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Jan Machulski was born on 3 July 1928 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an actor and director, known for Vabank (1981), Lalka (1968) and Vabank II, czyli riposta (1985). He was married to Halina Machulska. He died on 20 November 2008 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Lucyna Winnicka was born on 14 July 1928 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Night Train (1959), Mother Joan of the Angels (1961) and Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960). She was married to Jerzy Kawalerowicz. She died on 22 January 2013 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Ryszard Bugajski began his career working with Andrzej Wajda at Studio X in the late 70's. When he was pressured by the secret police to become an informant at the Studio, Bugajski vowed to try and bring down the Communist regime. To that end he shot his first feature film, "Interrogation", as society crumbled around him during the Solidarity uprisings. A scathing attack against the system, "Interrogation" was completed in secret during martial law. Banned by the authorities, the film was watched illegally by millions of Poles on newly acquired VCRs.

Persecuted by the secret police and banned from working, Bugajski and his wife fled to Canada in 1985, where he quickly learned English and got work directing television series and films.

On the fall of Communism in Poland, "Interrogation" became the official Polish entry at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or, and its leading actress Krystyna Janda won Best Actress for her stunning performance.

Bugajski returned to his homeland in 1995 where he has been making feature films, documentaries, television series and television features. He has also published several novels and continues to receive awards at film festivals. In 2009, Bugajski made his acclaimed feature film, General Nil, and in 2013 "The Closed Circuit" opened to both critical acclaim and commercial success in Poland.

Jadwiga Smosarska was born on 23 September 1898 in Warsaw, Poland, Russian Empire [now Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Ziemia obiecana (1927), Love or a Kingdom (1936) and Jadzia (1936). She was married to Zygmunt Protassewicz. She died on 1 November 1971 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Krzysztof Komeda was born on 27 April 1931 in Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland. He was a composer and actor, known for Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) and Knife in the Water (1962). He was married to Zofia von Tittenbrun. He died on 23 April 1969 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Ligia Branice was born on 7 December 1932 in Krasnystaw, Lubelskie, Poland. She was an actress and writer, known for Behind Convent Walls (1978), La Jetée (1962) and Spotkania (1957). She was married to Walerian Borowczyk. She died on 6 September 2022 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Adam Kilian was born on 13 February 1923 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a production designer and art director, known for Television Theater (1953), Król Macius I (1958) and Dekalog (1989). He died on 25 June 2016 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Wladyslaw Kowalski was a Polish actor and pedagogue. He graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw in 1959. His debut role was Chuch in the play "Hat Full of Rain" by Michael V. Gazzo, directed by Andrzej Wajda, at the Wybrzeze Theatre in Gdansk. He then performed on the stages of Warsaw theaters: Ateneum (1960-1974) and Powszechny (1974-2005). From 2005, he was an actor of the Gustaw Holoubek Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw. In the 80s, he was an academic teacher at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw. He is known for his roles in the movies Kartka z podrózy (1984), The Double Life of Véronique (1991), and Avalon (2001).

Stanislaw Mikulski was born on 1 May 1929 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Hans Kloss: More Than Death at Stake (2012), Stawka wieksza niz zycie (1968) and Zaczarowane podwórko (1974). He was married to Wanda, Malgorzata Bloch and Jadwiga Rutkiewicz. He died on 27 November 2014 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Andrzej Lapicki was born on 11 November 1924 in Riga, Latvia. He was an actor and director, known for Lalka (1968), Zbrodnia lorda Artura Savile'a (1968) and Television Theater (1953). He was married to Kamila Mscichowska and Zofia Chrzaszczewska. He died on 21 July 2012 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Aleksandra Slaska was born on 4 November 1925 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Spotkanie w 'Bajce' (1962), Dom na pustkowiu (1949) and Passenger (1963). She was married to Janusz Warminski. She died on 18 September 1989 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Pawel Królikowski was born on 1 April 1961 in Zdunska Wola, Lódzkie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo (2014), Pitbull (2005) and Na dobre i na zle (1999). He was married to Malgorzata Ostrowska-Królikowska. He died on 27 February 2020 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Tadeusz Konwicki was born on 22 June 1926 in Nowa Wilejka, Wilenskie, Poland [now Naujoji Vilnia, Vilnius, Lithuania]. He was a writer and director, known for Lawa. Opowiesc o 'Dziadach' Adama Mickiewicza (1989), Dolina Issy (1982) and The Last Day of Summer (1958). He was married to Danuta Konwicka. He died on 7 January 2015 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.