Robert Tutak
Robert Tutak, (born 26 December 1954) is a Polish-American film director and screenwriter, most known for Pragnienie (1983), Twarz (1983), Nobody's Perfect (2002) and Dubai: A city of Dreams(2010). He is also the founder and president of Manhattan Film Academy and Tutak Films. He is currently a Professor of Film at City University of New York, Brooklyn College.
Early life
Tutak was born in Lublin, Poland. He is the son of Janina and Czesław Tutak. "Czesław" was an engineer and the CEO of Fabryka Maszyn Rolniczych LECHIA (Agricultural Equipment and Protective TT manufacturer) in Lublin, Poland. While attending high school, II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Hetmana Jana Zamoyskiego in Lublin, Poland, Tutak wanted to be an actor. During the last year of high school, he joined the student theater group Teater Gong 2, (1973) and won an acting award during VIII Lubelskiej Wiosny Teatralnej, Lublin (the 8th Theater Spring) for his role in Życie jawą which was written by Ernest Bryll and directed by Andrzej Rozhin. In 1974-1977 he attended the University of Wroclaw, Poland, where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Cultural Sciences under Prof. Stanislaw Pietraszko at the Instytut Kulturoznawstwa, then an Interdepartmental School of Contemporary Culture, and received his Master of Arts degree in 1977. His thesis titled: Antonin Artaud: Teatr a rytuał (Antonin Artaud: Theater vs. Ritual), was published in the 9/1978 issue of DIALOG and then translated to German and published as a book: Gegenüberstellung: Theater und Ritual.
He worked as a literary consultant at Teatr im. Stefana Jaracza in Olsztyn, Poland (1977–78) [2], and Teatr im. Juliusza Osterwy in Lublin, Poland (1978–79), and a literary director at Bałtycki Teatr Dramatyczny im. Juliusza Słowackiego in Koszalin, Poland. 1980-1985, he studied Directing for Film and Television alongside Dorota Kędzierzawska at the National Film School in Łódź, Poland under Wojciech Jerzy Has, Janusz Morgenstern, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Kazimierz Karabasz, Janusz Majewski, Filip Bajon. and Maria Kornatowska. As the first year student at the National Film School in Łódź, Tutak was expelled from the School for a lack of film directing skills, readmitted the following year, and highly praised for his outstanding film directing skills for his short film "Pragnienie" (Thirst). Faculty members Wojciech Jerzy Has and Maria Kornatowska came strongly to his defense.
Tutak received his Master of Fine Arts degree in 1991 for his made-for-television film Mecz, starring Joanna Szczepkowska, produced in 1988 by Centralna Wytwórnia Programów i Filmów Telewizyjnych (POLTEL) and aired numerous times on TVP1, Channel 1 of public television in Poland. For her role in Mecz, Szczepkowska received an award at festival Młode Kino Polskie in Gdańsk, Poland, in1989.
In 1988 Tutak was granted the Fulbright Scholarship in Film to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. He left for the United States the very day he finished the production of Mecz. Tutak received his US Citizenship as the “one of those who have risen to the top of the field of endeavor” and “has sustained […] international acclaim and his achievements have been recognized in the field of expertise.” Presently, he resides in New York City, USA.
Career
Tutak's work has been exhibited internationally in Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and United Kingdom, among other countries, as well as in United Sates, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
He started making short films while studying National Film School in Łódź, Poland. His first work was Pragnienie(Thirst), 1983, a short film about thirst for life and love. In 1988, he made Mecz -a telefilm about mother-son relationship struggles. While being a Professor of Film at City University of New York, Tutak made Nobody's Perfect,2002 - a film about five gay guys and a fag hag looking for the right person in all the wrong places. He also made Dubai: A City of Dreams, -a featured documentary on labor exploitation and human rights abuses in Dubai, UAE.
Currently, Tutak is a Professor of Film at City University of New York and runs Film Programs for Manhattan Film Academy in UAE, Asia and USA
Filmography
- Pragniene (1983) -short film
- Twarz (1983) -short documentary
- Mecz (1988) -telefilm
- Nobody's Perfect (2002) -feature film
- Dubai: A City of Dreams (2010) -documentary film
- Kosciuszko and the American Revolution (2011) -feature documentary teaser