The filmmaker will be celebrated during the closing gala and via a special screening of his feature film debut, which launched him full throttle in the world of cinema in 1969 – The Structure of Crystal. On Sunday, June 8, Zanussi will hold a master class for film enthusiasts.
Born on June 17, 1939, in Warsaw, Krzysztof Zanussi studied physics, philosophy and cinema at the famous Łódź school. His graduation short film, The Death of a Provincial (1966) won the Golden Lion in Venice. He directed over 40 feature films and documentaries for cinema and television, most of them multi-awarded in various festivals. The aforementioned feature film debut in earned him awards in Mar del Plata and Valladolid as well as the full appreciation of international film critics.
Then came films such as The Illumination (1973) – Golden Leopard and the FIPRESCI Award in Locarno, A Woman’s Decision (1975) – The OCIC Award at the Berline, Spirala (1978) – the Ecumenical Jury Prize in Cannes, The Constant Factor (1980) – The Best Director Award and the Ecumenical Jury Prize in Cannes, Imperative (1982) – The Pasinetti Award and the Grand Jury Prize in Venice, A Year of the Quiet Sun (1984) – the Golden Lion in Venice and a Golden Globe nominee, or Persona non grata (2005), selected in the official Venice competition.
Krzysztof Zanussi is teaching at the Silesian University in Katowice and at the European Graduate School in Switzerland and he's the manager of the TOR Studios in Poland. He was awarded many international awards; he is the president of the European Federation of Audiovisual Performers and a consultant to the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for Culture. In 2001, he received the Doctor Honoris Causa award of the Bucharest University of Drama and Film. Zanussi is also directing theater and opera shows in Milan, Palermo, Bonn, Krakow and Rome. His life and work was the subject of the documentary Anxiety / Niepokój (2004), by Krzysztof Tchórzewski.
A special TIFF event will be the Romanian premiere of the impressive Cathedrals of Culture 3D, a 3D documentary about iconic buildings from all over the world, directed, among others, by the late Michael Glawogger. The other five authors are Wim Wenders, Robert Redford, Michael Madsen, Margreth Olin and Karim Ainouz. Each of them directed one fragment, choosing the building that inspires him the most, from the Pompidou Centre and the National Library of Russia, to the Halden prison or the Salk Institute monastery in California. Cathedrals of Culture 3D premiered internationally in Berlin and the Cluj screening will be attended by the producer Erwin M. Schmidt and the acclaimed Brazilian director Karim Ainouz (Madame Sata, The Silver Cliff).
TIFF viewers will be reintroduced to some of the most beloved big screen heroes of the communist era. "The Transylvanians Trilogy" – now with brand new 35mm copies, presented last fall at Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema in New York, will be screened in Cluj as a unique marathon. The Prophet, the Gold and the Transylvanians (Dan Pita, 1979), The Artist, the Dollars and the Transylvanians (Mircea Veroiu, 1981) and The Baby, the Oil and the Transylvanians (Dan Pita, 1982) have been seen, prior to 1989, by over 17 million Romanians.
Transilvania International Film Festival (May 30 – June 8, 2014) is organized by Romanian Film Promotion and The Association for Film and Urban Culture, with the support of the Romanian CNC.
