"Everyone wants to change the world whenever they make the effort to do something. I don't think I ever believed the world could be changed in the literal sense of the phrase. I thought the world could be described." (Krzysztof Kieślowski, from an interview with Stanisław Zawiśliński)
Photograph: Włodzimierz Wasyluk
Krzysztof Kieślowski - director of documentary and feature films, screenwriter. Born in 1941 in Warsaw; died there in 1996.
In 1962 Krzysztof Kieslowski graduated from a technical theatre college and went on to work at the Teatr Współczesny (Contemporary Theatre) in Warsaw. There he was a dressing room attendant for such celebrities of the Polish stage as Tadeusz Lomnicki, Aleksander Bardini and Zbigniew Zapasiewicz. Later he studied at and graduated from the State Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź.
While in Łódź, Kieślowski shot his first documentary student films (
The Office, From The City Of Lodz) and a short feature (
The Tram). His professional debut was a television documentary
The Photograph, and after graduating from film school, until 1983 he was affiliated with the Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych (Documentary Film Studio) in Warsaw. In 1973 he made his first television feature film
The Underground Passage. In 1985 Kieślowski began to collaborate on screenplays with renowned Warsaw attorney Krzysztof Piesiewicz. Their first joint project was the film
No End.
A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love (1988), two films in the
DECALOGUE series, gained Kieślowski international recognition. In 1991 with
The Double Life Of Veronica Kieślowski began making his films as Polish-French co-productions, and from 1993 all his films were collaborative efforts with the renowned French producer Marin Karmitz. After completing the
Three Colors trilogy (1993-94), Kieślowski announced that he was quitting filmmaking. During the last months of his life, he worked with Piesiewicz on screenplays for a trilogy consisting of works titled
Paradise, Purgatory and
Hell. (two of those films have been produced so far:
Heaven directed by Tom Tykwer and
Hell directed by Danis Tanović)
During his lifetime, Krzysztof Kieslowski won numerous awards for his work, among them a Grand Prix at the International Film Festival in Mannheim for
Personnel (1975), a Gold Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival for
Camera Buff, the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival for
Three Colors: Blue and the Silver Bear at the International Film Festival in Berlin for
Three Colors: White. In 1990 the director became an honorary member of the British Film Institute for his "outstanding contributions to the culture of the moving image" and in 1993 he received the Order of Literature and Art of the Minister of Culture of France. In 1994 Kieślowski was awarded the Danish C.J. Soning Award for his contribution to the development of film art and European culture, and that same year he was nominated for an Academy Award for directing and writing of
Three Colors: Red. In 1995 he became a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Kieślowski received the European Media Award (Girona) in 1996 and was a winner of the Felix Award of the European Film Academy.
FILMOGRAPHY
Documentaries:
1966 The Office (Urząd)
1967 Concert of Requests (Koncert życzeń)- Documentary
1968 The Photograph (Zdjęcie)
1969 From the City of Lodz (Z miasta Łodzi)
1970 I Was A Soldier (Byłem żołnierzem)
1970 The Factory (Fabryka)
1971 Before the Rally (Przed rajdem)
1972 Refrain (Refren)
1972 Between Wroclaw and Zielona Gora (Między Wrocławiem a Zieloną Górą)
1972 Workers 1971: Nothing About Us Without Us (Robotnicy '71: Nic o nas bez nas)
1973 The Bricklayer (Murarz)
1974 X-Ray (Prześwietlenie)
1974 First Love (Pierwsza miłość)
1975 Curriculum Vitae (Życiorys)
1976 The Hospital (Szpital )
1976 Slate (Klaps)
1977 A Night Watchman's Point of View (Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera)
1977 I Don't Know (Nie wiem)
1978 Seven Women of Different Ages (Siedem kobiet w różnym wieku)
1980 The Railway Station (Dworzec)
1980 Talking Heads (Gadające głowy)
1988 Seven Days A Week: Warsaw / Semaine A Varsovie (Siedem dni tygodnia)
Features:
1966 The Tram (Tramwaj )
1973 The Underground Passage (Przejście podziemne)
1975 Personnel (Personel)
1976 The Scar (Blizna)
1976 The Calm (Spokój)
1979 Camera Buff (Amator)
1981 A Short Work Day (Krótki dzień pracy)
1981 Blind Chance (Przypadek)
1985 No End (Bez Końca)
1988 A Short Film About Killing (Krótki film o zabijaniu)
1988 A Short Film About Love (Krótki film o miłości)
1988 Decalogue (Dekalog)- Television Series of Ten Short Features
1991 La Double Vie De Veronique / The Double Life of Veronica (Podwójne życie Weroniki)
1993 Trois Couleurs. Bleu / Three Colors: Blue (Trzy Kolory: Niebieski)
1994 Trois Couleurs. Blanc / Three Colors: White (Trzy Kolory: Biały)
1994 Trois Couleurs. Rouge / Three Colors: Red (Trzy Kolory: Czerwony)
