Krakow Film Festival announced that Finnish documentary filmmaker Jarmo Jääskeläinen died on 2 January 2022. He was 84 years old. He was to receive the most valuable statuette Dragon of Dragons of the Krakow Film Festival in May for his contribution to global documentary cinema.

The award ceremony, the winner’s master class, and a retrospective of his work were to take place during the next edition of the Krakow Film Festival.

“We are shocked to learn of the death of our laureate, who confirmed his trip to Krakow two weeks ago. He was very much looking forward to visiting Poland and meeting his friends, as well as young viewers who have not yet had the opportunity to see his films,” says festival director Krzysztof Gierat.

Jääskeläinen began his studies at the Łódź Film School in 1965, then stayed in Poland for many years, documenting the turbulent events of the 1970s and the 1980s thoroughly and without any censorship. His films are a perfect testimony to the changes in the consciousness of Poles regaining their inner freedom and fighting for the right to live with dignity.

The Dragon of Dragons Award is the highest distinction awarded by the Programme Council of the Krakow Film Foundation, the organizer of the Krakow Film Festival, in recognition of the contribution to the development of world cinematography in the field of documentary and animated film.

The Krakow Film Festival will be held in Kraków cinemas from May 29 to June 5, and online throughout Poland on June 3–12 2022.