Krzysztof Kieślowski (, 27 June 1941 – 14 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''

Dekalog ''Dekalog'' (, also known as ''Dekalog: The Ten Commandments'' and ''The Decalogue'') is a 1989 Polish drama television miniseries directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigni ...

'' (1989), '' The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993–1994).Stok 1993, p. xiii. Kieślowski received numerous awards during his career, including the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Jury Prize (1988), FIPRESCI Prize (1988, 1991), and

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury () is an independent film award for feature-length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and other film professionals. The objec ...

(1991), the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

FIPRESCI Prize (1989),

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

(1993), and OCIC Award (1993), and the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

(1994). In 1995, he received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations for Best Director and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

. In 2002, Kieślowski was listed at number two on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...

'' list of the top ten film directors of modern times. In 2007, ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' was a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly with a summer issue added, between the July and August issues, every year since issue 91, 2004) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and of ...

'' magazine ranked him at No. 47 on its "100 Greatest Film Directors Ever" list.

Early life

Kieślowski was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland, the son of Barbara (''née'' Szonert) and Roman Kieślowski. He grew up in several small towns, moving wherever his engineer father, a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

patient, could find treatment. He was raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and retained what he called a "personal and private" relationship with God. At sixteen, he attended a firefighters' training school but dropped out after three months. Without any career goals, he then entered the College for Theatre Technicians in Warsaw in 1957 because it was run by a relative. He wanted to become a theatre director, but lacked the required bachelor's degree for the theatre department, so he chose to study film as an intermediate step.

Career

Leaving college and working as a theatrical tailor, Kieślowski applied to the

Łódź Film School The Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź (), commonly known as the Łódź Film School (), is a Polish film school for future actors, directors, photographers, camera operators, and television staff. It was founded on 8 ...

, which has

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

and

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...

among its alumni. He was rejected twice. To avoid compulsory military service during this time, he briefly became an art student, and also went on a drastic diet to make himself medically unfit for service. After several months of avoiding the draft, he was accepted to the school's directing department in 1964, on his third attempt. He attended Łódź Film School until 1968 and, despite state censorship and interdiction on foreign travel, was able to travel around Poland for his documentary research and filming. Kieślowski lost his interest in theatre and decided to make documentary films.

1966–1980: Early work

Kieślowski's early documentaries focused on the everyday lives of city dwellers, workers, and soldiers. Though he was not an overtly political filmmaker, he soon found that attempting to depict Polish life accurately brought him into conflict with the authorities. His television film '' Workers '71: Nothing About Us Without Us'', which showed workers discussing the reasons for the mass strikes of 1970, was only shown in a drastically censored form. After ''Workers '71'', he turned his eye on the authorities themselves in ''Curriculum Vitae'', a film that combined documentary footage of

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

meetings with a fictional story about a man under scrutiny by the officials. Though Kieślowski believed the film's message was anti-authoritarian, he was criticized by his colleagues for cooperating with the government in its production. Kieślowski later said that he abandoned documentary filmmaking due to two experiences: the censorship of ''Workers '71'', which caused him to doubt whether truth could be told literally under an authoritarian regime, and an incident during the filming of ''Station'' (1981) in which some of his footage was nearly used as evidence in a criminal case. He decided that fiction not only allowed more artistic freedom but could portray everyday life more truthfully.

1975–1988: Polish film career

His first non-documentary feature, ''

Personnel Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

'' (1975), was made for television and won him first prize at the Mannheim Film Festival. Both ''Personnel'' and his next feature, '' The Scar'' (''Blizna''), were works of

social realism Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...

with large casts: ''Personnel'' was about technicians working on a stage production, based on his early college experience, and ''The Scar'' showed the upheaval of a small town by a poorly planned industrial project. These films were shot in a documentary style with many nonprofessional actors; like his earlier films, they portrayed everyday life under the weight of an oppressive system, but without overt commentary. '' Camera Buff'' (''Amator'', 1979) (which won the grand prize at the

11th Moscow International Film Festival The 11th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 14 to 28 August 1979. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian-French film ''Christ Stopped at Eboli (film), Christ Stopped at Eboli'' directed by Francesco Rosi, the Spanish film ''S ...

