Piotr Andrejew - Andrean - Polish writer, film director from the Solidarity movement generation; achieved in the years mid-seventies and mid-eighties of the 20^th century the European recognition for his short movies, marked by his personal, strongly visual style (awards Oherhausen Film Festival, West Germany 1975, 1979: other awards at short film festivals in Italy-St. Vincent 1977 Grand Prix and in Finland - Tampere 1980, Spain, Poland - several prizes 1973-1981). The most important titles of that time are: MRÓZ IS COMING (1973), THE TALK (1974), PAN POLNY (1975), OKNO (1979), CAPRICCIO DI AMSTERDAM (1983) SANCTUS (1991).

Andrejew has written and directed three feature movies. His debut in Poland CLINCH (Movie of the year 1980 - Prize of the 'Film' Weekly magazine) was one of the important 'moral concern' movies reflecting social revolt growing in then Communist Poland.

Also his second movie - TENDER SPOTS (selected to La Semaine de la Critique, Cannes Film Festival 1982, #3 at the box office in Poland in 1981 - the Solidarity year) set twenty years ahead in the future, predicts deep changes to come in Poland and Europe. Original in its black and white aesthetics TENDER SPOTS until today feels sensual and fashionable.

After his decision of moving to the Netherlands in 1982, Piotr Andrejew has directed television theater productions - TEMPTATION WHICH I HAVE IMPOSED UPON HER by Simon Vestdijk (1985) and PROTEST by Václav Havel, (1986). In the following years, he also directed several commercial productions in the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States.

In 1988, Andrejew directed his most interesting feature: SHADOW MAN an English spoken Dutch production shot with an international crew, starring Tom Hulce in the title part. SHADOW MAN is a story of the man in hiding. Closed in a secret, small space depends on other peoples help. Fighting for survival, the fugitive creates numerous dramatic situations around. SHADOW MAN features remarkable performance of Tom Hulce (known for his Mozart in Miloš Forman's AMADEUS) as the Polish-Jewish refugee in transit, who like Anne Frank hides in one of Amsterdam old house's attic and depends on his neighbors for help. Shadow Man survives the war and years later writes the letter from America to the Netherlands.

Made years before the drama of the Yugoslav wars, SHADOW MAN predicts in an accurate and evocative way a possibility of yet another war in Europe, genocidal in its character. This prediction at the time of the SHADOW MAN release seemed so unrealistic, that the film has drawn strong reactions of the critics, especially in the Netherlands, where the war means the only modern war the Dutch know from their own experience - World War II. SHADOW MAN obviously did not match this historical past.

Seen today SHADOW MAN seems like the response to the events of the Yugoslav wars, happening next to the ordinary life in the rest of Europe. Andrejew in SHADOW MAN correctly predicted possibility of the genocide happening again. Andrejew's movie taking place in Amsterdam antagonized Dutch public and until today, its distribution has been effectively blocked, with its release on DVD several times postponed and now is planned almost a hundred years from now, in 2099.

In the last decade, Andrejew started to teach directing and screenwriting. He has also written several professional books about film as the first MOTION PICTURES DICTIONARY POLISH - ENGLISH and ENGLISH - POLISH and a book about film directing with the Polish master director Jerzy Kawalerowicz PROFESSION: DIRECTOR (also in English). Andrejew writes under the pen name Andrean.

In 2012, Andrejew published as Piotr Andrean his first novel MAGIC HOUR (MAGICZNA GODZINA), published by Art One in Warsaw, in Polish - an autobiographical account of the young man adventures in Communist Poland and Western Europe of the 1970-ties.

Piotr Andrejew at Baza Danych Polskiego Filmu - Polish Movie database, in Polish Piotr Andrejew at Movie Database; IMDB- US Polish Post-War Feature Film 1945-1995 CZUŁE MIEJSCA at Cannes Film Festiwal - 1982 by Bernard Tremege - in French Awards for Piotr Andrejew