“It is customary, for awardees of the Lifetime AchievementAward to die shortly after. It is considered polite. Will I comply? Probablynot,” says Polish producer and director Krzysztof Zanussi, to rapturousapplause interspersed with laughter. Zanussi was a front runner for the prize,considering his dedication to the industry, and popularising the Polish filmindustry.
A former student of science, Zanussi studied physics atWarsaw University and philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Hisacademic side shines through when he says, “I loved physics, but physics didn’tlove me back, so I ventured into film. But my educational career thought me,that to have cinematic success, a film needs to have an educational component.”
He is the director of the Polish Film Studio TOR and hasreceived several prizes and awards, including the David di Donatello Prize oftheAccademia del Cinema Italiano, the Cavalier's Cross of the Polonia RestitutaOrder, and the Cavalier de L'Ordre des Sciences et Lettres.
Zanussi is currently planning on directing an internationalproduction about the life and contributions of St Hedwig of Poland, as well asa Polish-Ukrainian comedy. However, his absence from the screen for the lastthree years had begun to spark rumours of retirement. He quells these with alaugh and explains, “I have had a conflict of ideologies with member of thepublic that have been viewing my films. As such, funding has been a concern, aspeople need to identify with a script before they invest in it.”
This conflict of ideologies, he believes, has gone on toaffect Polish film culture on the whole. Speaking exclusively to The Goan,Zanussi explains the lack of new filmmakers in Poland and says, “We are nolonger an insular country. Yet for film to flourish, the audience has to beaccepting and understanding. While critique is bolder today, a refusal toaccept evolution in the industry is seeing Polish cinema become senile andstagnant.”
This refusal has seen Poland now fall behind India in a way,and Zanussi explains how. “While Indian cinema has stayed true to Indianideals, it has accepted the changes happening in the world. In doing so, theindustry has flourished commercially, whereas Poland along with itsco-productions has shrunk overall.”
However, Zanussi believes that the near future will seecinema encompass trends from across the world, and looks forward to it inamusement. “I think that very shortly, especially with movies ‘trending’ acrossthe internet, we will see people in opposite corners of the world being able toidentify with various cultures. It would be amusing to see people in Alaskabeing able to see similarities with Bollywood though,” the filmmaker signs off.
