Since the start of his film career at George Lucas’ famed Skywalker Ranch, Peter Szewczyk has had a front row seat to the crafting of Hollywood blockbusters by the modern masters of cinema. While sitting through what Szewczyk calls “a decade of dailies” with the likes of James Cameron and George Lucas, he studied each director’s approach to storytelling. Szewczyk contributed as an artist, animator, and designer to the legendary franchises of Harry Potter, Shrek, Star Wars and Ice Age, but it was not until his time on James Cameron’s Avatar that Szewczyk felt he was ready to leave the trenches of digital production, for the challenges of directing.<br /><br />As a first generation Pole, raised in Chicago, he balances the DIY spirit of American filmmaking, with the intellect and restraint more characteristic of European cinema. He currently lives in Los Angeles, where he is managing director of Light + Mathematics, a film and animation production company.