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- Born in Lvov, Ukraine; then he moved with his father Miroslaw Zulawski to Czechoslovakia and later to Poland. In the late 1950s, he studied cinema in France. In the 1960s, he was an assistant of the famous Polish film director Andrzej Wajda. His feature debut The Third Part of the Night (1971) was an adaptation of his father's novel. His second feature The Devil (1972) was prohibited in Poland, and Zulawski went to France. After the success of his French debut That Most Important Thing: Love (1975) in 1975, he returned to Poland where he spent two years in making On the Silver Globe (1988). The work on this film was brutally interrupted by the authorities. After that, Zulawski moved to France where became known for his highly artistic, controversial, and very violent films. Zulawski is well known for his ability to discover and "rediscover" actresses: Romy Schneider, Isabelle Adjani, Valérie Kaprisky and Sophie Marceau played their best roles in his films.
- Wojciech Kilar was born on 17 July 1932 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a composer, known for Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), The Ninth Gate (1999) and The Pianist (2002). He was married to Barbara Pomianowska. He died on 29 December 2013 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland.
- Stanislaw Lem was a visionary Polish author known for Solaris (1972).
He was born on September 12, 1921, in Lwów, Poland. His father, Samuel Lem, was a wealthy laryngologist who served in the Austrian army. His mother, Sabina Woller, was a homemaker. Although he was born into a Polish-Jewish family, Lem was raised a Catholic and later became an atheist. He graduated from the Lwów Gymnazium in 1939, then studied medicine at the Lvov Medical Institute in 1940-1941. During WWII, he survived the Nazi occupation of Lwów and worked as a mechanic and welder for a German firm until 1944.
After World War II Lem escaped from the Soviet occupation of Germany and moved to Krakow, Poland, as a repatriate. There he completed his medical studies at Jagellonian University, without taking the doctor's degree. He worked at the Konserwatorium Naukoznawcze as a research assistant for psychologist Dr. Choynowski. From 1946-1949 Lem was involved in medical research in psychology, which became a turning point in his life. He started writing poetry and science fiction in 1946, but his first serious novel, "Hospital of the Transfiguration", was suppressed by the Polish government for eight years. It was released only in 1956, when freedom of speech was earned after the "Polish October" popular uprising.
Lem quit medicine in 1949, because he did not want to be drafted into the army. He married a doctor instead of being one. In 1949 he became a professional writer and continued creating his increasingly unusual novels: "The Investigation", "Eden", "Return from the Stars". The 1960s and 1970s were the most productive for Lem. At that time he wrote 'Solaris', 'The Invincible', 'The Cyberiad', 'His Master's Voice', 'The Star Diaries', 'The Futurological Congress', and 'Tales of Pirx the Pilot'. His gift of a visionary materialized in 'Summa Technologiae' (Sum of Technologies, 1964), which tackled problems of virtual reality. Lem showed his talent for premonition in "Katar" (1975), which predicted international terrorism, and in "Observations on the Spot"' (1982), which showed absurdity of a conflict between two civilizations.
His novel 'Solaris' was adapted into eponymous films twice. First came the Russian-made film adaptation by director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972, starring Donatas Banionis and Natalya Bondarchuk. Lem spent six months working with Tarkovsky in Moscow, but their collaboration ended in a bitter conflict over the changes and additions to the original story. After seeing edited parts of the 1972 film, Lem said of Tarkovsky: "Instead of focusing on deeper moral questions related to frontiers of human knowledge, he made a drama-type 'Crime and Punishment' in space, by making up unnecessary characters of parents and relatives, then adding a hut on an island." "Tarkovsky was a genius, but he was moving in the opposite direction from my book", also said Lem. Upon his doctor's advice Lem did not want to see the 2002 remake by director Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney and Natascha McElhone.
