Wieslaw Saniewski, born 1948, graduated in mathematics at the Wroclaw University and went on to study screenwriting at the Lodz Film School. After writing several screenplays, he worked as an assistant for Andrzej Wajda. In 1971, he graduated with the short film Wielki Swiat (The Great World), based on Alberto Moravia's "Smells and a Bone".