The FLISAK (Raftsman) Award of the President of Toruń goes to Julian Świeżewski!
FLISAK is the oldest honorary award given at the Tofifest IFF. Kujawy Pomorze Region. It is always presented by the President of Toruń, and this year this privilege is handed over to President Paweł Gulewski. This award is given to talented filmmakers connected to our region. This year, the award goes to Julian Świeżewski, a film and theatre actor born in Bydgoszcz.
Julian Świeżewski is considered to be one of the most talented Polish filmmakers of the young generation. In 2015, he graduated from the Acting Department of the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. When he was still studying, he was already performing on stage in plays directed by the most renowned Polish theatre directors, for example in ‘Wieczór kuglarzy / Sunset of a Clown’ by Waldemar Raźniak, and in ‘Zimowa opowieść / The Winter's Tale’ directed by Cezary Morawski. For his acting performances in ‘Szkice z Dostojewskiego’ directed by Maja Komorowska, and in ‘Ecce homo!!!’ directed by Krzysztof Majchrzak, Julian Świeżewski won the Grand Prix Award for an outstanding stage presence, at the 32nd edition of the Festiwal Szkół Teatralnych (Festival of Theatre Schools) in Łódź.
He debuted in a feature film in ‘Nowy świat / New World’ directed by Elżbieta Benkowska, in which he played Jan in the film chapter ‘Żanna’. He was nominated for the Zbigniew Cybulski Award for the role of Franek Gruda in the film ‘Zgoda / The Reconciliation’ by Maciej Sobieszczański (2017). His acting performance in the film ‘Zwykłe losy Zofii / Sophie's Ordinary Life’ directed by Dominika Gnatek (2018) brought him a nomination for the Jan Machulski Award in the Best Actor category. In 2020, Julian Świeżewski was awarded for the best supporting role in the film ‘Sweat’ by Magnus von Horn, at the Kozzi Film Festival in Zielona Góra. You can also see him in such films as: ‘Wołyń / Hatred’ by Wojtek Smarzowski (2016), ‘Po prostu przyjaźń / re-friending’ by Filip Zylber (2016), ‘Plan B’ by Kinga Dębska (2018), ‘Nina’ by Olga Chajdas (2018), ‘Ostatni Komers / Love Tasting’ by Dawid Nickel (2020), ‘25 lat niewinności / 25 Years of Innocence’ by Jan Holoubek (2020), ‘Prime Time’ by Jakub Piątek (2021), ‘Filip’ by Michał Kwieciński (2022), and in this year’s Biała odwaga / White Courage’ by Marcin Koszałka.
You can also admire his acting skills in theatre plays, such as ‘Good Night Cowboy’ directed by Kuba Kowalski (that performance brought him an acting award at the 15th jubilee edition of Festiwal Dramaturii Współczesnej ‘Rzeczywistość przedstawiona’ (Festival of Contemporary Dramaturgy), in ‘Księgi Jakubowe / The Books of Jacob’ directed by Ewelina Marciniak, in ‘Wściekłość / Rage’ directed by Maja Kleczewska, or in ‘Chłopi / The Peasants’ directed by Krzysztof Grabaczewski. In 2016, he joined the team of actors at the Zygmunt Hübner Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw. Julian Świeżewski is also no stranger to television productions. You can see him in such TV series as: ‘Czas honoru. Powstanie’ (2014), ‘Na noże’ (2016), ‘Belle epoque’ (2017), ‘1983’ (2018), ‘Rojst ’97 / The Mire ‘97’ (2021), ‘Infamia / Infamy’ (2023), or ‘Absolutni debiutanci / Absolute Beginners’ (2023).
