Jarosław "Jarek" Kupść (born December 26, 1966) is a Polish-American film director and screen writer.

Early life and education edit

He started shooting films at the age of sixteen in his native Poland. In 1985, he left Poland for Greece, where he studied Byzantine icon painting and worked as a freelance cartoonist.[1] He emigrated to the United States in 1987 and became a naturalized citizen in 1992. He graduated from San Francisco State University in 1995 with a degree in writing/directing, while carrying on a career as a graphic artist. In 1998, Kupść wrote and illustrated a film history book, The History of Cinema for Beginners.

Film career edit

Kupść made his directorial debut with Recoil which was awarded Best Feature Film at Woodstock Film Festival in 2001.[2] He followed with a road movie in 2006 titled Slumberland which won the Special Jury Prize at the Gdynia Film Festival[3]

His 2008 feature, The Reflecting Pool, was one of the first narrative films dealing with the investigation of the September 11th attacks,[4][5][6]

After returning to Poland in 2010, he wrote and directed Kliny (Wedges) and began his association with the Warsaw Film School in Warsaw, Poland.[7] His last film to date is the award-winning Quintuplets,[8] shot on a mobile phone.

Jarek Kupść' film and art essays have been published by Little White Lies[9] and other magazines.

Selected filmography edit

Year Title Role Awards
2019 Quintuplets Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Cinematographer (as Yaro Ghillis) Best Feature Film – SmartFone3 Film Festival,[8] Best Mobile Film, Best Actor – L'Âge d'or International Arthouse FF, Best Mobile Film, Best Director – Tagore International FF
2015 Kliny Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Cinematographer
2008 The Reflecting Pool Director, Screenwriter Columbine Award, Moondance Film Festival; Special Jury Prize, Polish Film Festival in America (Chicago)
2006 Slumberland Director, Screenwriter, Producer Special Jury Prize, Gdynia Film Festival; Young Screenwriter, YFF[10]
2001 Recoil Director, Screenwriter, Producer Best Feature Film, Woodstock Film Festival;[11] Best First Feature, Wine Country Film Festival; Best First Feature, Dahlonega Film Festival
1995 Dog Director, Screenwriter, Cinematographer Rosebud Award for Best Student Film, CSA Film Festival[12]

References edit

  1. ^ The Boulder Weekly, Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2008
  2. ^ "Woodstock Honors Recoil & Wendigo". filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  3. ^ AXE. "Winners". festiwalgdynia.pl. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Trade Secrets". The New York Times. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  5. ^ "The Reflecting Pool". hollywoodreporter.com. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  6. ^ Hollywood's Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema Daniel Bernardi, pg 152
  7. ^ https://warsawfilmschool.com/en/wsf/C_WSFO.WSF.4/FACULTY
  8. ^ a b "Quintuplets | [FEATURE] Quintuplets | SF3 - SmartFone Flick Fest 2020".
  9. ^ "How the French Connection reinvented the Hollywood cop movie".
  10. ^ "YFF – nagrody rozdane". dlastudenta.pl. 10 December 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  11. ^ "2001 Award Winners". woodstockfilmfestival.com. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Winners Archive". calstate.edu. Retrieved 21 August 2017.

External links edit