Andrzej Wajda (1926 - 2016)

Festiwal nasz chciałby uczcić Mistrza Reżyserii Filmowej, Andrzeja Wajdę. Andrzej Wajda był związany z naszym Festiwalem już od 1-ej edycji 2003. Pierwsza edycja uhonorowała światową Premierę dzieła Andrzeja Wajdy "Wyrok na Franciszka Kłosa".

5-a edycja 2007 była dedykowana Mistrzowi w całości. Festiwal pokazał retrospektywę filmów Andrzeja Wajdy, filmy dokumentalne o nim, a także miała miejsce wystawa plakatów filmów Mistrza. 5-a edycja została otwarta pokazem arcydzieła Mistrza "Katyń", który trzy miesiące później otrzymał Nominację do Oscara.

Szymon Peres (1923 - 2016)

Festiwal nasz chciałby pożegnać najbardziej progresywnego Polityka Izraelskiego, b.p. Szymona Peresa. Prezydent Peres był wielkim Przyjacielem naszego Festiwalu już od pierwszej edycji w 2003 roku. Jego "Centrum Peresa dla Pokoju" oraz "Polskie Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Centrum Peresa dla Pokoju" objęły Honorowe Patronaty nad Festiwalem w latach 2003 i 2004. Osobiście miałem dwukrotnie wielki honor i zaszczyt spotkać i rozmawiać z Prezydentem Peresem. Stał się On dla nas inspiracją w organizowaniu pokojowych spotkań między Izraelczykami i Palestyńczykami w trakcie naszego Festiwalu w latach 2003 - 2016. Dziedzictwo Prezydenta Peresa nie będzie nigdy zapomniane, będzie kontynuowane, aż zostanie osiągnięty pokój i dalej, aż po pokojową koegzystencję obu Państw, która przyniesie korzyści wszystkim obywatelom obu krajów.

Photo by PAP

The Peres Center for Peace

Z poważaniem,
Daniel Strehlau, założyciel Festiwalu, 29 września 2016, Los Angeles, Ca.

Jan Kulczyk (1950 - 2015)

The Kulczyk Foundation was one of the sponsors of 2015 and 2016 WJFF.
Mr. Jan Kulczyk has donated one of the record sums of 4.76 million Euro to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews "POLLIN" in Warsaw.
Mr. Jan Kulczyk was a Polish oligarch and deal broker. He was the founder and owner of Kulczyk Holding (headquartered in Warsaw) and an international investment house Kulczyk Investments (former name: Kulczyk Investment House) with headquarters in Luxembourg and offices in London and Kyiv. According to the Forbes magazine, Kulczyk was the richest Pole (Net worth: $4.1 billion (February 2015).

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Tadeusz Konwicki (1926 - 2015)

The 11th edition 2013 was dedicated to Tadeusz Konwicki.
Tadeusz Konwicki was a Polish writer and film director, as well as a member of the Polish Language Council. He was 1958 Venice International FF Grand Prix Golden Lion winner for his "The Last Day of Summer" ("Ostatni dzien lata", 1958)

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Mike Nichols (1931 - 2014)

The 13th edition of WJFF 2015 had honor to be dedicated to Mr. Mike Nichols.


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Paul Mazursky (1930 - 2014)

June the 8, 2011, Beverly Hills, CA: Mr. Paul Mazursky got the Honorary David Camera Award from Daniel Strehlau, Festival Director

Paul Mazursky for our Festival!

The 8th edition of 2010 was dedicated to Paul Mazursky.

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Wisława Szymborska (1923 - 2012)

The recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Ms. Szymborska, a poet, supported the 1st edition of WJFF 2003. The 1st edition was honored by getting an email with best wishes from Ms. Szymborska from Krakow City. Her email was published in the 2003 Festival catalogue.

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Maria Kornatowska (1935 - 2011)

The Jury Member of the 1st edition of WJFF 2003. Ms. Kornatowska was Professor at the Film School in Lodz City, she published several books about film directors, the most famouse one is about Federico Fellini - "Fellini". She was one of the most popular film critics.

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Irvin Kershner (1923 - 2010)

The Jury Chairman of the 2nd edition of WJFF 2004

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Gustaw Holoubek (1923 - 2008)

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The 6th edition of WJFF 2008 was dedicated to Gustaw Holoubek.
Gustaw Holoubek was a Polish theater and film actor, director and theater educator, president of the Association of Polish Theatre and Film Artists, a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Member of Parliament of Poland VII and VIII term, senator of the first term.
He acted in about 99 stage theater performances, 120 TV stage theaters shows and in 63 movie productions. He was Professor at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. For many years he was director of the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw. It was canceled in January 1983 due to a conflict with the communist authorities.
He acted the main character in “Forefathers” by Adam Mickiewicz, staged in 1967 by Kazimierz Dejmek at the National Theatre. The removal of this play from the theater by the authorities contributed and initiated the outbreak of student demonstrations and nation wide events marked the beginning of Polish anti-communist revolution of March 1968.

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John Daly (1937 - 2008)

John Daly was Jury Chairman of 3rd edition of WJFF 2005.

John Daly, Daniel Strehlau, Lajos Koltai at 3rd WJFF 2005

John Daly was born on July 16, 1937 in London, England. He was a producer and writer, known for The Terminator (1984), Platoon (1986) and The Last Emperor (1987). He died on October 31, 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

In 2005, John Daly produced, co-wrote and directed "The Aryan Couple", starring Oscar winner Martin Landau, which opened the 3rd edition WJFF 2005. The opening screening was a European Premiere of the movie.

On behalf of his companies, John Daly achieved 21 Oscar nominations and 13 wins, including back-to-back Best Picture wins for Platoon and The Last Emperor (as executive producer, shared with the film's producer Jeremy Thomas), an unequaled achievement in independent filmmaking.

Throughout his forty-year career, Daly won numerous awards at the Golden Globes, the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards and the Houston Film Festival, along with many other prizes.

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Prof. Henryk Kluba (1931 - 2005)

Henryk Kluba and Roman Polanski in The Film School in Lodz City

Henryk Kluba and Roman Polanski

The Jury Chairman of the 1st edition of WJFF 2003. Prof. Kluba was a rector of the Film School in the Lodz City, a film director, and film actor, who acted in the first short movies by Roman Polanski.

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