Maciej Drygas is a Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 film-maker, born in Łódź

Career

Following graduation he worked as an assistant to Krzysztof Zanussi

Krzysztof Zanussi

Krzysztof Zanussi, is a Polish producer and film director.He is a professor of European film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland where he conducts a summer workshop...

 and Krzysztof Kieślowski

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...

. His first documentary as director was "Hear My Cry", about Ryszard Siwiec

Ryszard Siwiec

Ryszard Siwiec was a Polish accountant, teacher and former Home Army soldier who was the first person to commit suicide by self-immolation in protest against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.- Self-Immolation :...

, who, in September 1968, protested against communist totalitarianism, and in particular the entry of Warsaw Pact forces into Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

, by setting fire to himself (self-immolation

Self-immolation

Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...

) in front of thousands of people during the harvest festival at the 10th Anniversary Stadium in Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

. An incident that was censored at the time.

His follow-up film, Weightless, looks at the human cost of the Russian space programme.

Drygas is currently director of the radio drama section at the Reportage Laboratory at Warsaw University
.

Education

The Directing Department of the Moscow All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography (WGIK), known as the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography

The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov), VGIK for short, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.-History:...

Documentaries

• Po tamtej stronie – 2007
• Jeden dzień w PRL – 2005
• Głos nadziei – 2002
• Schizofrenia – 2001
• Stan nieważkości / Weightless – 1994
• Usłyszcie mój krzyk / Hear My Cry - 1991

Awards

• Felix - European Film Award - for best documentary, 1991
• Silver Dragon at the Cracow Festival of Documentaries and Short Films, 1991
• Main Award at the Media Festival "Man under Threat" in Łódź, 1991
• Andrzej Munk Award - awarded by the Film School in Łódź, 1991
• Silver Sesterce at the International Documentary Film Festival in Nyon, 1991
• Grand Prix at the International Documentary Film Festival in Melbourne, 1991
• Golden Gate Award at the International Film Festival in San Francisco, 1991

External links

• Strictly Film School, Maciej Drygas