PRODUCTION TEAM

MARIUSZ KOTOWSKI

Producer/Director

Film director / producer Mariusz Kotowski, (pronounced “Ma-roosh Kot-ov-ski”), has devoted his life to a career in the arts.  It is a career that has allowed the artist to leave his childhood home in Poland, train and work throughout Europe, and continue his creative growth in the United States.

Mariusz was born in Olsztyn, Poland on the same date as his idol: legendary Hollywood director Billy Wilder (himself a native of the Polish region).  It’s a similarity not lost on Mariusz who dreamed of one day emulating Wilder and working in film.  Growing up, he was greatly affected and influenced by works of the great Polish directors (Andre Wajda, Krzysztof Kieslowski, and Roman Polanski); yet, he also found the same love in legendary Hollywood movies (such as the larger-than-life classics of Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles).  But with no film training available in the small town of Olsztyn, Mariusz was forced to search for other areas of expression.  After school in Poland, he chose to use the region’s greatest artistic resource, dance, as his creative outlet.  Choreography and dance, he decided, would be his ticket to the world.

The next phase of his life led him to London, where he attended the prestigious Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD).  It was here that he became the first Polish citizen ever to receive the rare Triple Fellowship in dance from the ISTD.  After attaining this unique accomplishment, Mariusz choreographed, performed, and competed in dance throughout Europe. He had truly found an artistic voice.  The experience helped him become more cultured, more creative, and yet more certain on what he ultimately wanted: to become a film director.

New York, his next move, would be the city where Mariusz would meet and marry his wife, a relationship that still thrives today.  Also, under the tutelage of several, well-known instructors, his days were spent training and choreographing for film and Broadway.  Long nights were spent at New York University, where Mariusz immersed himself in the study of film direction.  His approach to film became the same as his approach to dance: discipline, intensity, and passion.

His first film project, a documentary, would combine his love of classic cinema and appreciation for his homeland.  Pola Negri: Life Is a Dream in Cinema premiered to two overflow screenings at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City and went on to win several independent film awards.  It presents the life and work of legendary Polish actress Pola Negri, once the most famous silent film star in the world.  It also features commentaries from Academy Award-winner Hayley Mills and veteran actor Eli Wallach.

Esther’s Diary explores the internal conflicts that haunt survivors and descendants (both Jewish and Christian) of the Polish holocaust.   Under the interim name, “Forgiveness,” it premiered at the Polish Film Festival of Los Angeles in April 2008 to appreciative crowds and reviews and has since screened at several independent film festivals.  Close full biography.