Iwona Petry

Iwona Petry was plucked from the proverbial obscurity by the acclaimed director Andrzej Zulawski and cast as the main character in Szamanka (1996). Legend has it that Zulawski spotted the 20-year-old beauty in a coffee shop downtown Warsaw, and offered her the part on the spot. The film was a critical and commercial failure in Poland, but well received abroad, especially in Italy, where it became an artistic event at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. But it wasn't the gory, nearly pornographic contents of the movie that created a scandal with Petry at the centre. The scandal erupted during filming, with allegations of the director's psychological and perhaps even physical abuse of the young actress. Rumours swirled about his alleged use of pressure or force of unspecified nature to make Petry perform in certain scenes. He was also accused of destroying some of her personal belongings. Zulawski denied all allegations, while Petry chose not to comment. After "Szamanka" failed with critics and audiences, Petry left the country for several years. Again rumours placed her in various places, as having a nervous breakdown, or taking a trip to India to cleanse herself spiritually after her horrible experience in the set, or even disappearing completely off the face of the earth. By her own admission recently, Petry travelled the world extensively, taking various jobs in Paris, New York, London, such as modelling, baby-sitting, waitressing, and also taking creative writing, language, or acting classes. In 1999 she returned to Poland and enrolled in English program at university, later switching to Art History in 2001. In 2004 she published her first book, a collection of short stories. She hopes to continue her writing, and does not rule out a return to acting.