The ceremony, set for Tuesday, is a mark of recognition of Braun’s artistic achievement, which included an Oscar in the Best Art Director category for Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, an honour she shared with Allan Starski in 1994.
Born in 1944 in Kraków, southern Poland, Braun dreamed of studying cinematography at the Łódź Film School, but eventually enrolled at the department of the history of art at the Warsaw University. While still a student, she started working for the Documentary Film Studios in Warsaw, debuting in 1970 as a costume designer for A Polish Album, a feature directed by Jan Rybkowski.
During her long career, she has worked with leading Polish directors, including Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi, Janusz Majewski, Agnieszka Holland, and Wojciech Jerzy Has. Her credits comprise more than 60 films for cinema and television.
Braun has also pursued a teaching career, lecturing at the Łódź Film School and the Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw. In 2014, she received a doctorate from the Warsaw Academy, and five years later gained the title of a Professor of the Arts.
Braun’s honours include the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Reborn Poland and the Gold Gloria Artis Medal of Cultural Merit, as well as the Platinum Lions for lifetime achievement which she received at last year’s Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
Łódź’s Avenue of Stars, inspired by the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honours more than 100 prominent Polish filmmakers: directors such as Krzysztof Kieślowski, Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski, Krzysztof Zanussi and Jerzy Skolimowski; actors including Tadeusz Łomnicki, Krystyna Janda, Janusz Gajos, Gustaw Holoubek and Zbigniew Cybulski; and composers Wojciech Kilar and Zbigniew Preisner.
(mk/jh)