Ryszard Bugajski (27 April 1943 – 7 June 2019) 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, ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He directed 23 films and television shows since 1972. His 1982 film ''

Interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful i ...

'' starring

Krystyna Janda Krystyna Jolanta Janda (born 18 December 1952) is a Polish film and theater actress best known internationally for playing leading roles in several films by Polish director Andrzej Wajda, including '' Man of Marble'' (''Człowiek z marmuru'', 197 ...

and Adam Ferency, described as "the most

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and th ...

film in the history of

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

" was entered into the

1990 Cannes Film Festival The 43rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 May 1990. The Palme d'Or went to '' Wild at Heart'' by David Lynch. The festival opened with '' Dreams'', directed by Akira Kurosawa and closed with ''The Comfort of Strangers'', directed by P ...

after being suppressed by the Polish communist authorities for several years.

Life and career

He was born on 27 April 1943 in

German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland during World War II consisted of two major parts with different types of administration. The Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany following the invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II—nearly a quarter of the ...

. His father was Edward Bugajski, a member of the pre-war

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

(PPS). He studied philosophy at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

and directing at 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, c ...

, which he graduated from in 1973. In 1976, he joined the X Film Unit managed 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 th ...

, where he directed the films ''A Woman and a Woman'' and ''Classes''. In 1981, he made the full-length feature film ''

'', which was banned by the communist censorship because of the film's message being incompatible with the political line of the Polish authorities after the imposition of

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 ...

. As a result of this, the X Unit was officially dissolved. In 1985, Bugajski decided to emigrate to Canada where he became a director of popular

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

. The official premiere of ''Interrogation'' took place in December 1989, after the

collapse of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

in Poland. He was a recipient of numerous film awards including the Golden Grape Award, Special Award at the

Gdynia Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every year si ...

and Silver Hugo Award at the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the compo ...

. In June 2008, he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta , image=Polonia Restituta - Commander's Cross pre-1939 w rib.jpg , image_size=200px , caption=Commander's Cross of Polonia Restituta , presenter = the President of Poland , country = , type=Five classes , eligibility=All , awar ...

for "his outstanding contributions to the democratic transformations in Poland as well as for achievements for the country in his professional and social work". In October 2008, he received the Golden

Medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

from the-then Minister of Culture and National Heritage

Bogdan Zdrojewski Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (born 18 May 1957) is a Polish politician, mayor of Wrocław from 1990 to 2001, and Minister of Culture and National Heritage from 2007 till 2014. He has also been member of the Polish and of the European Parliament. ...

. He died on 7 June 2019 in Warsaw after a long illness.

Selected filmography

* ''Kobieta i kobieta'' (1979) * ''

'' (1982) * ''

Clearcut Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of fores ...

'' (1990) * ''Gracze'' (1995) * ''The Death of Captain Pilecki'' (2006) * '' Generał Nil'' (2009) * '' Układ zamknięty'' (2013) * ''

Blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

'' (2016)

References

External links

*
Ryszard Bugajski
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Bugajski, Ryszard 1943 births 2019 deaths Film people from Warsaw Polish film directors Polish screenwriters Łódź Film School alumni Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta

Life and career

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links