Majewski, Lech J.

(1953-)

   Film, theater, and opera director; screenwriter and producer; writer, poet, and painter. The multital-ented Lech Majewski graduated from the Łódź Film School in 1977, established himself as a theater director, and became known for his highly personal, poetic, and stylized cinema, as evidenced by his film The Knight (Rycerz, 1980). In 1981 he moved to England and then to the United States, where he made Flight of the Spruce Goose (1985) and The Gospel According to Harry (1992, with Polish involvement). He also made another international coproduction, The Prisoner of Rio (1988, United Kingdom-Brazil-Switzerland-Poland). Arguably Majewski's best-known work is a Polish film, Wojaczek (1999), an atypical biopic of poet Rafał Wojaczek (1945-1972), for which he received the Best Director award at the Festival of Polish Films. Majewski's next film, Angelus (2001), was also well received. The film deals with a Silesian occult group that became known thanks to some of its members, such as Teofil Ociepka, now a celebrated painter. Cinematographer Adam Sikora (who also worked on Wojaczek) won the Silver Frog award at the Camerimage festival. Majewski's recent projects include The Garden of Earthly Delights (2003), a coproduc-tion between Poland, Italy, and Great Britain.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof