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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.

Jan A. P. Kaczmarek is a composer with a tremendous international reputation that continues to grow. As a successful recording artist and touring musician, Jan turned to composing film scores as his primary occupation. Jan's first success in the United States came in theater. After composing striking scores for productions at Chicago's Goodman Theatre and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, Jan won an Obie and a Drama Desk Award for his music for the New York Shakespeare Festival's 1992 production of John Ford's "Tis Pity She's A Whore," directed by JoAnne Akalaitis, starring Val Kilmer and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Newsday wrote that Jan's score "undulates with hypnotic force that gets under your skin," while Frank Rich of the New York Times found it worthy of the films of Bernardo Bertolucci and Luchino Visconti. Educated as a lawyer, he abandoned his planned career as a diplomat, for political reasons, to write music in order to finally gain freedom of expression. First he composed for the highly politicized underground theater, and then for a mini-orchestra of his own creation, "The Orchestra of the Eighth Day". The major turning point in his life, he says, was a period of intense study with avant-garde theater director, Jerzy Grotowski. "Playing and composing was like a religion for me," Kaczmarek explains, "and then it became a profession." "The Orchestra of the Eighth Day" began touring Europe in the late 1970's and to date, has completed eighteen major tours. They appeared at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the VPRO Radio International Contemporary Music Festival in Amsterdam,the Venice Biennale, and the International Music Festival in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, where Jan won the Golden Spring Prize for the Best Composition. He is a five-time winner in Jazz Forum's Jazz Top Poll. At the end of the Orchestra's first American tour in 1982, Kaczmarek recorded his debut album, Music for the End, for the Chicago-based major independent Flying Fish Records. Jan returned to America in 1989 to find a label for his latest composition for the Orchestra. Jan stayed in the United States where he expanded his horizons by composing for theater as he had already done in Poland with great success, capped by two prestigious New York theater awards in 1992. Having also composed music for films in Poland, he focused his attention to that medium, achieving recognition as a film composer with scores to such films as "Total Eclipse", "Bliss", "Washington Square", "Aimée & Jaguar", "The Third Miracle", "Lost Souls", "Edges of the Lord", "Quo Vadis" and Adrian Lyne's "Unfaithful."

February 2005, Jan won his first Oscar for Best Original Score on Marc Forster's highly acclaimed film, "Finding Neverland."

Jan also won The National Review Board's award for Best Score of the Year, and was nominated for both a Golden Globe and BAFTA's Anthony Asquith Award for Achievement in Film Music.In addition to his work in films, Jan is also setting up an Institute inspired by the Sundance Institute, in his home country of Poland, as a European center for development of new work in the areas of film, theatre, music and new media. The Institute website (currently under construction) is: www.rozbitek.org. It is anticipated that Rozbitek will begin accepting students in 2006.

Krzysztof Penderecki was a Polish composer and conductor, whose music was often used in film. He seldom composed original film scores. Among the most notable films to use Penderecki's music are "The Exorcist" (1973), "The Shining" (1980), "Wild at Heart" (1990), "Fearless" (1993), "Inland Empire" (2006), "Children of Men" (2006), and "Shutter Island" (2010),

Penderecki was born in the town of Debica, in the historic province of Lesser Poland. His parents were the lawyer Tadeusz Penderecki and his wife Zofia. Tadeusz was an amateur violinist and pianist. Penderecki was a grandson of bank director Robert Berger, who had a side-career as a painter. Robert's father was Johann Berger, a German Protestant from Breslau (modern Wroclaw), who converted to Catholicism in order to marry a Catholic girl. Penderecki's grandmother Stefania was an Armenian from the town of Stanislau in Austria-Hungary (modern Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine).

Penderecki was 6-years-old when World War II begun. The Penderecki family had to move out of their apartment, as it was confiscated for use by the Ministry of Food. Penderecki's education was disrupted by the War. He started attending grammar school in 1946, at the age of 13. He graduated in 1951.

Penderecki started studying violin during his school years. His first teacher was military bandmaster Stanislaw Darlak, who also led a local orchestra in Debica. In 1951, Penderecki enrolled at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, where he continued his music studies. Stanislaw Tawroszewicz trained him as a violinist, while Franciszek Skolyszewski taught him music theory.

In 1954, Penderecki enrolled at the Academy of Music in Kraków. Having mostly completed his violin lessons, his education was focused entirely on the composition of new music. His original mentor was composer Artur Malawski, who was primarily known for choral and orchestral works. Malawski died in 1957, before Penderecki completed his lessons. His new mentor was composer Stanislaw Wiechowicz (1893-1963), who often drew inspiration from Polish folk music.

Penderecki graduated from the Academy of Music in 1958, and was immediately offered a teaching position there. He took the offer. He started publishing his original compositions, which were mostly influenced by the works of Pierre Boulez, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern. His works "Strophen", "Psalms of David", and "Emanations" premiered in 1959, and were critically well-received.

His first work to actually receive international recognition was "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" (1960), written for 52 string instruments. His next notable work was the controversial "Fluorescences" (1962) written for the Donaueschingen Festival in Germany. He experimented with using percussion instruments which were unusual for classical music, such as "a Mexican güiro", typewriters, and gongs.

His experimental phase lasted through the 1960s, and he was seen as part of the avant-garde scene. By the early 1970s, Penderecki started incorporating more influences from the music of post-Romanticism, and his works were seen as more traditional. Meanwhile he had become one of Poland's most notable composers, He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1964, and the Commander's Cross of the Order in 1974.

In the mid-1970s Penderecki became a professor at the Yale School of Music. His music became more melodic. His "Symphony No. 2, Christmas" (1980) was "harmonically and melodically quite straightforward", and made frequent uses of the tune used in an older Christmas carol, "Silent Night" (1818) by Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863). He explained his renunciation of the avant-garde, as he viewed the novelty of the music as "more destructive than constructive".

In 1980, the Polish trade union "Solidarity" commissioned to compose music commemorating those killed in anti-government riots at the Gdansk shipyards. Penderecki initially composed "Lacrimosa" for the occasion. He was inspired enough to expand the work to one of his most famous compositions, "Polish Requiem". He revised it several times between 1980 and 2005.

By the 2000s, Penderecki won many international awards and his fame was well-established. He started working on a number of compositions which were never finished, in part due to poor health. His plans included an opera version of the French tragedy play "Phèdre" (1677) by Jean Racine (1639-1699), and a composition commemorating the Armenian Genocide's centennial.

In March 2020, Penderecki died in his home in Kraków, Poland, following a long illness. He was 86-years-old, and several of his compositions were regarded among the famous film music of the 20th century.

Jerzy Trela was a Polish actor with a remarkable career in theater, television, and movies. He graduated from the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow in 1969. His debut was in the same year at the Rozmaitosci Theatre in Krakow. He was associated with the Stary Theatre in Krakow, where he played many roles and worked with directors like Andrzej Wajda, Konrad Swinarski, Kazimierz Kutz, and Krystian Lupa. He was also a professor and rector at the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow from 1984 to 1990. His most known roles include Józef Mitura in Self-Portrait with a Lover (1996), and Chilo Chilonides in Quo vadis (2001).

