Ryszard Bugajski
Ryszard Bugajski (27 April 1943 – 7 June 2019) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He made 23 films and TV shows from 1972 to 2019. He studied philosophy at the University of Warsaw and then trained as a filmmaker at the National Film School in Łódź, graduating in 1973. In 1976 he joined Andrzej Wajda’s X Film Unit, directing A Woman and a Woman and Classes.
His 1982 film Interrogation, starring Krystyna Janda and Adam Ferency, is known as a strong anti-communist work. It was banned by Polish authorities for many years, and its official premiere happened in 1989 after the collapse of communism; he kept the film alive by circulating copies underground.
Bugajski was born in German-occupied Poland; his family narrowly avoided execution in World War II when a bomb fell before the firing squad. In 1985 he moved to Canada, where he directed popular TV series. He received several awards, including the Golden Grape Award, a Special Award at the Gdynia Film Festival, and a Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. In 2008 he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture. He died in Warsaw on 7 June 2019 after a long illness. He was married to Maria Mamona.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:36 (CET).