POLISH FILM ACADEMY

Film director, screenwriter. He was born June 14, 1959, in Łódź. Graduate of Cultural Studies at the University of Łódź and Directing Department of the State School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź (1988).

He made his debut in 1991 with Kroll (award in Gdynia), a flawlessly executed story, full of suspense and unexpected twists, about conscript soldiers, one of whom defects upon receiving the news that his wife is having an affair with his best friend. Pasikowski further developed the formula of “men’s cinema”. In his Psy/Dogs (aka Pigs, 1992, awards in Gdynia and Valenciennes, Golden Duck), set in the milieu of former members of the Security Police; the protagonist, Franz Maurer (a great performance by Bogusław Linda), a long time Security Police officer, is transferred to the regular police and given the task of investigating an international gang of car thieves. Later, Pasikowski directed the sequel, Psy 2. Ostatnia krew/Dogs 2. Last Blood (1994, awards in Gdynia and Valenciennes), where the main characters are involved in the arms trade. Tough guys, venal women, rapid-fire guns, vulgar language, dynamic action, fast pace and efficient narrative – these are the characteristics of Pasikowski’s films, including Demony wojny wg Goi/Demons of War (1998) (the Polish title is a reference to the famous series of etchings by Francisco Goya), set in the war-torn lands of the former Yugoslavia; Operacji Samum/Operation Simoom (1999), a spy thriller inspired by the daring operation of the Polish intelligence in Iraq carried out just before the outbreak of the Gulf War; Reich (2001), the story of two professional killers who decide to visit their native country where they immediately provoke a local mafia boss; and the TV series Glina/Cop (2008). Somewhat different is his Słodko-gorzki/Bitter-Sweet (1996, awards in Gdynia), a psychological drama played out among high school students, one of whom suddenly commits suicide.

Pasikowski recent film – the moving contemporary drama Pokłosie/Aftermath (2012, awards in Gdynia, Łagów, Jerusalem, Jan Karski Eagle), was inspired by the tragic events that took place in July 1941 in Jedwabne, where the Jewish residents were murdered by local Poles.

Władysław Pasikowski was the co-writer of Katyn (2007) by Andrzej Wajda and Hansa Klossa. Stawka większa niż śmierć/Hans Kloss. Stakes Larger Than Death (2012) by Patryk Vega. He also wrote the science fiction novel Ja, Gelerth/I, Gelerth.

Jerzy Armata