) and '' Blind Chance'' (''Przypadek'', 1981) continued along similar lines, but focused more on the ethical choices faced by a single character rather than a community. During this period, Kieślowski was considered part of a loose movement with other Polish directors of the time, including Janusz Kijowski,

, and

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (; born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her cultural and political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanuss ...

, called the

Cinema of moral anxiety Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

. His links with these directors, Holland in particular, caused concern within the Polish government, and each of his early films was subjected to

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

and enforced re-shooting/re-editing, if not banned outright. For example, ''Blind Chance'' was not released domestically until 1987, almost six years after it had been completed. '' No End'' (''Bez końca'', 1984) was perhaps his most clearly political film, depicting political trials in Poland during martial law, from the unusual point of view of a lawyer's ghost and his widow. At the time it was harshly criticized by both the government, dissidents, and the church. Starting with ''No End'', Kieślowski closely collaborated with two people, the composer

Zbigniew Preisner Zbigniew Preisner (; born 20 May 1955 as Zbigniew Antoni Kowalski) is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. He is the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis as we ...

and the trial lawyer

Krzysztof Piesiewicz Krzysztof Marek Piesiewicz (; born 25 October 1945 in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish lawyer, screenwriter, and politician. From 1991 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2011 he was a member of Polish Senate. He was the head of the Social Movement (RS) or Soci ...

, whom Kieślowski met while researching political trials under martial law for a planned documentary on the subject. Piesiewicz co-wrote the screenplays for all of Kieślowski's subsequent films. Preisner is best known for collaborating with Kieślowski on the scores for the Three Colors trilogy. Preisner provided the musical score for ''No End'' and most subsequent of Kieślowski's films and often plays a prominent part. Many of Preisner's pieces are referred to and discussed by the films' characters as being the work of the (fictional) Dutch composer "Van den Budenmayer". ''

'' (1988), a series of ten short films set in a Warsaw tower block, each nominally based on one of the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

, was created for Polish television with funding from

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

; it is now one of the most critically acclaimed film cycles of all time. Co-written by Kieślowski and Piesiewicz, the ten one-hour-long episodes had originally been intended for ten different directors, but Kieślowski found himself unable to relinquish control over the project and directed all episodes himself. Episodes five and six were released internationally in a longer form as '' A Short Film About Killing'' and '' A Short Film About Love'' respectively. Kieślowski had also planned to shoot a full-length version of Episode 9 under the title ''A Short Film About Jealousy'', but exhaustion eventually prevented him from making what would have been his thirteenth film in less than a year.

1990–1994: Commercial success abroad

Kieślowski's last four films, his most commercially successful, were foreign co-productions, made mainly with money from France and in particular from Romanian-born producer Marin Karmitz. These focused on moral and metaphysical issues along lines similar to ''Dekalog'' and ''Blind Chance'' but on a more abstract level, with smaller casts, more internal stories, and less interest in communities. Poland appeared in these films mostly through the eyes of European outsiders. The first of these was '' The Double Life of Veronique'' (''La double vie de Veronique'', 1990), which starred Irène Jacob. The commercial success of this film gave Kieślowski the funding for his ambitious final films (1993–94), the trilogy '' Three Colours'' (''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

'', ''

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

'', ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

''), which explores the virtues symbolized by the French flag. The three films garnered prestigious international awards, including the

for Best Film at the

and the

Silver Bear for Best Director The Silver Bear for Best Director () is an award presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival since 1956. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition ...

at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, in addition to three

nominations. Kieślowski announced his retirement from filmmaking after the premiere of his last film ''

'' at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

Posthumous work

At the time of his death, Kieślowski was working with his longterm collaborator Piesiewicz on a second trilogy: Heaven, Hell and Purgatory. After his death, the scripts were adapted and produced by three different directors: ''

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

'' by

Tom Tykwer Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films ''Run Lola Run'' (1998), ''Heaven (2002 film), Heaven'' (2002), ''Perfume: The Sto ...

in 2002; ''

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

'' ("L'Enfer") by Danis Tanović in 2005; and ''Purgatory'' in 2007.

