Marcel Łoziński died at the age of 85. A legend of cinema, master of documentary film, mentor to successive generations, and above all, a great friend of the Krakow Film Festival.
Marcel Łoziński (born 1940) was one of Poland’s most important documentarians, nominated for an Oscar for his film “89 mm from Europe” (1994). A graduate of the Faculty of Telecommunications at Warsaw University of Technology (1965) and the Directing Faculty at the Łódź Film School (1971), he began his career as a sound engineer at the Documentary Film Studio. In the 1970s and 80s, he was associated with Polish Television and Andrzej Wajda’s Unit X. In January 1980, he was dismissed from the Documentary Film Studio by the Minister of Culture after two of his films were banned by censorship, and during martial law, he gave up making his own documentaries.
He was a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and a lecturer at the Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. One of the most important voices in Polish documentary cinema, he evolved from critical analysis of the communist system to intimate reflections on the human condition, always with an unquestionable talent for discovering truth hidden beneath the surface of reality. In his films, he employed elements of creation, staging, and artistic provocation, seeking a “catalyst” that would allow him to extract the truth about people and situations. As he said: “I try to influence reality, and then treat the created situation as open.” This method, though controversial, allowed him to uncover the deepest mechanisms of the system’s functioning and the human condition.
He was awarded the Gold Medal “Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.” A laureate of numerous international awards, including festivals in Oberhausen, San Francisco, and Leipzig, he received the “Polityka Passport” (1995), the Culture Foundation Award, the Andrzej Wajda Freedom Award (2004), and many other honors.
With the Krakow Film Festival, he was connected not only as a winner of numerous awards but also as a key figure co-shaping its program and artistic profile. “Head-On Collision” received the Golden Hobby-Horses in 1976, “Microphone Test” and “Graduation Exam” won Bronze Hobby-Horses in 1981, and “Anything Can Happen” triumphed in 1995, receiving the Dragon of Dragons Award and the FIPRESCI award. The festival also recognized his later films: “Tonia and Her Children” received the Golden Lajkonik for best film in 2011, and for “Father and Son on a Journey,” Łoziński won the Golden Horn for best director in 2013.
Marcel Łoziński was a long-standing member of the Program Council of the Krakow Film Foundation, co-responsible for shaping one of the world’s most important film festivals. In this role, he actively participated in discussions about the event’s future, sharing his vast experience and knowledge of documentary cinema. A special distinction was the award of the prestigious Dragon of Dragons in 2016 – the highest honor of the Krakow Film Festival for his lifetime achievement and contribution to the development of world cinematography in documentary film. Krakow became for him not only a place of triumphs but also a place where he could meet friends and the entire documentary family. He felt at home with us.
Marcel, we thank you for all those years together. For your support and motivation, for your constant presence.
We already miss you tremendously.