Akademik

(Edward Bernstein, 1935-)

   Respected scriptwriter and director, who started his career in the late 1960s as a close collaborator of Krzysztof Zanussi. With Zanussi, he coscripted several films (including Zanussi's television classic Next Door in 1975). Part of Third Polish Cinema, Żebrowski started his directorial career with Deliverance (Ocalenie, 1972), a film focusing on a scientist (Zbigniew Zapasiewicz) whose busy routine is interrupted when he contracts a fatal illness, forcing him to reflect on his life. In his next film, The Hospital of Transfiguration (Szpital przemienienia, 1979), Żebrowski continued his examination of a character facing dramatic choices. Set in September 1939, the film tells a story about the killing of patients in a mental asylum by the Germans. His next film, In Broad Daylight (W biały dzień, 1980), examined the issues of political terrorism and fanaticism. Żebrowski also codirected two films in West Germany with Zanussi: Die Nach-dienst (1975) and Unerreichbare (1982). Krzysztof Kieślowski acknowledged Żebrowski as "script consultant" on his famous Three Colors Trilogy—they also worked closely together on Kieslowski's earlier projects, although his contribution was not credited.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof