THIS IS HOW WE CELEBRATE 75th SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY
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POLSKI
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12. 10. 2023.
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In distinguished company with people important to us to Polish Cinema and Culture and honouring Extraordinary Artists with the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa. Women - heroines of our Jubilee.

On October 12, 2023, AGNIESZKA HOLLAND, MAJA KOMOROWSKA, EWA PUSZCZYŃSKA AND EWA RUBINSTEIN received the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Lodz Film School.

“DON'T TURN YOUR EYES AWAY. FOR 75 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN PICTURING THE WORLD. WITH PASSION AND EYES WIDE OPEN." – said the Rector of our School, Milenia Fiedler, summarizing the past and announcing what will happen next. Together we looked through film archives, recalled frames of the most famous films made at Targowa and the most important people for the School and Polish Film.

COURAGE, SENSITIVITY, CURIOSITY, INTUITION, PASSION - these words have been used a great number of times today - they fit the School so well, they rhyme so clearly with the work and activities of each of the Recipients of the Doctor Honoris Causa degree.

During the ceremony, which took place in the EC1 Machinery Hall, honorary degrees were personally received by: Maja Komorowska, Ewa Puszczyńska and Ewa Rubinstein. Agnieszka Holland was not present during the ceremony. She sent a video, thanking for the degree and explaining the reason of her absence:

- For me it's like coming home to a home I never had. (…) I have always been drawn to the school, primarily as the alma mater of my two closest film friends and friends in life – Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieślowski – I think of them being given this honour. The reason why I am not there is also related to my life and consistent with my biography. I planned to stay in Poland until October 15, until the elections, but then there was a tsunami of hate, a campaign organized by the authorities against our film "The Green Border", which created a kind of pogrom atmosphere around me, but also others - e.g. young actors, made me decide that I would be more prudent to leave and not expose myself to direct attacks, which are always possible when you release hounds of hatred and violence - said Agnieszka Holland.

The laudation before awarding the DHC degree to Agnieszka Holland was given by Prof. Filip Bajon, Ph.D, promoter in the degree awarding proceedings. - In many films made by the artist, her characters are confronted with irrational forces used by representatives of evil, who manipulated reality taking advantage of power abused be them. Agnieszka Holland has been able to analyze painfully and without illusions on many levels of social awareness the mechanism of power and its tendency to cynically use evil as a final and absolute argument. That's why her films are often so painfully cruel in their diagnoses. But despite the pain these films caused and the repeated cultural helplessness of their heroes, it was them, these film heroes, who carried in themselves extraordinary human courage and bravery of character, even though very often they were ordinary people subject to the natural pressure of fear and uncertainty – Prof. Bajon said in a moving speech.

Agnieszka Holland also addressed her words to the students of our School: "Do not be afraid." (…) I deeply believe that an artist should be brave, not only politically - not everyone finds their way in this area of life, not only when confronting evil or some dangerous phenomena in our everyday life, but also when we reach deep into ourselves , when we are looking for new means of expression (…). Let's be brave.(…)” 

Maja Komorowska's speech after receiving the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa was a touching journey through the actress's creative life filled with cooperation with outstanding representatives of Polish Theatre and Film. - The more we move forward in time, the longer this road is, the more often we return to the years when everything was still possible - said Maja Komorowska. These returns to memories, to people who are no longer here with us, the feeling that something has passed, this LACK is important and we shouldn’t get rid of it, but we should complement this LACK. Isn't that why we create?

Maja Komorowska's career path, her outstanding acting, and her extraordinary attitude were discussed by the promoter in the proceedings for awarding the degree - Prof. Bronisław Wrocławski - Endowed with extraordinary sensitivity, internally trembling, she gives the impression of opening up to another reality and, like a medium, allowing characters coming from the afterlife to speak. But having said this, it must be added that Maja Komorowska does not allow herself to be so involuntarily possessed by the role, but rather struggles with it. And you can clearly see how in these wrestling matches sometimes the character prevails, and sometimes the actress's untamed personality prevails. Maja Komorowska knows not only how to play, but also how to be - he said in an in-depth resume of her career path and personal life.

- What is important to me? Word. – said Maja Komorowska - Theatre without words, in my opinion, loses its strength. One would like to bring them out, highlight them, ponder over them so that they build understanding between us, help solve problems and soothe us. So that we can, as Różewicz said: "heal the wound with a word."

- The international success of the films "Ida" and "Cold War" meant that Ewa Puszczyńska found herself under fire from questions from journalists and film critics - said Monika Talarczyk, PhD, the promoter in the proceedings for awarding the DHC degree - The interviews became a forum for defining her producer identity, formulating a professional credo and, at the same time, a women's manifesto. They are all the more valuable because they were developed by her independently, proving considerable internal independence from the associations and patterns prevailing in this profession.

For the first time in the history of the School, a film producer was awarded this honorary title. - I am extremely moved, honoured and happy (...) It is an extraordinary surprise that someone appreciated the producer's work (...) - said Ewa Puszczyńska - Curiosity, openness to the world and people led me to this place. If it hadn't been for the people, creators, film crews - I wouldn't be here. I treat creators as a kind of channel through which I send to people my views, my vision and my understanding of this world. I use them as a "tool", but I try to be a "tool" for them too, which will allow me to pass on this vision and open a dialogue with the viewers - said the producer of "Ida" and "The Zone of Interest".

- We manage the risk, we raise money, we make sure it is spent well - she said - but it is rarely mentioned that the producer manages emotions - from beginning to end - from the screenplay, through shooting, editing, to the moment when we present the film to the audience. I work with people all the time. If a screenwriter brings me a screenplay, he put his emotions into it, if a director presents his vision to me - he shares his emotions, then on the set - we experience tensions, and these are also emotions. And emotions are a very delicate tissue, it is very easy to break it, it is easy to hurt someone. Sometimes, it seems to me that managing emotions is one of the most important functions of a producer.

Among the Lodz Film School honorary degree recipients is also an outstanding photography artist - Ewa Rubinstein. The promoter in the process of granting her the degree was Prof. Marek Szyryk - She is the author of photos called personal, intimate photography - he said about Ewa Rubinstein. - A master of metaphorical photography - she fills simple, unstudied compositions with emotions and the mood of the moment. She makes her photographs in the form of small, black and white prints, which are full of non-obvious content. Special attention of the viewer is drawn to those without people, documenting abandoned interiors, where the only trace of human presence is a moved chair, an open window or an ashtray on the table. Rubinstein's photos are very ascetic, and their severity is softened by shades of gray. She admits that empty rooms, staircases and open doors in her photos are, in a sense, a reflection of her childhood filled with longing for her parents who often travelled and were absent.

- I have been to Łódź many times, this is the city where my father was born, but my visits here have always been about photography, said Ewa Rubinstein. – Today I am deeply honoured, extremely grateful, very happy and thank you all very much.

The four excellent artists joined the recipients’ group of Doctor Honoris Causa degree granted to them so far by the Lodz Film School including: Jerzy Toeplitz, Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polański, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Wojciech Jerzy Has, Vittorio Storaro, Jerzy Mierzejewski, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Tadeusz Różewicz, Martin Scorsese, Michael Haneke, Janusz Gajos, Kazimierz Karabasz, Kazimierz Kutz and Jerzy Wójcik.

text editor Jolanta Karpińska
photos by Mikołaj Zacharow