Casting

Kieślowski often used the same actors in key roles in his films, including: * Artur Barciś in '' No End'', ''

'', '' A Short Film About Love'', and '' A Short Film About Killing'' * Aleksander Bardini in '' No End'', ''

'', '' The Double Life of Veronique'', and '' Three Colours: White'' * Tadeusz Bradecki in '' Camera Buff'' and '' No End'' * Irène Jacob in '' The Double Life of Veronique'' and '' Three Colours: Red'' *

Bogusław Linda Bogusław Linda (; born 27 June 1952) is a Polish actor known from films such as ''Pigs (1992 film), Psy'' and ''Tato''. He appeared in Andrzej Wajda's ''Man of Iron'' and ''Danton (1983 film), Danton'' and in Krzysztof Kieślowski's ''Blind Chan ...

in '' Blind Chance'' and ''

'' * Maria Pakulnis in '' No End'' and ''

'' *

Jerzy Stuhr Jerzy Oskar Stuhr (; 18 April 1947 – 9 July 2024) was a Polish film actor, film and theatre actor. Considered one of the most popular, influential and versatile Polish actors and an icon of Polish cinema, he also worked as a screenplay, screen ...

in '' The Scar'', '' Camera Buff'', '' Blind Chance'', ''

'', and '' Three Colours: White'' * Grażyna Szapołowska in '' No End'', ''

'', and '' A Short Film About Love'' * Zbigniew Zamachowski in ''

'', and '' Three Colours: White'' *

Janusz Gajos Janusz Gajos (; born 23 September 1939) is a Polish film, television and theatre actor as well as pedagogue and photographer. Professor of Theatre Arts and an Honorary Doctor of the National Film School in Łódź, he is considered one of the ...

in ''

'', and '' Three Colours: White''

Personal life

Kieślowski married his lifelong love, Maria (Marysia) Cautillo, on 21 January 1967 during his final year in film school. They had a daughter, Marta ( 8 January 1972), and remained married until his death. He characterized himself as having "one good characteristic, I am a pessimist. I always imagine the worst. To me, the future is a black hole." He has been described as "conveying the sadness of a world-weary sage", "a brooding intellectual and habitual pessimist". When visiting the United States, he was amazed at "the pursuit of empty talk combined with a very high degree of self-satisfaction". Film director and Kieślowski's friend,

, revealed that he used to experience depressive states. He described himself as an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

; however, he considered the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

and the Biblical

Decalogue The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...

as a moral compass in difficult times.

Death

On 14 March 1996, less than two years after he had retired, Kieślowski died at age 54 during open-heart surgery following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He was interred in

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

in Warsaw. His grave has a sculpture of the thumb and forefingers of two hands forming an oblong space; the classic view as if through a film camera. The small

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

is in black

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

on a

pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

slightly over a metre tall. The slab with Kieślowski's name and dates lies below.

Legacy

Kieślowski remains one of Europe's most influential directors, his works included in the study of film classes at universities throughout the world. The 1993 book ''Kieślowski on Kieślowski'' describes his life and work in his own words, based on interviews by Danusia Stok. He is also the subject of a

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

, ''Krzysztof Kieślowski: I'm So-So'' (1995), directed by Krzysztof Wierzbicki. After Kieślowski's death,

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (, ; born March 19, 1952) is an American film producer and convicted sex offender. In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent ...

, then head of

Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

, which distributed the last four Kieślowski films in the US, wrote a eulogy for him in ''

Premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

'' magazine.Harvey Weinstein
In Memoriam – Krzysztof Kieślowski
''

'', June 1996 www.filmweb.pl Retrieved 10 November 2024 Though he had claimed to be retiring after ''Three Colours'', at the time of his death, Kieślowski was working on a new trilogy co-written with Piesiewicz, consisting of ''Heaven'', ''Hell'', and ''Purgatory'' and inspired by

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

''. As was originally intended for ''Dekalog'', the scripts were ostensibly intended to be given to other directors for filming, but Kieślowski's untimely death means it is unknown whether he might have broken his self-imposed retirement to direct the trilogy himself. The only completed screenplay, ''

'', was filmed by

and premiered in 2002 at the

. The other two scripts existed only as thirty-page treatments at the time of Kieślowski's death; Piesiewicz has since completed these screenplays, with ''

'', directed by Bosnian director Danis Tanović and starring Emmanuelle Béart, released in 2005. ''Purgatory'', about a photographer killed in the Bosnian war, remains unproduced. The 2007 film '' Nadzieja (Hope)'', directed by Ibo Kurdo and Stanislaw Mucha, also scripted by Piesiewicz, has been incorrectly identified as the third part of the trilogy, but is in fact, an unrelated project.

