Krakowski was born in Poland and received his education at the Polish Film School in Lodz, where he studied theater and film directing. Before leaving Poland in 1968, he was also known as a promising poet, writer and a cartoonist.

After being sent to Hollywood on a six-month scholarship, he was stripped by the Polish authorities of his citizenship and declared a persona-non-grata in his native country. In Los Angeles he attended the American Film Institute, where among his classmates he counts: David Lynch, Terrence Malick and Paul Schrader.

Over the last three decades, Krakowski wrote, directed and/or produced over 50 feature films and TV movies for major studios and TV networks. Some of his more memorable projects are: TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT, with Willem Dafoe and Edward James Olmos, EMINENT DOMAIN, starring Donald Sutherland and Ann Archer, MANAGUA, with Louis Gossett Jr., Michael Moriarty and Assumpta Serna, TIDES OF WAR, with Ernest Borgnine and David Soul, and PORTRAIT OF A HITMAN, starring Jack Palance and Rod Steiger. His other notable feature productions include WHITE DRAGON, with Christopher Lloyd and Dee Wallace-Stone, a based on a popular series of comic books CAMPFIRE STORIES, and released in October 2010, LOOKING FOR PALLADIN. The latter - starring Ben Gazzara, (a CCNY alum), two-time Academy Awards nominee Talia Shire and David Moscow - won top prizes at the Sixth Queens International Film Festival, the Orlando Hispanic Film Festival and the Napa Valley International Film Festival.

Krakowski’s feature length documentaries THE POLITICS OF CANCER and FAREWELL TO MY COUNTRY were shown at many international film festivals such as Cannes, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Warsaw and many others, and sold theatrically all over the world. His latest production, a dramatic TV series commissioned by the Mayor’s Office of New York WE ARE NEW YORK received four Emmy nominations and won two.

Krakowski frequently works in theater. He was one of the producers of a Broadway rock opera KING DAVID and directed a musical FELIX THE CAT’S MUSICAL JOURNEY, which was a great success in Japan. He has recently written a play MAYER & CO.

In 2011 Krakowski wrote two books. The first, written in his native Polish and titled POLLYWOOD. JAK STWORZYLIŚMY HOLLYWOOD, depicts the beginnings of the motion picture industry in the US. It was published in Poland and quickly became a bestseller. The second, THE WORLD THROUGH THE EYE OF A SCREENWRITER is being used as required reading in many film schools around the world. 

Last Updated: 11/20/12