Lech Kowalski is an American film director of Polish origins. His most notable film is the
documentary, D.O.A.

D.O.A. (1980 film)

D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage is a 1980 rockumentary film directed by Lech Kowalski about the origin of punk rock. The rockumentary takes interview and concert footage of some of punk rock's earliest bands of the late seventies scene...

 subtitled "A Rite of Passage", which chronicled the burgeoning UK punk scene at the tail-end of the 70's, and included footage of the Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...

' abortive 1978 American Tour. He also directed Story of a Junkie

Story of a Junkie

Story of a Junkie is a 1987 drama film directed by Lech Kowalski and starring John Spaceley. Distributed by Troma Entertainment. Filmed in documentary-style, the film follows the character of Gringo, a young man looking for fortune in New York, only to fall into heroin addiction.The movie has...

; Born To Lose: The Last Rock and Roll Movie (about Johnny Thunders

Johnny Thunders

Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. , was an American protopunk guitarist, singer and songwriter.He came to prominence in the early '70s as a member of the New York Dolls...

 of the New York Dolls

New York Dolls

The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...

 and The Heartbreakers

The Heartbreakers

Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, also known as The Heartbreakers, were an American rock & roll band formed in New York in May 1975. The band was part of the first wave of punk rock.-History:...

); and Hey! Is Dee Dee Home?, which focused on Ramones

Ramones

The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...

 bassist Dee Dee Ramone

Dee Dee Ramone

Dee Dee Ramone was an American songwriter and musician, best known as founding member, bassist and main songwriter of the punk rock band the Ramones....

 and his struggle with heroin addiction.

Filmography

• D.O.A.
  D.O.A. (1980 film)
  D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage is a 1980 rockumentary film directed by Lech Kowalski about the origin of punk rock. The rockumentary takes interview and concert footage of some of punk rock's earliest bands of the late seventies scene...
  
   (1980)
• Story of a Junkie
  Story of a Junkie
  Story of a Junkie is a 1987 drama film directed by Lech Kowalski and starring John Spaceley. Distributed by Troma Entertainment. Filmed in documentary-style, the film follows the character of Gringo, a young man looking for fortune in New York, only to fall into heroin addiction.The movie has...
  
   (1987)
• Rock Soup (1991)
• Chico and the People (1992)
• Born To Lose: The Last Rock and Roll Movie (1999)
• Hey! Is Dee Dee Home? (2002)
• On Hitler's Highway (2002)
• East of Paradise (2005)
• Diary of a Married Man (2005)

Sources

• Extinkt - the films of Lech Kowalski
• Village Voice article, September 5, 2006.