Year of Kujawsko-Pomorskie people of cinema Leonard Pietraszak on the Big Screen at the Rother’s Mills
The Rother’s Mills invite audiences to an evening dedicated to the distinguished Bydgoszcz-born actor on 30 July (Thursday). Leonard Pietraszak was posthumously awarded the Film Award of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.
The free event will begin at 6 p.m. with a lecture by Professor Mariusz Guzek of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, devoted to Pietraszak’s life and most important acting roles. The speaker will discuss the actor’s links with Bydgoszcz and his rich artistic legacy.
The lecture will be followed by a screening of Juliusz Machulski’s comedy “Vabank II, czyli riposta” (“Vabank II: The Riposte”), a sequel to the cult classic “Vabank”. In both films, Pietraszak demonstrated his remarkable acting talent in the role of the shady banker Gustaw Kramer.
“The combination of the lecture and the film screening will provide an opportunity to remember together one of Bydgoszcz’s most distinguished citizens and to encounter a classic of Polish cinema in the open-air setting of the terrace at the Rother’s Mills,” the organisers encourage.
It should be recalled that the regional assembly designated 2026 as the Year of Film Personalities from Kujawy and Pomorze, while Bydgoszcz city councillors proclaimed it the Year of Leonard Pietraszak. In doing so, they sought to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the birth of the distinguished actor, who emphasised his ties with his home city throughout his life.
A range of events dedicated to the artist are being held in Bydgoszcz. Until the end of February 2027, visitors to the District Museum can see the exhibition “Leonard Pietraszak. A Master of Many Roles”, featuring photographs connected with his most important performances. More than 100 photographs come from the collections of institutions including the National Film Archive, the National Digital Archives and the Documentary and Feature Film Studios.
Leonard Pietraszak was born on 6 November 1936 in Bydgoszcz. He spent his childhood and youth in his home city, living on Gdańska and Grunwaldzka streets. He also had a brief connection with Toruń: he was admitted to study chemistry at Nicolaus Copernicus University, but soon decided that acting was the right path for him. In 1960, he graduated from the Acting Department of the State Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź.
He made his film debut in 1957 in Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s “Prawdziwy koniec wielkiej wojny” (“The Real End of the Great War”). Initially, he played minor roles, including in the cult television series “Stawka większa niż życie” (“More Than Life at Stake”), although he had been considered for the leading role of Hans Kloss, which ultimately went to Stanisław Mikulski.
His professional breakthrough came in the 1970s. He gained immense popularity for his distinctive portrayal of Colonel Krzysztof Dowgird, a rebellious dragoon officer who abandons the service of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, in Andrzej Konic’s television series “Czarne chmury” (“Black Clouds”, 1973).
Another success was his role as Dr Karol Stelmach, a friend of engineer Karwowski, in Jerzy Gruza’s television series “Czterdziestolatek” (“The Forty-Year-Old”, 1974). He also played Colonel Wacław Wareda in “Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy” (“The Career of Nikodem Dyzma”), directed by Jan Rybkowski and Marek Nowicki (1980). He gave outstanding performances in Juliusz Machulski’s comedies “Vabank” (1981) and “Vabank II, czyli riposta” (1984).
In 2018, he was granted the title of Honorary Citizen of Bydgoszcz. He collected paintings by Jan Stanisławski and his students, which he and his wife Wanda donated to the District Museum in Bydgoszcz in 2021. He died in 2023 and is buried at the Starofarny Cemetery in Bydgoszcz.
In 2024, he was posthumously awarded the Pola Negri Film Award of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.
Other recipients of the Marshal’s Film Award
Dariusz Czołgowski
Promotion Department
28 July 2026