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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, Personel (1975) (The Staff), took the Grand Prix at Mannheim Film Festival. His first full-length feature was Blizna (1976) (The Scar). In 1978 he made the famous documentary Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera (1979) (Night Porter's Point of View), and in 1979 - a feature Amator (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 Trzecia czesc nocy (1971) was an adaptation of his father's novel. His second feature Diabel (1972) was prohibited in Poland, and Zulawski went to France. After the success of his French debut L'important c'est d'aimer (1975) in 1975, he returned to Poland where he spent two years in making Na srebrnym globie (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), Czlowiek z zelaza (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 Pokolenie (1955), about the generation of youth coming of age during the Nazi occupation of Poland. His award-winning Kanal (1957) and Popiól i diament (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 Czlowiek z marmuru (1977) was a deconstruction of the false impressions that official propaganda was using to brainwash the public. The same main characters in Czlowiek z zelaza (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.

Jerzy Stuhr is a Polish actor, director, and writer. He completed his education in Polish Philology at the Jagiellonian University and then graduated from the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow. Stuhr's acting career began in the theaters in Krakow, where he performed in plays such as "Noc listopadowa" and "Biesy". His movie career includes notable roles in Amator (1979), Sexmission (1984), and Persona non grata (2005). He also directed movies like Spis cudzoloznic (1994) and Historie milosne (1997). In addition to his acting and directing career, Stuhr has also made significant contributions to academia. He served as the rector of the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow from 1990-1996 and 2002-2008. He was awarded the title of Professor of Theatrical Arts in 1994 and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Silesia in Katowice in 2007.

Born in Kraków, Poland, in 1925. Feature film director. Graduated in 1946 from Cracow Film Institute, also studied painting. From 1947 to 1957 made a number of documentary shorts and educational films. Feature film debut: _The Noose_ (Petla, 1958, co-scr.). Other films: _Farewells_ (Pozegnania, 1958, co-scr.), awarded in Locarno and London 1959; _Roommates_ ((Wspolny pokoj, 1960, co-scr.); _Parting_ (Rozstanie, 1961); _Gold_ (Zloto, 1962); _How to Be Loved_ (Jak byc kochana, 1962), Polish Film Critics award, also awarded in San Francisco 1963 and beirut 1964; _The Saragossa Manuscript_ (Pamietnik znaleziony w Saragossie, 1964), awarded in San Sebastian and Edinburgh 1965, in Sitges 1966; _Codes_ (Szyfry, 1966), _The Doll_ (Lalka, 1968, co-scr.), awarded in Panama 1969; _The Sandglass_ (Sanatorium pod Klepsydra, 1973), awarded in Cannes 1973, Grand Prix in Trieste 1974.

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.

Piotr Szulkin was born on 26 April 1950 in Gdansk, Pomorskie, Poland. He was a director and writer, known for Wojna swiatów - nastepne stulecie (1981), Golem (1980) and Ga, Ga - Chwala bohaterom (1986). He was married to Renata Karwowska-Szulkin. He died on 3 August 2018 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.

Won international fame with the leading role of Maciek Chelmicki in Andrzej Wajda's Popiól i diament (1958). He created a character which was imitated not only in Poland; often compared with James Dean.

Graduated from the Higher State School of Acting in Cracow; also studied journalism. From 1953 to 1960 worked with Wybrzeze Theatre, Bim-Bom Student Theatre and Teatr Rozmow (all in Gdansk). From 1961 to 1967 acted and directed in Theatre Ateneum in Warsaw, Poland.

Major leading roles: Kostek in Wajda's Pokolenie (1955) ("Generation"), Maciek Chelmicki in Wajda's Popiól i diament (1958), Jacek in Janusz Morgenstern's A demain (1961) ("See You Tomorrow", co-scr.), Edmund in Wajda's Niewinni czarodzieje (1960) ("Innocent Sorcerers"), Wiktor Rawicz in Wojciech Has's Jak byc kochana (1963) ("How to Be Loved"), Alfons Van Worden in Has's Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie (1965), trainer Janczak in Aleksander Scibor-Rylski's Jutro Meksyk (1966) ("Mexico Tomorrow"), Rodecki in Scibor-Rylski's Morderca zostawia slad (1967) ("The Killer Leaves a Trace").

