DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY - Yan Tomaszewski

Yan Tomaszewski is a Franco-Polish filmmaker and visual artist whose practice moves between film, sculpture, installation, performance, and research-based art. Born in 1984 in France, he studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains, and the Royal College of Art. His work brings together scientific, historical, archaeological, ecological, and vernacular forms of knowledge, transforming research into visually and conceptually rich cinematic and artistic works. Tomaszewski’s projects often investigate the relationship between human beings, their environments, and the systems that shape collective life. His practice combines documentary research with formal experimentation, incorporating sculpture, CGI animation, choreography, performance, and constructed imagery. Rather than separating art and cinema, he develops projects that can exist simultaneously as films, installations, and exhibition works. His work has been presented internationally at institutions and contemporary art spaces including Centre Pompidou in Paris, MAC VAL in Vitry-sur-Seine, Middelheim Museum in Antwerp, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles, and the Archaeological Museum in Kraków. His films have also been screened at major international festivals and art-film platforms, including IDFA Amsterdam, FID Marseille, FIFA Montréal, Queer Lisboa, Kasseler Dokfest, and Doclisboa. Tomaszewski’s longstanding Germs project originated from his research into the history and archaeology of Nowa Huta, the post-war industrial city built near Kraków. Drawing connections between prehistoric archaeological artefacts and the architecture and social engineering of the socialist city, the project examines how different historical layers can become embedded within one another. The 2026 film Germs develops this research into a cinematic work, blending prehistoric forms, industrial modernity, ritual, choreography, and speculative imagery into an exploration of the hidden forces shaping a city and its inhabitants. In 2024, Tomaszewski was awarded the COAL Prize for his project Sequana, further recognising his research-driven artistic practice and his engagement with ecological and social questions. He currently continues to develop projects at the intersection of cinema, contemporary art, ecology, and cultural research.