Krzysztof Pius Zanussi (born 17 June 1939) is a Polish film and theatre director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of European film at the

European Graduate School The European Graduate School (EGS) is a private graduate school that operates in two locations: Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Valletta, Malta. History It was founded in 1994 in Saas-Fee, Switzerland by the Swiss scientist, artist, and therapist, P ...

Saas-Fee Saas-Fee () is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The village is situated on a high mountain plateau at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), surrounded ...

, Switzerland where he conducts a summer workshop. He is also a professor at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School of the University of Silesia in Katowice. He is the recipient of the Golden Lion at the 1984 Venice Film Festival for ''

A Year of the Quiet Sun ''A Year of the Quiet Sun'' ( pl, Rok spokojnego słońca) is a 1984 Polish film written and directed by Krzysztof Zanussi and starring Maja Komorowska and Scott Wilson. It tells the story of a romance between a Polish woman and an American so ...

'', the

Jury Prize A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England duri ...

at the

1980 Cannes Film Festival The 33rd Cannes Film Festival was held between 9 and 23 May 1980. The Palme d'Or went to the '' All That Jazz'' by Bob Fosse and ''Kagemusha'' by Akira Kurosawa. The festival opened with '' Fantastica'', directed by Gilles Carle and closed with ' ...

for ''

The Constant Factor ''The Constant Factor'' ( pl, Constans) is a 1980 Polish film directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. It tells the story of a young man struggling to face the death of his mother and harbouring a desire to climb the Himalayas as his father had done. The f ...

'' as well as two Grands Prix at the 1977 and 2000

Gdynia Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every year sinc ...

for ''

Camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

'' and '' Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease'' respectively.

Biography

Zanussi was born in 1939 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

as an only child of Jerzy Zanussi and Wanda (''née'' Niewiadomska). His father was of Italian ancestry and worked as a structural engineer. Zanussi studied physics at

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

(Uniwersytet Warszawski) and philosophy at the Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Jagielloński) in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź (1967). He is a director of the Polish Film Studio TOR and has received several prizes and awards, including the David di Donatello Prize of the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'', the Cavalier's Cross of the Polonia Restituta Order, and the Cavalier de L'Ordre des Sciences et Lettres. Krzysztof Zanussi has written ''On editing an amateur film'' (1968), ''Discourse on an amateur film'' (1978) and a book of memoirs ''The Time to Die'' (1997). He appeared as himself in ''

Camera Buff ''Camera Buff'' ( pl, Amator, meaning "amateur") is a 1979 Polish drama film written and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Jerzy Stuhr. The film is about a humble factory worker whose newfound hobby, amateur film, becomes an obsessi ...

'' (1979), a film about an amateur film maker, directed by his friend

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...

. His film ''

'' (1980) ( pl, Constans) received the

at the

. During the 1980s, he spent much of his time in the West. Among the films that he made during this time was a film entitled ''From a Far Country: Pope John Paul II'' (1981) about the life of

Karol Wojtyła Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in the context of the complicated history of modern Poland. His 1989 film '' Inventory'' was entered into the

16th Moscow International Film Festival The 16th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 July 1989. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Italian film '' The Icicle Thief'' directed by Maurizio Nichetti. Jury * Andrzej Wajda (Poland – President of the Jury) * Ge ...

. His 2000 film '' Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease'' won the Golden St. George at the

22nd Moscow International Film Festival The 22nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 19 to 29 July 2000. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Polish-French film ''Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease'' directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. Jury * Theodoros Angelopou ...

. His 2002 film ''

The Supplement ''The Supplement'' ( pl, Suplement) is a 2002 Polish drama film directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. It was entered into the 24th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the FIPRESCI Special Mention. Cast * Pawel Okraska as Filip * Monika K ...

