During his long and outstanding career Krzysztof Zanussi won the Golden Lion in Venice, the Jury Prize in Cannes and the Golden Leopard in Locarno, and he has been nominated to the Golden Globe as well. Zanussi, one of the major figures of European and international cinema, can only be described in superlatives – and imperatives. He is probably one of the most intellectual, most intelligent, purest and most detached (but also passionate and sentimental) directors of our time. He is also a professional in the best and purest sense of the word and speaks several languages. His heroes, mostly during times of historical and political unrest
in Central Europe, seek for purity, morale and meaning in their lives and in their relationships that are irrespective of the era and the society. The director worked with stars like Vittorio Gassman, Daniel Olbrychski, Christoph Waltz, Raf Vallone, Max von Sydow, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Maja Komorowska, Robert Powell and Valeria Golino and directed world-famous films like the Camouflage, The Structure of Crystal, Spiral, Imperative, A Year of the Quiet Sun or From a Far Country, the latter presenting the early life of Pope John Paul II. His congenial partner, Sławomir Idziak, who photographed 13 of Zanussi’s movies, was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award of Jameson CineFest in 2009. The leading Hungarian film festival pays tribute to the legendary artist with screening three of his masterpieces (The Structure of Crystal, the Golden Lion-winning A Year of the Quiet Sun and the Jury Prize-winning The Constant Factor) and giving him the Europe Award. Krzysztof Zanussi will be the foreman at the International Jury at this year’s Jameson CineFest.