Directing

Henryk Ryszka

Born June 7, 1939 · Pinsk, Poleskie, Poland [now Pinsk, Belarus]

Died August 29, 2014 · aged 75

Henryk Ryszka, a Lodz Film School cinematography graduate, worked on many animation films as cameraman and director and was the winner of numerous prizes at festivals, among others, in Krakow, Auckland, Bilbao, Tehran and New York. In 1967, he started working as a lecturer at the Lodz Film School. He educated many generations of animators and for many years was the head of the Animation Faculty. …

Known For

Exclamation Mark

Exclamation Mark · 1968

Exclamation Mark

An animation with a philosophical undertone. The absurdity of human effort, whose final result does not match the actions taken.

Corrosion

Corrosion · 1970

With beads of hail resembling the shape of the mold grown brains.

The Flag

The Flag · 1965

A sly critique of the communist regime in Poland, one of the carefree participants disrupts a patriotic march by retrieving a collection of unnecessary "bourgeois" items from inside his head. It introduces the disunity in their ranks as everyone starts playing with objects brought by him.

Drought

Drought · 1969

Tiny human figures building bridges using wooden logs - and then the whole operation is put into context.

Roundabout

Roundabout · 1966

A lonely, middle-aged man enjoys the “Życie Warszawy” newspaper with a cup of coffee. His thoughts fly out of the room, move over the tenement house like a balloon. The world is full of grey, middle-aged men like him.

Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura · 1969

The animation takes us into the room of a lonely man, whose reality is filled by books, pictures and various bibelots. His time is measured by sunrise and sunset, and the only escape are dreams about heroic adventures. The problem is, that's where it ends. The protagonist can only dream, yet his life doesn't change at all.

The Stairs

The Stairs · 1969

MovieAnimationFantasy

A figure wanders through a world of endless stairs, seeking purpose to his monotonous existence.

Cabaret

Cabaret · 1964

A cruel human cabaret begins with a pushpin that pierces someone's tires, a hole in the fence through which a voyeur controls others, and a cannonball that leads to the end of the world.

Filmography

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Exclamation Mark

Exclamation Mark · 1968

Exclamation Mark

An animation with a philosophical undertone. The absurdity of human effort, whose final result does not match the actions taken.

Cinematography

Corrosion

Corrosion · 1970

With beads of hail resembling the shape of the mold grown brains.

Director

The Flag

The Flag · 1965

A sly critique of the communist regime in Poland, one of the carefree participants disrupts a patriotic march by retrieving a collection of unnecessary "bourgeois" items from inside his head. It introduces the disunity in their ranks as everyone starts playing with objects brought by him.

Cinematography

Drought

Drought · 1969

Tiny human figures building bridges using wooden logs - and then the whole operation is put into context.

Director

Roundabout

Roundabout · 1966

A lonely, middle-aged man enjoys the “Życie Warszawy” newspaper with a cup of coffee. His thoughts fly out of the room, move over the tenement house like a balloon. The world is full of grey, middle-aged men like him.

Director of Photography

Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura · 1969

The animation takes us into the room of a lonely man, whose reality is filled by books, pictures and various bibelots. His time is measured by sunrise and sunset, and the only escape are dreams about heroic adventures. The problem is, that's where it ends. The protagonist can only dream, yet his life doesn't change at all.

Director

The Stairs

The Stairs · 1969

MovieAnimationFantasy

A figure wanders through a world of endless stairs, seeking purpose to his monotonous existence.

Cinematography

Cabaret

Cabaret · 1964

A cruel human cabaret begins with a pushpin that pierces someone's tires, a hole in the fence through which a voyeur controls others, and a cannonball that leads to the end of the world.

Assistant Director

Re - The God of Sun

Re - The God of Sun · 1970

Re - The God of Sun

A swarm of slaves in ancient Egypt moves massive boulders to erect a statue of Re, the god of the sun. Erecting impressive structures required knowledge and exact measurements. However, the statue's massive hand falls down and crushes the builders. The statue has been awe-inspiring for many centuries. Meditations on the religious nature of man.

Animation

A Plane from Budapest

A Plane from Budapest · 1961

A Plane from Budapest

MovieDramaDocumentary

Here we see short scenes from a random day at the airport. We have flying planes, landings, passport checking scenes, passengers waiting for their relatives. This documentary shows the ordinary but unique behaviors and reactions of the passengers and the airport maintenance staff.

Director

Steering My Own Destiny

Steering My Own Destiny · 1971

Steering My Own Destiny

A contemporary man in the eye of the cyclone created by information. He finds no support for his hands and feet. It’s like in a poem by Tadeusz Rozewicz (‘falling in every direction’), he turns to dust when his time finally comes.

Screenplay

Walls Have Ears

Walls Have Ears · 2008

Walls Have Ears

Satire branding unhealthy interest in the lives of others and gossip.

Scenic Artist