Łukasz Karwowski


Łukasz Karwowski is a Polish film director, screenwriter and producer.

Early and personal life

Karwowski grew up in Toruń, Poland, in the turbulent years of Solidarity and the struggle against the martial law. His father spent time in prison for his anti-communist activity.
He lives in Warsaw, married to Weronika Karwowska and has six children: Franciszek, Roch, Mia, Leon, Tymon and Iwo.

Education

Karwowski studied Polish philology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. He then obtained a degree from the Film and Television Directing Department in the world-renowned National Film School in Lodz, where he was taught by Wojciech Jerzy Has. In 1989 he studied directing at the National Film and Television School in the UK. In the same year in Belgrade, he was elected for a film masterclass by Istvan Szabo.
As a student, he already started gaining accolades for his work. The Möbius Strip, won best short film and best young filmmaker of the year in Edinburgh International Film Festival, best original screenplay in Nîmes Short films festival, main prize in The Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival, as well as being nominated for the Student Academy Awards.

Career

Karwowski says his life view and creative style were shaped by his upbringing in Communist Poland. His early films were influenced by his teacher Wojciech Jerzy Has, being more abstract with an inner world of reason and aesthetics, and later shifted to gritty realism and dramatic plots with powerful acting roles.
In 1992, he made his debut, a feature length Polish-French co-production thriller with cinematography by Paweł Edelman. For it, he received the Polish Cultural Foundation Award at the Polish Gdynia Film Festival.
In the 1990s, he moved to France, where with the production company he founded Moon Movie, he directed over 150 commercials. He also spent some time in Los Angeles. Later, with his production company of 20 years, he has produced over 120 and directed over 300 television commercials - initially in France and then in Poland. His commercials have gone to receive many awards at festivals.
In 2006, he returned to his true passion, feature films. His, a drama with Borys Szyc, Agnieszka Grochowska and Robert Więckiewicz, won the huge achievement of opening the 22nd Warsaw Film Festival, and went on to win several awards. South by North was also the first Polish film made entirely with no public funding to achieve market success.
Another film,, with Mała wielka miłość and cinematography by Arkadiusz Tomiak, was the first Polish production to be co-produced in the U.S. with a full production team. It featured a mixed Polish-American cast, Agata Kulesza,, Marcin Bosak, Robert Forster. The compelling love story between an American lawyer and a Polish student, is still on broadcast in many TV stations, and was also adapted to a four-part TV series.
A project close to Karwowski's heart is his 2009 documentary, about his beloved grandfather, Otton Karwowski, who was a legendary rural doctor.
Currently, Karwowski is working on two feature films: One Soul starring Dawid Ogrodnik and . The cinematographer is, and Weronika Karwowska is set designer. The film is distributed by Kino Świat. The second film in production is a psychological drama, The Truth with, and .
Another project, currently in Post-Production, which is very close to Karwowski's heart, is the film Two Sisters, almost entirely shot near the frontline in eastern Ukraine, and tells the story of two estranged sisters who reunite for a journey to save their injured father. The production has been lucky enough to have some great Ukrainian actors such as,, or, As well as Polish actors and .

Awards and nominations

International Film Festival Tofifest - The Flisak Award
Cieszyn Film Festival - The Golden Horseshoe for Best Feature Film
Gdynia Film Festival - The Polish Culture Foundation Award
Tokyo International Film Festival - The Jury Prize
Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival – Main Award
Edinburgh International Film Festival – Best short film and young filmmaker of the year award
Student Academy Award - nomination
Film School Festival in Nîmes - screenplay award

Filmography

Director
Screenwriter
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  • The Truth
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Producer
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  • Torun - The European Capital of Culture
  • TZMO Global
  • TZMO Global
  • The Truth
  • One Soul
  • Two Sisters