"Solaris" (1961) is arguably the best known work of Lem's works. It deals with the problem of human existence in the world of the unknown. It also shows the inevitability of misunderstandings in human contacts with other worlds. Planet Solaris is inhabited by a single Plasma Ocean organism with the eerie ability to materialize human thoughts. When astronauts become more aggressive in forcing contact with Solaris, it confronts them with pushing the buttons of their most painful thoughts by recreating their dead wives and relatives, and virtually bringing the dead back to life in front of their eyes. Obsolete biological human impulses are shown in stark contrast with the magnitude of the ocean-size organism. At some point humans become an irrational liability to their machine partner, the spaceship. Lem's imagination and talent for creation of alternative reality challenges the limits of human knowledge.
"Past is more perfect than future, which makes me sad," said Lem. Although some of his predictions came true, he expressed his disappointment about the failure of many positive prognosis that were made during the 1960s and 1970s. He died on March 27, 2006, in Kraków, and was laid to rest in the Salwatorski cemetery in Kraków, Poland. His books sold over 27 million copies in 41 languages. - Wojciech Pszoniak was born on 2 May 1942 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor and director, known for Danton (1983), The Promised Land (1975) and Korczak (1990). He was married to Barbara. He died on 19 October 2020 in Warsaw, Poland.
- Janusz Majewski was born on 5 August 1931 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for Mala matura 1947 (2010), Sublokator (1966) and Excentrycy, czyli po slonecznej stronie ulicy (2015). He was married to Zofia Nasierowska. He died on 10 January 2024 in Poland.
- Ryszarda Hanin was born on 30 August 1919 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Jeszcze tylko ten las (1991), Sexmission (1984) and Zofia (1976). She died on 1 January 1994 in Swider, Otwock, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Irena Karel was born on 10 August 1943 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. She is an actress, known for Colonel Wolodyjowski (1969), Przygody pana Michala (1969) and Ostatni po Bogu (1968).
- Ryszard Filipski was born on 17 July 1934 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor and director, known for Zamach stanu (1980), Wysokie loty (1980) and Hubal (1973). He died on 22 October 2021.
- Wlodzimierz Press was born on 13 May 1939 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He is an actor and writer, known for Klakier (1983), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015) and Europa Europa (1990). He is married to Renata Press. They have one child.
- Iga Mayr was born on 17 April 1921 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Ostatni po Bogu (1968), Taranthriller (1997) and Tredowata (2000). She died on 28 January 2001 in Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland.
- Irena Dziedzic was born on 20 June 1925 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. She was an actress and writer, known for Polowanie na muchy (1969), Television Theater (1953) and Jutro premiera (1962). She died on 5 November 2018 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Gene Gutowski was born on 26 July 1925 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a producer and production manager, known for Repulsion (1965), The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) and The Pianist (2002). He was married to Joanna Smaga, Dorota Puzio, Corinna Liddell, Judy Wilson and Zillah Rhoades. He died on 10 May 2016 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Zbigniew Wójcik was born on 20 June 1932 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for The Eighth Day of the Week (1958), Zloto (1962) and Slowo honoru (1953). He died on 8 July 1963 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.
- Danuta Wodynska was born on 31 May 1922 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for Gangsterzy i filantropi (1963), Skradziona kolekcja (1979) and Motodrama (1971). She died on 4 July 2001 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Jerzy Domaradzki was born on 6 January 1943 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He is a director and assistant director, known for Planeta krawiec (1983), Struck by Lightning (1990) and The Big Race (1981).
- Andrzej Kotkowski was born on 17 February 1940 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was a director and writer, known for Obywatel Piszczyk (1988), Olimpiada 40 (1980) and Spokojne lata (1982). He was married to Halina Golanko. He died on 15 January 2016 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Antoni Pszoniak was born on 1 February 1931 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for Obok prawdy (1965), Koniec naszego swiata (1964) and Television Theater (1953). He died on 6 April 2018 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Eugeniusz Korczarowski was born on 7 May 1937 in Lwów, Lwowskie, Poland [now Lviv, Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for Szarada (1977), Wyrok smierci (1980) and Orzel i reszka (1975). He died on 31 August 2024 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
