Jędryka, Stanisław

(1933-)

   Director Stanisław Jędryka is best known for his popular films for children and young adults, among them several classic television series scripted by writer Adam Bahdaj, such as Summer with Ghosts (Wakacje z duchami, 1970), A Trip for One Smile (Podróz za jeden uśmiech, 1972), and I Bet on Tomek Banan (Stawiam na Tomka Banana, 1973). A 1956 graduate of the Łódź Film School, Jędryka initially assisted Stanisław Lenartowicz and Stanisław Różewicz before directing his very well-received debut, The Impossible Goodbye (Dom bez okien, 1962), a story about a small provincial circus, written by Aleksander Ścibor-Rylski and starring some fine Polish actors, among them Wiesław Gołas and Elżbieta Czyżewska. In 1967 Jędryka released the psychological drama Return to Earth (Powrót na ziemię, 1967), starring Stanisław Mikulski and Ewa Krzyżewska, a film about the impossibility of freeing oneself from the shadow of the war. His 1965 film, The Island of Delinquents (Wyspa złoczyńców), marked the beginning of his long-lasting interest in problems experienced by children and teenagers. He often dealt with the impoverished and the delinquent and portrayed generational conflicts in popular films, such as Shoot Paragon! (Paragon gola! 1969) and The End of the Holiday (Koniec wakacji, 1974). The action of his two films for children, Salad Days (Zielone lata, 1980) and Upside Down (Do góry nogami, 1983), introduced the political atmosphere before and at the beginning of World War II in Sosnowiec (Jedryka's place of birth) and Chorzów (in the neighboring Upper Silesia). In the 1980s, Jędryka also continued making films in the spirit of his earlier Return to Earth dealing with the Home Army (AK) fighters, such as Amnesty (Amnestia, 1982) and I Died to Live (Umarłem, aby zyć, 1984), both photographed by Mieczysław Jahoda. The latter film generated two sequels produced in 1989.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof