In March 2025, the Board of the Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club awarded Mr. Kazimierz Braun its most recently established Golden Award for lifetime achievement in theater and film. The award, presented for the second time in the Club's history, was awarded to Prof. Braun as a playwright and director. It consists of a statuette and an honorary diploma. The award presentation took place via Zoom, the Award itself and the Diploma were sent by mail, and the interview with the winner featured actors Agata Pilitowska from the Polish Theatre in Toronto and Marek Probosz from Los Angeles. The conversation was moderated by Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, President of the Modjeska Art & Culture Club.
Nominated by President Maja Trochimczyk, Professor Braun was awarded the Golden Award for his outstanding theater work, including plays about Helena Modrzejewska (Modjeska, the patron of the Club). The award was established in 2024, when it was jointly received by Jacek Bromski and Jerzy Antczak - nominated by the Golden Award's initiator, Vice President of the Modjeska Club, Katarzyna Smiechowicz. Kazimierz Braun is a director, writer, and theater scholar. He has run and directed theaters in Poland, as well as in America, Ireland, Canada, Germany, and other countries. He has taught at universities in Poland and the USA. He has published numerous books on the history and theory of theater. His writing also includes novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. His plays have been performed in Poland, Ireland, Canada, and the USA. He has won numerous awards, including the Literary Award of the Association of Polish Writers Abroad in London.
The presentation was given by Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, president of the Modrzejewska Club, with the participation of two actors who performed in Braun's plays. The two have produced numerous plays in Los Angeles, including plays about Helena Modrzejewska, Tamara Lempicka, Ordonka, and Pola Negri, performed by the Polish Theatre in Toronto. Probosz portrayed Cyprian Kamil Norwid. The ceremony included the presentation of the four-volume Collected Dramas in Polish and English, published by Moonrise Press (published by M. Trochimczyk). Prof. Braun in a Zoom interview, May 2025.
The President stated: "It is a great honor for our Helena Modjeska Club that such an outstanding and distinguished writer, director, and patriot, Prof. Kazimierz Braun, has agreed to accept our modest, albeit "Golden" Award. Prof. Braun's plays are a true national treasure – they contain invaluable lessons in history and culture, instill pride in native traditions, spread knowledge about great Polish women and men, and teach respect for traditional moral virtues and character traits. He is a writer, poet, author of numerous scholarly treatises on the history of theater, and he teaches this history – passing on his erudition and wisdom to future generations."
Upon the initiative of its President, Dr. Maja Trochimczyk, in the autumn of 2010, the Modjeska Club first established the Helena Modjeska Prize for the Most Outstanding Polish Actor to honor its star actress - patron and recognize the talents of other eminent Polish actors. In October that year, this first Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Jan Nowicki. In 2011 the recipients were Anna Dymna in Krakow, and Marian Dziędziel in Los Angeles. In 2012, Barbara Krafftówna was the winner, and in 2013, the Prize was presened to director Ryszard Bugajski - as an exception. After a hiatus from 2014 to 2017, the 2018 Prize went to the legendary Jadwiga Barańska, and in 2019, it was presented to two émigré actresses from the Polish Theatre in Toronto (Maria Nowotarska and Agata Pilitowska).
In 2020, the award was presented virtually to Andrzej Seweryn, and in 2021, on the occasion of the Club's 50th anniversary, the awards were presented in person to Beata Poźniak and virtually to Jan Englert. In September 2022, Jan Englert came to accept the award and perform in "Polish Flowers" with his wife, actress Beata Ścibakówna. The 2022 winners were Katarzyna Smiechowicz and Marek Probosz, who live in California and have performed in both countries. The 2023 Modjeska Prize was presented in Poland in 2024, and Janusz Gajos was the winner. The 2024 Prize was awarded to Danuta Stenka and Piotr Adamczyk.
Since the Modjeska Prize is intended exclusively for actresses and actors, the Board decided to establish a second award recognizing the lifetime achievements of filmmakers and theater professionals—directors, screenwriters, novelists, cinematographers, composers, and others. The new Golden Awards for 2024 were shared by film directors Jacek Bromski and Jerzy Antczak. The award will not be presented annually, but rather occasionally.
Congratulations to the three winners!
No comments:
Post a Comment