Jerzy Kapuściński is one of the most important Polish film and television producers. For the last 25 years he has been one of those who blazed trails in Polish cinema.

Putting emphasis on the producer's role in the reality of a free-market film industry, the development of the profession's prestige, and introducing the model of a creative producer in the country: all these elements of the cinema puzzle, almost obvious today, are thanks to the hero of this year's “Cinema lesson,” among other pioneers.

Having finished Polish Studies at the University of Warsaw, he started working for Polish Television – and has been working there ever since. The function and scope of his responsibilities there have changed, but it is there, in the building on Woronicza street, that Kapuściński is in his element. He co-created the TVP Kultura channel, in 2005-2008 he was its associate director, responsible for the channel's program. Since 2011 he has been director of the TVP2 channel, which he runs with the belief that the state should provide ambitious programming with educational and cultural potential. The year 2015 at TVP2 is to focus on television series – Kapuściński wants to produce ones that could compete with foreign productions that Polish viewers are so eager to watch. To achieve this, he invited experienced filmmakers to collaborate with him.

Such policy is somewhat a continuation of his film production activity. In 2008-2011 Kapuściński was head of the “Kadr” Film Studio. He supervised two projects by talented debutants: “The Reverse” by Borys Lankosz and “Suicide Room” by Jan Komasa. Both films were largely successful and launched their directors' careers. It was also Kapuściński's success; he has proven that it is worth following your intuition and investing in ideas that might be risky and uncertain, but also possibly a gateway to new quality in Polish cinema. He has produced two more box office hits: “Man, Chicks Are Just Different” by Marek Koterski and “You Are God” by Leszek Dawid. Kapuściński does not abandon his protégés: he has been the artistic and production supervisor for Lankosz's second film, this year's “A Grain of Truth.” He is the member of the Polish and European Film Academy.

Sebastian Smoliński