'' was entered into the

24th Moscow International Film Festival The 24th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 21 to 30 June 2002. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Italian-French film ''Resurrection'' directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. Jury * Chinghiz Aitmatov (Kyrgyzstan – Preside ...

where it won the FIPRESCI Special Mention. Krzysztof Zanussi 01

Zanussi has described his 1996 film, '' At Full Gallop'', as his most autobiographical work. It follows the director through several years of his boyhood in Poland under post-World War II Communism. Zanussi served at the head of TOR Film Studio in the eighties. When asked about his experience as a producer he said, "Despite the work of the censors the ''zespół'' tate-owned film companysystem assured a partial autonomy to our cineastes during the Communist era". According to the records of

Institute of National Remembrance The Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation ( pl, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej – Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, abbreviated IPN) is a Polish state resea ...

since 1962 to 1964 Zanussi was registered without his consent as a secret collaborator of communist

Służba Bezpieczeństwa The Ministry of Public Security ( pl, Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego), commonly known as UB or later SB, was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it w ...

codename "Aktor". He had several conversations with Communist secret service officers, however he never began to act as a secret collaborator. Zanussi talks openly about his contacts with Służba Bezpieczeństwa but denies any wrongdoing. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award on 20 November 2012 at the 43rd International Film Festival of India held in Goa. At the end of the 1980s, he co-founded the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soc ...

with Ingmar Bergman which convoked him in the first nucleus of one hundred members. Subsequently, Zanussi left the academy not agreeing with its development as an elitarian club. By the end of the 2000s, Zanussi took part again with the activities and the expansion of the community to around 1.000 members. He remarked the potential leading role of the academy for the European intercultural cinematographic productions, especially for those realized in non-English languages on the model of the successful experiences of the 1960s. He is the honorary president of Italian People and Religions – Terni Film Festival and he promoted the constitution of a web inter-religious European festivals costining of Terni Film Festival in Italy, Sacrofilm festival of Zamość in Poland and Journées Cinema et Réconciliation of Notre Dame de La Salette in France.

Selected filmography

*'' The Structure of Crystals'' (''Struktura kryształu'', 1969) *''

Family Life Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

'' (''Życie rodzinne'', 1971) *' (''Za ścianą'', 1971, TV film) *'' The Illumination'' (''Iluminacja'', 1972) *' (''Lohngelder für Pittsville'', 1974) *'' A Woman's Decision'' (''Bilans kwartalny'', 1975) *''

'' (''Barwy ochronne'', 1977) *' (1977, TV film) *'' Spiral'' (1978) *' (1979) *''

'' (1980) *' (1980, TV film) *' (1981) *' (1981, TV film) *' (1982, TV film) *'' Imperative'' (1982) *' (1984, TV film) *''

'' (1984) *'' Power of Evil'' (1985) *' (1987, TV film) *'' The Young Magician'' (1987) *' (1988) *'' Inventory'' (1989) *' (1991, TV series) *' (1991) *' (1992, TV film) *' (1992) *'' Weekend Stories'' (1996) *'' At Full Gallop'' (1996) *' (1997) *'' Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease'' (2000) *''

'' (2001) *'' Persona Non Grata'' (2005) *'' Black Sun'' (2007) *'' And a Warm Heart'' (2008) *'' Jacquinot: A Forgotten Hero'' (2009) *'' Revisited'' (2009) *'' Interior voices'' (2009) *''Foreign Body'' (2015) *''Eter'' (2018)

References

External links

Krzysztof Zanussi
Faculty Website at

. Biography and filmography. *
Krzysztof Zanussi
at filmpolski.pl * Giuseppe Sedia
"An Interview with Krzysztof Zanussi"
at Film International, 1 May 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zanussi, Krzysztof 1939 births Living people Jagiellonian University alumni Film people from Warsaw Polish film directors Polish Roman Catholics Polish screenwriters European Graduate School faculty University of Warsaw alumni Polish people of Italian descent Directors of Golden Lion winners Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Commander's Crosses of the Order for Merits to Lithuania University of Silesia in Katowice faculty Collegium Civitas faculty

Biography

Selected filmography

See also

References

External links