We say goodbye to the great Friend of the festival, Cracovian, Ambassador of Polish culture.
On Monday, September 21 Yoram Gross died in Australia. He was a director, scriptwriter, producer, author of animated films, called "Australian Disney." Even though since 1950 he constantly lived abroad, he remained a great friend of Poland, in love with Krakow, a tireless ambassador of Polish culture.
Yoram (Jerzy) Gross was born on 18 October 1926 in Krakow. He survived the Holocaust. He was the pioneer of post-war cinema in Poland, Israel and Australia. In Australia, he became the icon of children’s animated film. Several generations of children grew up watching his works, he made several hundred films. Gross also made films for adults. The distinguishing feature of his films is the technique of mixing animation with live-action scenes.
For his achievements, he was honoured with the highest Australian distinction: Order of Australia, and in Poland – Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis as well as the Honoris Gratia distinction, given by the Mayor of Krakow.
Yoram Gross was one of the greatest ambassadors of Poland and Krakow. He was born a citizen of this city and he remained so in spite of his wanderings around the world. Many times, he was the guest at Krakow Film Festival as an author and juror. In 2011, a feature-length documentary film by Tomasz Magierski about Yoram Gross was made, Blinky & Me, which was shown at the 51st KFF and, among others, in the headquarters of the United Nations in New York and at the opening ceremony of the permanent exhibition at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.
Yoram Gross was an extraordinary person, who continuously won more and more fans, a man who did not lose faith in humanity, remained open-minded and warm-hearted in spite of the horrors in his childhood.
We say goodbye to the great Friend of the festival, Cracovian, Ambassador of Polish culture.