, who starred in several Kieślowski films and co-wrote ''Camera Buff'', filmed his own adaptation of an unfilmed Kieślowski script as '' The Big Animal'' (''Duże zwierzę'') in 2000. Kieslowski Powazki

In an interview given at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1995, Kieślowski said:

It comes from a deep-rooted conviction that if there is anything worthwhile doing for the sake of culture, then it is touching on subject matters and situations which link people, and not those that divide people. There are too many things in the world which divide people, such as religion, politics, history, and nationalism. ... Feelings are what link people together, because the word 'love' has the same meaning for everybody. Or 'fear', or 'suffering'. We all fear the same way and the same things. And we all love in the same way. That's why I tell about these things, because in all other things I immediately find division.

In the foreword to ''Dekalog: The Ten Commandments'', American filmmaker

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

wrote: In 2012, Cyrus Frisch voted for ''A Short Film About Killing'' as one of "the best-damned films" with the comment: "In Poland, this film was instrumental in the abolition of the death penalty." Since 1952, ''

'' magazine conducts a poll every ten years of the world's finest film directors to determine the Ten Greatest Films of All Time, which has become the most recognised poll of its kind in the world. Since 2011, the Polish Contemporary Art Foundation In Situ has been organizing The Sokołowsko Film Festival: Hommage à Kieślowski. It is an annual film festival in

Sokołowsko Sokołowsko is a village and traditional climatic health resort in Gmina Mieroszów, within Wałbrzych County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Mieroszów, south of Wałbrzych, and so ...

, where Kieślowski spent a part of his youth, and commemorates the director's work with screenings of his films, as well as films of younger generations of filmmakers both from Poland and Europe, accompanied by creative workshops, panel discussions, performances, exhibitions and concerts. On June 27, 2021,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

celebrated his 80th birthday with a

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

Filmography

In total, Kieślowski wrote and directed 48 films, out of which 11 are feature films, 19 are documentaries, 12 are TV films, and 6 are shorts.

Documentaries and short subjects

* ''The Face'' (''Twarz'', 1966), as actor * ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' (''Urząd'', 1966) * '' Tramway'' (''Tramwaj'', 1966) * '' Concert of Requests'' (''Koncert życzeń'', 1967) * ''The Photograph'' (''Zdjęcie'', 1968) * ''From the City of Łódź'' (''Z miasta Łodzi'', 1968) * ''I Was a Soldier'' (''Byłem żołnierzem'', 1970) * ''Factory'' (''Fabryka'', 1971) * '' Workers '71: Nothing About Us Without Us'' (''Robotnicy '71: Nic o nas bez nas'', 1971) * ''Before the Rally'' (''Przed rajdem'', 1971) * ''Between Wrocław and Zielona Góra'' (''Między Wrocławiem a Zieloną Górą'', 1972) * ''The Principles of Safety and Hygiene in a Copper Mine'' (''Podstawy BHP w kopalni miedzi'', 1972) * ''Gospodarze'' (1972) * ''Refrain'' (''Refren'', 1972) * ''The Bricklayer'' (''Murarz'', 1973) * ''First Love'' (''Pierwsza miłość'', 1974) * ''X-Ray'' (''Przeswietlenie'', 1974) * ''Pedestrian Subway'' (''Przejście podziemne'', 1974) * ''

Curriculum Vitae In English, a curriculum vitae (,

'' (''Życiorys'', 1975) * ''Hospital'' (''Szpital'', 1976) * ''Slate'' (''Klaps'', 1976) * '' From a Night Porter's Point of View'' (''Z punktu widzenia nocnego portiera'', 1977) * ''I Don't Know'' (''Nie wiem'', 1977) * ''Seven Women of Different Ages'' (''Siedem kobiet w roznym wieku'', 1978) * ''Railway Station'' (''Dworzec'', 1980) * ''Talking Heads'' (''Gadające glowy'', 1980) * ''Seven Days a Week'' (''Siedem dni tygodniu'', 1988)

Feature films and TV drama

Awards and nominations

Krzysztof Kieślowski earned numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, dating back to the

Kraków Film Festival The Krakow Film Festival () is one of Europe's oldest events dedicated to documentary, animation and other short film forms. It is one of the only five FIAPF accredited documentary and short film festivals in the world.https://fiapf.org/festiv ...

