Piwowski, Marek

(1935-)

   Director, scriptwriter, and actor, known for his celebrated comedy The Cruise (Rejs, 1970). During his stay at the Łódź Film School, and after graduating in 1968, Piwowski produced a series of well-received short films such as Fire! Fire! Finally Something Is Going On (Pożar! Pożar! Coś nareszcie dzieje się, 1967), Fly-Swat (aka The Fly Catcher, Muchotłuk, 1967), and Psycho-drama (1969). They were followed by equally popular shorts CorkScrew (Korkociąg, 1971) and Hair (1971). The Cruise, coscripted by Piwowski and Janusz Głowacki, instantly gained a cult film status in Poland. Piwowski's next film, Foul Play (Przepraszam, czy tu biją? 1976), was a crime picture starring two boxing champions (Jerzy Kulej and Jan Szczepański) as two unconventional police inspectors who are not afraid to employ brutal, yet apparently successful, methods in their investigative work. In 1993 Piwowski directed The Kidnapping of Agata (Uprowadzenie Agaty), a film about a politician who abuses his power to get rid of his daughter's lover, followed by two medium-length television films: Step (Krok, 1997) and Oscar (Oskar, 2005). Piwowski also appeared as an actor in several films, mostly episodically, with the exception of Krzysztof Zanussi's Balance Sheet (Bilans kwartalny, 1975), in which he plays a strong supporting role.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof