Andrzej à »uà Âawski (; 22 November 1940 â 17 February 2016) was a Polish film director and writer best known for his 1981 psychological horror film Possession. à »uà Âawski often went against mainstream commercialism in his films, and enjoyed success mostly with European art-house audiences.
In the late 1950s, he studied cinema in France. His second feature, The Devil (1972), was banned in communist Poland, and à »uà Âawski went to France. After the success of ' in 1975, he returned to Poland where he spent two years making On the Silver Globe (not released until 1988). The work on this film was interrupted and destroyed by the authorities. After that, à »uà Âawski moved to France where he became known for controversial and violent art-house films such as Possession (1981). à »uà Âawski is also known for his work with actresses including Romy Schneider, Isabelle Adjani and Sophie Marceau.
His films have received awards at various international film festivals. à »uà Âawski also wrote several novels, including Il était Un Verger, Lity Bór (a.k.a. La Forêt Forteresse), W Oczach Tygrysa, and Ogród Mià Âoà Âci.
à »uà Âawski was born in Lviv. His father, Mirosà Âaw à »uà Âawski, was a Polish civil servant (and later diplomat) who had studied and worked in that city while it was part of the Second Polish Republic and prior to its annexation by the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1939.
à »uà Âawski was an assistant of the filmmaker Andrzej Wajda. He studied at the prestigious Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) in Paris and in the Department of Philosophy at the Sorbonne.
When his second film The Devil was banned in Poland, he decided to move to France, where he made ' (1975) with Romy Schneider.
After returning to Poland he worked for two years on a film which the authorities did not allow him to finish (On the Silver Globe), based on a book by his great-uncle Jerzy à »uà Âawski. Since then he lived and worked mostly in France, making art films.
Being described as a maverick who always defied mainstream commercialism, à »uà Âawski enjoyed success mostly with the European art-house audiences. His wild, imaginative, and controversial pictures have received awards at various international film festivals. He also wrote the novels Il était Un Verger, Lity Bór (a.k.a. La Forêt Forteresse), W Oczach Tygrysa, and Ogród Mià Âoà Âci.
In 2006 he was the Head of the Jury at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival.
à »uà Âawski worked many times with composer Andrzej Korzyà Âski, beginning in The Third Part of the Night (1971). Their last collaboration was for Cosmos (2015), which was also à »uà Âawski's last film.
On 17 February 2016, à »uà Âawski died at a hospital in Warsaw from cancer.
à »uà Âawski's first wife was Barbara Baranowska, a member of the Polish School of Posters. She created the French poster for à »uà Âawski's Possession. Her first husband, Adolf Rudnicki, inspired the character Abe in the film.
à »uà Âawski had three sons from different relationships. One of à »uà Âawski's ex-wives was Maà Âgorzata Braunek, who was a Polish film and stage actress. Their son, Xawery, is also a film director.
His relationship with painter Hanna Wolska resulted in the birth of his son Ignacy.
He was in a relationship with French actress Sophie Marceau for sixteen years, with whom he made four films over a 15-year period (L'Amour braque, My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days, La Note bleue, Fidelity). They had a son named Vincent together. They broke up in 2001.
From 2007 to 2008, à »uà Âawski dated Weronika Rosati, daughter of Polish politician Dariusz Rosati. In 2010, à »uà Âawski released a book titled Nocnik, which included a character allegedly based on Rosati named Esther. Rosati sued à »uà Âawski and the book's publisher for violating her right to privacy and dignity as a woman as the book included intimate details about her. à »uà Âawski lost the case in 2015.