Maciej Drygas

Maciej Drygas (born 1956 in Łódź) is a Polish documentary filmmaker.

Career Following graduation from the Directing Department of the Moscow All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), also known as the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, he worked as an assistant to Krzysztof Zanussi and Krzysztof Kieślowski. His first documentary as director was Hear My Cry, about Ryszard Siwiec, who, in September 1968, protested against communist totalitarianism, and in particular the entry of Warsaw Pact forces into Czechoslovakia, by setting fire to himself (self-immolation) in front of thousands of people during the harvest festival at the 10th Anniversary Stadium in Warsaw, an incident that was censored in the media at the time.

His follow-up film, Weightless, looks at the human cost of the Russian space programme.

Drygas is currently director of the radio drama section at the Reportage Laboratory at Warsaw University and also teaches regularly at the Łódź Film School.

Documentaries Trains - 2024 Abu Haraz - 2012 Cudze listy / Violated Letters - 2011 Usłysz nas wszystkich / Hear Us All - 2009 Po tamtej stronie / The Outer Limits – 2007 Jeden dzień w PRL / One Day in People's Poland – 2005 Głos nadziei / Voice of Hope – 2002 Schizofrenia / Schizophrenia – 2001 Stan nieważkości / Weightless – 1994 Usłyszcie mój krzyk / Hear My Cry - 1991

Awards

Stan nieważkosci / State of Weightlessness Prix Italia, 1994 Grand Prix at the Lódź Media Festival, 1994 First Prize at the Balticum Film and Television Festival in Bornholm, 1995 Grand Prix at the International Monte-Carlo TV Festival, 1995 Prix Europa, 1995 First Prize at the International Film Festival Strasbourg, 1995 Grand Prix & Press Award at the Ismailia Festival For Documentary And Short Films, 1995

Usłyszcie mój krzyk / Hear My Cry Felix - European Film Award for Best Documentary, 1991 Silver Dragon at the Cracow Festival of Documentaries and Short Films, 1991 Main Award at the Media Festival "Man under Threat" in Łódź, 1991 Andrzej Munk Award - awarded by the Film School in Łódź, 1991 Silver Sesterce at the International Documentary Film Festival in Nyon, 1991 Grand Prix at the International Documentary Film Festival in Melbourne, 1991 Golden Gate Award at the International Film Festival in San Francisco, 1991

Other work Psychoterapia (1983 TV movie)