Krzysztof Litwin was born on 19 June 1935 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Lalka (1968), Lalka (1978) and Niewiarygodne przygody Marka Piegusa (1966). He was married to Malgorzata. He died on 8 November 2000 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Jerzy Binczycki was born on 6 September 1937 in Witkowice, Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Nights and Days (1975), Pan Tadeusz (1999) and Na odsiecz Wiedniowi (1983). He died on 2 October 1998 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Marek Grechuta was born on 10 December 1945 in Zamosc, Lubelskie, Poland. He was a composer and actor, known for Planet Single (2016), Zakret (1977) and #WszystkoGra (2016). He was married to Danuta. He died on 9 October 2006 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Jerzy Gralek was born on 23 June 1946 in Sosnowiec, Slaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Krew z krwi (2012), Pan Tadeusz (1999) and General. Zamach na Gibraltarze (2009). He died on 15 February 2016 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Bronislaw Cieslak was born on 8 October 1943 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Zamknac za soba drzwi (1988), 07 zglos sie (1976) and Latajace machiny kontra pan Samochodzik (1991). He was married to Anna and Jasna Krystyna Chrzanowska-Cieslak. He died on 2 May 2021 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Halina Gryglaszewska was born on 13 June 1917 in Kharkov, Kharkov Governorate, Russia [now Kharkiv, Ukraine]. She was an actress, known for The Double Life of Véronique (1991), Wsciekly (1980) and Trzy kobiety (1957). She was married to Antonín Dvorák and Gustaw Niemiec. She died on 18 June 2010 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Tadeusz Jurasz was born on 9 September 1930 in Ciecina, Slaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Cien (1956), Koniec naszego swiata (1964) and Z biegiem lat, z biegiem dni... (1980). He was married to Izabella Olszewska. He died on 22 December 2019 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Krzysztof Kozlowski was born on 18 August 1931 in Przybyslawice, Malopolskie, Poland. He died on 26 March 2013 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Eva Mozes Kor was born on 30 January 1934 in Portz, Romania. She was a producer, known for C.A.N.D.L.E.S.: The Story of the Mengele Twins (1990), Forgiving Dr. Mengele (2006) and Eva: A-7063 (2018). She was married to Michael Kor. She died on 4 June 2019 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Leopold Kozlowski was born on 26 November 1918 in Przemyslany, Tarnopolskie, Poland [now Peremyshliany, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine]. He was a composer and actor, known for Schindler's List (1993), Torrents of Spring (1989) and Skrzypce Rotszylda (1988). He died on 12 March 2019 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Stanislaw Igar was born on 14 July 1918 in Plock, Mazowieckie, Poland. He was an actor, known for The Promised Land (1975), O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization (1985) and The Saragossa Manuscript (1965). He died on 29 December 1987 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Dariusz Gnatowski was born on 24 May 1961 in Ruda Slaska, Slaskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Demons of War (1998), Sara (1997) and Miasto prywatne (1994). He was married to Anna Gnatowska. He died on 20 October 2020 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Czeslaw Milosz was born on 30 June 1911 in Szetejnie, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire [now Seteniai, Lithuania]. He was a writer, known for Robinson warszawski (1950), Dolina Issy (1982) and Teatr Polskiego Radia (2004). He was married to Carol Marie Thigpen and Janina Dluska. He died on 14 August 2004 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Tadeusz Kantor was born on 6 April 1915 in Wielopole Skrzynskie, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Wielopole Skrzynskie, Podkarpackie, Poland]. He was an actor and writer, known for Wielopole, Wielopole (1984), Nigdy tu juz nie powróce (1990) and Niech sczezna artysci (1988). He was married to Maria Kantor and Ewa Jurkiewicz. He died on 8 December 1990 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Wieslaw Dymny was born on 25 February 1936 in Poloneczka, Nowogródzkie, Poland [now Palanechka, Belarus]. He was an actor and writer, known for 5 i 1/2 Bladego Józka (1970), Slonce wschodzi raz na dzien (1972) and Chudy i inni (1967). He was married to Anna Dymna. He died on 12 February 1978 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Antoni Fertner was born on 23 May 1874 in Czestochowa, Poland, Russian Empire [now Czestochowa, Slaskie, Poland]. He was an actor and writer, known for Ada, Don't Do That! (1936), Zapomniana melodia (1938) and Bedzie lepiej (1936). He died on 16 April 1959 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Jerzy Jogalla was born on 2 April 1940 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Skradziona kolekcja (1979), The Song of Triumphant Love (1969) and Milczace slady (1961). He died on 7 May 2018 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Ryszard Czekala was born on 5 March 1941 in Bydgoszcz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland. He was a writer and director, known for Zofia (1976), Syn (1970) and The Roll-Call (1971). He died on 30 October 2010 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Maria Górecka was born on 8 September 1924 in Grójec, Mazowieckie, Poland. She was an actress, known for Rdza (1982), Schodami w góre, schodami w dól (1988) and Television Theater (1953). She died on 6 August 2017 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Kazimierz Witkiewicz was born on 12 November 1924 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for I Hate Mondays (1971), Zagubione uczucia (1957) and Dulscy (1976). He died on 13 July 2018 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.

Marian Cebulski was born on 21 March 1924 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland. He was an actor, known for Jovita (1967), Janosik (1974) and Gromada (1952). He died on 24 March 2019 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.