Jan Purzycki passed away

We were sad to hear about the death of Jan Purzycki. The author of many well-known and liked Polish films – including “Big Shar” and “Soccer Poker” – died on August 20, 2019 at the age of 71.

Jan Purzycki was born on June 20, 1948 in Ostróda. In 1980 he graduated from the PWSFTviT in Łódź with a screenwriting diploma. However, he did not immediately begin to write scripts. He worked in many places and professions: in the design office and at the horse stud, as an electrician, but also as a university teacher. In the early 1990s, he lectured at the Directing Department of the University of Silesia in Katowice. He was also a literary director at the Film Studio Dom. He was the vice president of Radiokomitet, head of TVP, adviser to President Lech Wałęsa. He conducted the first, winning presidential campaign in Polish Television.

He made his debut in the film industry with the script for “Piotr S. Case” (1982) directed by Stanisław Jędryka. He also wrote screenplays for such films as the iconic “Big Shar” (1983), “Smugglers” (1985 – together with Włodzimierz Olszewski), “Soccer Poker” (1989 – together with Janusz Zaorski), “Players” (1995), “Aquariu,” (1996 – together with Wiktor Suworow and Antoni Krauze), “The Primate” (2000) and to the series” Złotopolscy” (1997-2010).

Photo: Kuźnia Fotografie / SFP