"It’s very important for us to have you”.
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POLSKI
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08. 10. 2016.
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The 2016/2017 academic year has begun! The school has been enriched by another Doctor Honoris Causa, the actor Janusz Gajos, and 140 new students.

‘Dear Janusz, great man and extraordinary artist. It’s simply not possible to express it differently, especially now, it is very important for us to have you’. With these words Rector Prof Mariusz Grzegorzek finished his speech conferring the granting of the Doctor Honoris Causa Degree to Janusz Gajos.

However, let’s start from the beginning as the degree granting ceremony was preceded by new students’ the matriculation of new students accompanied by the usual speeches.

Firstly, we welcomed 140 new students who are starting their studies in film direction, cinematography, photography, animation, film editing, acting, screenwriting, and film production management. Among the new students there are citizens of such countries as Germany, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia and the USA.

They were greeted by the Rector who gave a speech addressed to them.

(…) - "Interfering” with art, my Dears, is a very serious matter. Please forgive me, dear students, professors and guests, that instead of talking smoothly about the school and boasting about its successes and beautiful awards, which have been granted to us, this is what I’m going to say: Dear gathering , on the occasion of the new academic year 2016/2017 and not only on this occasion I wish you and myself to guard and develop our spirituality, being kind to it, remembering that everything which is true, beautiful and bold is a form of art. Let us protect ourselves from the influence of numerous shamans, let’s work on yourselves and others, be open-minded and alert, develop imagination and intuition, otherwise if we get woken up in the middle of a cold night, in some cage of concrete bought with a mortgage, seeing on Facebook women after plastic surgery who again revealed too much to photographers, or a baby covered in gravel in Alleppo when there is nothing we can do for him, being tortured by the extravagance of politicians and clergymen who perform in front of our eyes shameful and unwise things, being cut off from true and life sustaining exchange – we will be buried alive or become characters from a 3D virtual film, empty phantoms, with one difference though, that it will not be a presentation of the best technological achievements at some film premiere in a super-duper cinema, but our real lives, and this is what I don’t wish for anybody. There is a lot to fight for cause there is no life without art’, said the Rector

Then followed the second part of the celebration – the procedure of granting the Degree of Doctor Honoris Causa to Janusz Gajos. The promoter Rector Mariusz Grzegorzek said in the laudation:

- (…) Thanks to Gajos, each time we witness some dazzling, alchemical process, in which this rather short, modest even a bit withdrawn man, due to his talent and emotional imagination is able to become anybody he wants and bring to life a whole spectrum of characters from, a golden-haired youth who’s in love with a Soviet soldier-girl, the liberator, who became the idol of whole generations of Poles despite being ideologically shady; through the characters of fallen alcoholics, sadistic communists from UB, grotesque caretakers, primitive chairmen, mad kings, in the biggest world dramas. Janusz Gajos, in an unbelievable way brings to life a kaleidoscope of extremely authentic and powerful characters, who have some blessed ability to open our hearts. Almost every viewer despite his age, taste, education, social status is connected with the characters played by Gajos by an extraordinary, glossy, delicate thread - the miracle of compassion. He has such great powers that the characters he creates become independent entities to remain in our hearts and minds for years.

During the new academic year opening ceremony state awards granted by the President of the Polish Republic and the Minister of Culture were handed to school professors. Among those who received awards granted by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda were: – Marek Niemierowski who received Gold Cross of Merit, Alicja Panek-Piętkowska and Michał Droś who received Silver Cross of Merit, and Zofia Uzelac who received Gold Medal for Long-term Service. The awards were presented by Lodz Voyvod Prof. Zbigniew Rau. The Award of the Minister of Culture Piotr Gliński granted to Bronisław Wrocławski was presented by Lidia Skrzyniarz, the director of the Artistic Education Dept at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Among the invited guests there were representatives of drama schools’ authorities: Prof. Wojciech Malajkat, Rector of Warsaw Drama Academy and Prof Dorota Segda, Rector of Cracow Drama School; representatives of Lodz authorities: Zbigniew Rau, Lodz Voyvod; Witold Stępień, Lodz Voyvod Marshal; Krzysztof Piątkowski, Vice-President of the City of Lodz; Cezary Grabarczyk, MP; Lidia Skrzyniarz, the director of the Artistic Education Dept at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Lodz Academies and Universities Rectors – Prof. Jolanta Rudzka – Habisiak, Fine Arts Academy Rector, Prof. Cezary Sanecki, Music Academy Rector, Dr Jarosław Patera, Higher Seminary Rector, Prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska, Polytechnics vice-rector, Prof. Janusz Piekarski, Medical University vice-rector and other representatives of art and culture institutions.

Photos: Michał Siarek