Amon Göth was born on 11 December 1908 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He died on 13 September 1946 in Kraków, Poland.

Wojciech Kilar was born on 17 July 1932 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a composer, known for Dracula (1992), The Ninth Gate (1999) and The Pianist (2002). He was married to Barbara Pomianowska. He died on 29 December 2013 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland.

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 Die Blechtrommel (1979). He was married to Barbara. He died on 19 October 2020 in Warsaw, Poland.

John Gottowt was born on 15 June 1881 in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor and writer, known for Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922), Das schwarze Los (1913) and Der Student von Prag (1913). He died on 27 August 1942 in Wieliczka, Malopolskie, Poland.

Stanislaw Lem was a visionary Polish author known for Solyaris (1972).

He was born on September 12, 1921, in Lwów, Poland. His father, Samuel Lem, was a wealthy laryngologist who served in the Austrian army. His mother, Sabina Woller, was a homemaker. Although he was born into a Polish-Jewish family, Lem was raised a Catholic and later became an atheist. He graduated from the Lwów Gymnazium in 1939, then studied medicine at the Lvov Medical Institute in 1940-1941. During WWII, he survived the Nazi occupation of Lwów and worked as a mechanic and welder for a German firm until 1944.

After World War II Lem escaped from the Soviet occupation of Germany and moved to Krakow, Poland, as a repatriate. There he completed his medical studies at Jagellonian University, without taking the doctor's degree. He worked at the Konserwatorium Naukoznawcze as a research assistant for psychologist Dr. Choynowski. From 1946-1949 Lem was involved in medical research in psychology, which became a turning point in his life. He started writing poetry and science fiction in 1946, but his first serious novel, "Hospital of the Transfiguration", was suppressed by the Polish government for eight years. It was released only in 1956, when freedom of speech was earned after the "Polish October" popular uprising.

Lem quit medicine in 1949, because he did not want to be drafted into the army. He married a doctor instead of being one. In 1949 he became a professional writer and continued creating his increasingly unusual novels: "The Investigation", "Eden", "Return from the Stars". The 1960s and 1970s were the most productive for Lem. At that time he wrote 'Solaris', 'The Invincible', 'The Cyberiad', 'His Master's Voice', 'The Star Diaries', 'The Futurological Congress', and 'Tales of Pirx the Pilot'. His gift of a visionary materialized in 'Summa Technologiae' (Sum of Technologies, 1964), which tackled problems of virtual reality. Lem showed his talent for premonition in "Katar" (1975), which predicted international terrorism, and in "Observations on the Spot"' (1982), which showed absurdity of a conflict between two civilizations.

His novel 'Solaris' was adapted into eponymous films twice. First came the Russian-made film adaptation by director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972, starring Donatas Banionis and Natalya Bondarchuk. Lem spent six months working with Tarkovsky in Moscow, but their collaboration ended in a bitter conflict over the changes and additions to the original story. After seeing edited parts of the 1972 film, Lem said of Tarkovsky: "Instead of focusing on deeper moral questions related to frontiers of human knowledge, he made a drama-type 'Crime and Punishment' in space, by making up unnecessary characters of parents and relatives, then adding a hut on an island." "Tarkovsky was a genius, but he was moving in the opposite direction from my book", also said Lem. Upon his doctor's advice Lem did not want to see the 2002 remake by director Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone.

