Łazarkiewicz Magdalena

film and theater director. Member of the Polish Film Academy. Since 2011 she has been the artistic director of the “Jewish Motifs” International Film Festival in Warsaw. She is known for her intimate, intimate pictures, showing nuanced portrayals of intricate human relationships, the female psyche and sexuality, but also for her provocative films on social and political issues.

She graduated in cultural studies from the University of Wroclaw. In 1982, she earned a degree in directing from WRiTV at the University of Silesia in Katowice. While still a student, she became an assistant to Andrzej Wajda in the making of “The Ladies of Wilko” (1979). At first she made documentaries – she shot “Nostalgia” (1983), “Service” (1983) and “Miracle” (1984). Her feature debut is the award-winning film “By Touch” (1985), made under the supervision of Krzysztof Kieslowski. In subsequent films and miniseries, such as “Departure” (1991), “White Marriage” (1992) and “At the End of the World” (1999), the director remained faithful to her interest in the female psyche, which resulted in a series of unconventional heroines who escape the stereotypes present in cinema. In turn, the artist’s social interest is expressed in such pictures as “The Last Bell” (1989) and the documentary “Gravel Pit” (1989). She also directed television theater shows, including “House of Women” based on a work by Zofia Nalkowska. She is the author of the television series “Deep Water” (2011-13), which won her the Prix Italia and Prix Europa in Berlin. Together with her sister Agnieszka Holland and her daughter Kasia Adamik, she co-directed the series “Ekipa” (2007). She has won numerous awards, including for “By Touch” at the Koszalin Film Meetings “Youth and Film” and a special jury award for “Odjazd” at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia.