Józef Arkusz

Who was Józef Arkusz?

Józef Arkusz was a Polish film director and producer of over 70 educational films.

Józef Arkusz was born on March 18, 1921 in Peratyn, Poland. His family moved to Lviv in the early 1930s. During World War II he took part in the underground movement Armia Krajowa, for which he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Following the war he moved to the industrial city of Łódź, in central Poland, where he began studying biology.

He attended the University of Poznań, and received a degree in Biology. He furthered his education by attending and graduating from the Łódż Film School, renowned for other famous graduates such as Roman Polanski and Krzysztof Kieślowski.

He worked on minor films and projects until the 1960s when he began to be noticed by the international community. At this point his career took off and he made some of his most famous educational films. Working at the Educational Film Studio in Łódż, he created General Topic Films, and is credited as being one of the most influential Polish documentary film makers. He pioneered new methods of filming and documentary production, which are now used as standard practice around the world. His film topics included technical and biological specialties, and focused on new biological advances of the modern age.