The laureate of this year's second Lifetime Achievement Award of the Black Nights Film Festival is Polish film legend Krzysztof Zanussi.

The 83-year-old film and theater director received the award at the PÖFF opening ceremony, which took place on Friday.

Zanussi is a representative of the intellectual, philosophical direction of cinematography, dealing with individual freedom, death and God in his films. His heroes face moral dilemmas and must resist the temptation not to betray their ideals.

"An artist belongs to no one, but his art belongs to everyone" and "There is no recipe for life, except that the soul is not for sale," are two famous quotes attributed to Zanussi that sum up his credo as an artist.

He is the author of more than 40 films, his best-known works include The Year of the Calm Sun, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1984, The Constant, which received a special prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980, as well as The Crystal Structure (1969 ), Family Life (1970), Protective Colors (1977), Spiral (1978) and Imperative (1982).

Zanussi is also a co-founder of the European Film Academy and a long-time lecturer at one of the world's most renowned film schools in Łódź.

An interesting cultural-historical fact is that in his theatre play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which was performed in 1979 at the Old Theater in Kraków, Chief Bromden was played by Bruno O`Ya.

Zanussi's latest, fresh film "Perfect Number", which is about mathematics and God, as the author himself has said, will also be shown at PÖFF. Zanussi himself will also be present at tonight's screening.

In addition, you can meet him on Monday, November 14, at 10 a.m., when the talk [“Physics… Philosophy… Film.. – Krzysztof Zanussi's journey to the discovery of extraterrestrial tasks”](https://www.facebook.com/events/ 6261789593837133/?ref=newsfeed). The conversation is moderated by Lembit Peterson.

German actor Udo Kier was awarded PÖFF's first lifetime achievement award this year. The third lifetime achievement award, which traditionally goes to an Estonian filmmaker, will be announced at the closing ceremony of the festival.