"Solaris" (1961) is arguably the best known work of Lem's works. It deals with the problem of human existence in the world of the unknown. It also shows the inevitability of misunderstandings in human contacts with other worlds. Planet Solaris is inhabited by a single Plasma Ocean organism with the eerie ability to materialize human thoughts. When astronauts become more aggressive in forcing contact with Solaris, it confronts them with pushing the buttons of their most painful thoughts by recreating their dead wives and relatives, and virtually bringing the dead back to life in front of their eyes. Obsolete biological human impulses are shown in stark contrast with the magnitude of the ocean-size organism. At some point humans become an irrational liability to their machine partner, the spaceship. Lem's imagination and talent for creation of alternative reality challenges the limits of human knowledge.

"Past is more perfect than future, which makes me sad," said Lem. Although some of his predictions came true, he expressed his disappointment about the failure of many positive prognosis that were made during the 1960s and 1970s. He died on March 27, 2006, in Kraków, and was laid to rest in the Salwatorski cemetery in Kraków, Poland. His books sold over 27 million copies in 41 languages.

Jerzy Kawalerowicz was born on 19 January 1922 in Gwozdziec, Stanislawowskie, Poland [now Hvizdets, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for Pociag (1959), Matka Joanna od Aniolów (1961) and Smierc prezydenta (1977). He was married to Lucyna Winnicka, Maria Güntner and Malgorzata Dipont. He died on 27 December 2007 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.

Anna Przybylska was born on 26 December 1978 in Gdynia, Pomorskie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Rh+ (2005), Dzien swira (2002) and Sezon na leszcza (2001). She was married to Dominik Zygra. She died on 5 October 2014 in Gdynia, Pomorskie, Poland.

Jerzy Trela was a Polish actor with a remarkable career in theater, television, and movies. He graduated from the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow in 1969. His debut was in the same year at the Rozmaitosci Theatre in Krakow. He was associated with the Stary Theatre in Krakow, where he played many roles and worked with directors like Andrzej Wajda, Konrad Swinarski, Kazimierz Kutz, and Krystian Lupa. He was also a professor and rector at the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow from 1984 to 1990. His most known roles include Józef Mitura in Autoportret z kochanka (1996), and Chilo Chilonides in Quo vadis (2001).

One of the most famous Polish cinema and theater actors. He graduated from the National Theater School in Warsaw in 1965. During 1966-69 he worked at the Classical Theater in Warsaw, and during 1970-77 he worked as an artistic director at the Comedia Theater. In the 1980s, Perepeczko emigrated to Australia, but he returned to Poland in the early 1990s. During 1998-2003, he worked as an artistic director at the Adam Mickiewicz Theater in Czestochowa.

Rudolf Hoess was born on 25 November 1900 in Baden-Baden, Germany. He was married to Hedwig Hensel. He died on 7 April 1947 in Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland.

Andrzej Munk was born on 16 October 1920 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was a director and writer, known for Pasazerka (1963), Eroica (1958) and Czwowiek na torze (1957). He died on 20 September 1961 in Lowicz, Lódzkie, 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 Ewa chce spac (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. La double vie de Véronique (1991) was her last screen appearance. She died on August 7, 1991 in Warsaw. She was 60.

Leon Niemczyk was a prolific Polish actor who appeared in hundreds of films and television shows throughout his extensive career. Niemczyk is perhaps best known for his role as Andrzej in Nóz w wodzie (1962), which brought him international acclaim. Other notable films include Eroica (1958) and Potop (1974). His work spanned a variety of genres, from serious dramas and war films to historical pieces.

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 Zaklete rewiry (1975), Dzieje grzechu (1975), and Cma (1980). On television, he gained widespread recognition for his roles in the series Czterej pancerni i pies (1966) and Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy (1980)

Georg John was born on 23 July 1879 in Schmiegel, Poland. He was an actor, known for M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931), Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (1922) and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (1924). He died on 18 November 1941 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.

Gerron fled to France (because he was Jewish), then settled in Amsterdam in 1933. He was arrested by the SS in 1943 and was sent to Theresienstadt in 1944 to direct a staged documentary intended to persuade world public opinion that Jews were well treated in concentration camps. He made a film called "The Fuhrer Donates a City to the Jews" or in German "Der Fuhrer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt". After he completed the film he was sent to Auschwitz where he was murdered.