Katarzyna A. Smiechowicz (also known as Kasia A. Leconte) is a Polish actress from Lodz, residing in Los Angeles since 2000, where she studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and at the Margie Haber Studio. Throughout her career, she has appeared in over 30 feature films and television series having worked with such directors as Steven Spielberg, Krzysztof Krauze, Jacek Bromski, Tomasz Konecki,
Andrzej Saramonowicz, and Olaf Lubaszenko. Already from a young age, her passion for ballet and poetry turned to acting when a respected Polish actor, Wirgiliusz Gryn, discovered her acting talent and convinced her to pursue acting as a profession. Beyond film and television, she has portrayed many great parts on stage, including Katharina in Shakespeare's…
Michal Pietrzyk was born in Poland, and emigrated with his family to the US at age two after his father was interned as a member of the anti-communist movement Solidarity. He has worked as a producer and editor on over 130 hours of unscripted network television for National Geographic, Discovery, Travel Channel, as well as documentary and branded content for clients such as Alaska Airlines.
Passing the Torch is not his first movie project about Polish community. He shot all the interviews to the 2010 documentary A Trip To Nowhere by Shannon Hart-Reed, depicting fate of the local Polish survivors of the WWII Soviet Siberian camps.
Michal currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Seattle Polish Festival.…
Marianna Zydek is a Polish actress, born in 1993 in Gdansk. She graduated from the Polish National
Film School in Lodz with degree in Acting.
She received Audience Award at the 35th Theater Schools Festival in Łódź in 2017 and Acting Award
for her roles in plays „Diabeł, który…” and „Beczka prochu”.
Freelance photographer, author of many portraits and sometimes film stills. From time to time also a second assistant director. Zuzanna graduated from Warsaw University with a diplomas in Cultural Studies as well as American Studies. She has also completed one-year program at Akademia Fotografii, in Warsaw Poland. She often photographs authors for polish publishing houses, her portraits were published by numerous polish magazines such as Elle Polska, Uroda Życia, PANI, Harper’s Bazaar Polska.
She worked as a second assistant director on the set of the movie “Zabawa, Zabawa”. I am a freelance photographer, author of many portraits and sometimes film stills.
Wojciech Klimala is a film director, he graduated from the DOK PRO program at WAJDA Film School in 2015. He earned his degree in Directing from The Czech Film Academy Filmová Akademie Miroslava Ondříčka v Písku in 2011. He is finishing his Directing Studies (MA) at Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School at the University of Silesia. A member of the Polish Filmmaker Association since 2012. While studying he shot numerous short films and short documentaries that were screened during student film festivals. In 2014 he directed a short film "Entropy" that was awarded worldwide. For the last two years he has been associated with Warner Music Poland, where he works on music and promotional videos. Scholar of the Ministry of Culture…
Born and raised in Poland, Michał obtained his Master of Fine Arts, specializing in Cinematography from the Lodz Film School.
Since graduating in 2017, Michal has shot 5 features, including DOLCE FINE GIORNATA by Jacek Borcuch which premiered at Sundance 2019 and SUPERNOVA by Bartosz Kruhlik which was awarded as the best debut feature at the 2019 Gdynia Film Festival.
Michal works in multiple genres (commercials, promos, narrative, documentary) and adapts his style to whatever look the script calls for.
Moreover, Michal co-created the video installation of the well-known Polish artist Agnieszka Polska “The Demon’s Brain” which was exhibited at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. He also works as a Light Designer and Video Artist…
Maria Dębska is a stage, movie and television actress and pianist, born in Warsaw in 1991.
She graduated from Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz and is an alumni of Academy of Music in Lodz (piano studies).
For her title role in " Maria Stuart " directed by Grzegorz Wiśniewski, she was awarded the Grand Prix for her outstanding stage personality, Audience Award at the 34th Theater Schools Festival in Łódź, Acting Award at the International Theater Schools Festival in Brno, and the "Golden Mask" in Łódź
for acting debut in the 2015/2016 season.
She made her professional stage debut at the Studio Theater in Warsaw in the spectacle „Ripley Underground” by Radosław…