Wojciech Smarzowski Awarded the Kazimierz Kutz Prize 2026
Director of “The Good House”, co-financed by the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund, has become the sixth recipient of the prestigious Kazimierz Kutz Award. “For making us look, even when we would rather turn our eyes away.”
The distinction was presented on 16 February, the anniversary of Kazimierz Kutz’s birth, at the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre in Katowice. Since 2021, the award has honoured artists who – like its patron – combine courage and uncompromising integrity with profound social sensitivity.
The sixth laureate of the Kazimierz Kutz Award is director and screenwriter Wojciech Smarzowski.
“The award today goes to a man who is not afraid to touch wounds – and to reopen them. Who has proven that cinema can serve as the conscience of a community. Who demonstrates through his work that being an artist is not a profession – it is a responsibility. For his uncompromising stance. For his courage in breaking taboos. For the consistency with which he has built his own cinematic language. For not allowing us to sleep peacefully. For making us look, even when we would rather turn our eyes away,” said Robert Talarczyk, Chair of the Kazimierz Kutz Award Chapter and Director of the Silesian Theatre.
Smarzowski is a graduate of the Cinematography Department of the Łódź Film School. He made his directorial debut in 1998 with “Małżowina”, and gained wide recognition with “The Wedding” (2004). His extensive body of work includes such acclaimed and award-winning productions as “The Dark House”, “Rose”, “Traffic Department”, “The Mighty Angel”, “Volhynia”, “Clergy” and “The Wedding 2”. His latest film, “The Good House”, co-financed by the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund, was the most-watched Polish title last year. This powerful portrayal of domestic violence drew more than 2.4 million viewers to cinemas. In October, on the stage of Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Smarzowski received the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region’s Pola Negri Film Award.
This year’s nominees for the Kazimierz Kutz Award also included: actress and writer Monika Braun; poet and co-founder of the “Borderland of Arts, Cultures and Nations” centre Krzysztof Czyżewski; historian of Upper Silesia Ryszard Kaczmarek; and the scenography duo Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński.
Kazimierz Kutz was a director, screenwriter, columnist, writer, as well as a politician and social activist. He made over 20 feature films, including six devoted to Upper Silesia. He is the creator of the celebrated Silesian trilogy: “Salt of the Black Earth” (1969), “Pearl in the Crown” (1971), and “Beads of One Rosary” (1979).
Kazimierz Kutz Award
The award is a joint initiative of the City of Katowice, the University of Silesia, and the Silesian Theatre. Established in 2020, it was first presented on 16 February 2021. Each year, it is awarded on that date – the anniversary of Kazimierz Kutz’s birth. The laureate receives PLN 50,000 and a bronze statuette designed by the distinguished Silesian artist Erwin Sówka.
Previous recipients: Anna Dymna (2021), Szczepan Twardoch (2022), Maja Kleczewska (2023), Agnieszka Holland (2024), Adam Michnik (2025).
Department of Promotion
17 February 2026