Golden Hobby-Horse in 1974. The following is a list of awards and nominations earned for his later work. ;''A Short Film About Killing'' * European Film Award for Best Film (1988) Won *

FIPRESCI Prize (1988) Won * Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize Won * Cannes Film Festival Nomination for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

(1988) *

French Syndicate of Cinema Critics The French Syndicate of Cinema Critics () has, each year since 1946, awarded a prize (":fr:Prix de la critique, Prix de la critique", English: "Critics Prize"), the Prix Méliès, to the best French film of the preceding year. More awards have bee ...

Award for Best Foreign Film (1990) Won * Bodil Award for Best European Film (1990) Won ;''Dekalog'' * Bodil Award for Best European Film (1991) Won *

Children and Cinema Award (1989) Won * Venice Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize (1989) Won ;''The Double Life of Veronique'' *

Argentine Film Critics Association The Argentine Film Critics Association () is an organization of Argentine-based journalism, journalists and correspondents. The association presents the ''Silver Condor Awards'' (''Premios Cóndor de Plata'') honoring achievements in Argentina, Ar ...

Silver Condor Nomination for Best Foreign Film (1992) * Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize (1991) Won * Cannes Film Festival

(1991) Won * Cannes Film Festival Nomination for the Palme d'Or (1991) * French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Award for Best Foreign Film (1992) Won * Warsaw International Film Festival Audience Award (1991) Won ;''Three Colours: Blue'' *

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

Nomination for Best Director (1994) * César Award Nomination for Best Film (1994) * César Award Nomination for Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation (1994) * Venice Film Festival Golden Ciak Award (1993) Won * Venice Film Festival

Award (1993) Won * Venice Film Festival Little Golden Lion Award, Won * Venice Film Festival OCIC Award (1993) Won ;''Three Colours: White'' *

Silver Bear for Best Director (1994) Won ;''Three Colours: Red'' *

Nomination for Best Director (1995) * Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Screenplay (1995) *

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Film Award Nomination for Best Film not in the English Language (1995) * BAFTA Film Award Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay (1995) * BAFTA Film Award Nomination for the David Lean Award for Direction (1995) * Bodil Award for Best Non-American Film (1995) Won * Cannes Film Festival Nomination for the Palme d'Or (1994) * César Award Nomination for Best Director (1995) * César Award Nomination for Best Film (1995) * César Award Nomination for Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation (1995) * French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Award for Best Film (1995) Won *

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

References

Bibliography

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Wien: Universitat Diplomarbeit. * Erbstein, Monika. ''Untersuchungen zur Filmsprache im Werk von Kryzstof Kieślowski''. Alfeld: Coppi Verlag. . * Esteve, Michel, ed. (1994). ''Krzysztof Kieślowski''. Paris: Lettres Modernes. . * Franca, Andrea (1996). ''Cinema em azul, branco e vermelo: a trilogia de Kieślowski''. Rio de Janeiro: Sette Letras. . * Fritz, Heiko (2004). ''Was von der DDR bleibt oder die produzierte Geschichte mit einem Blick auf das filmwerk von Krzysztof Kieślowski''. Oldenberg: Igel Verlag. . * Furdal, Malgorzata, ed. (2001). ''Remembering Krzysztof: il cinema di Kieślowski''. Udine: Centro espressioni cinematografiche; Pordenone: Cinemazero. * Furdal, Malgorzata, Turigliatto, Roberto, eds. (1989). ''Kieślowski''. Torino: Museo nazionale del cinema. * Garbowski, Christopher (1996). ''Krzysztof Kieślowski's Decalogue series: the problem of the protagonists and their self-transcendence''. Boulder: East European Monographs. . * Haltof, Marek (2004). 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''Kieślowski: album pod redakcja Stanislawa Zawiślińskiego; teksty yKrzysztof Kieślowski ... t al.'. Warsaw: Skorpion. . * Žižek, Slavoj (2001). '' The Fright of Real Tears: Krzysztof Kieślowski Between Theory and Post-Theory''. London: BFI Publishing. (hbk) (pbk).

External links

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Krzysztof Kieślowski
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Criterion Collection Essay
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Colin MacCabe Colin Myles Joseph MacCabe (born 9 February 1949) is an English academic, writer and film producer. He is currently a distinguished professor of English and film at the University of Pittsburgh.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kieslowski, Krzysztof Krzysztof Kieślowski 1941 births 1996 deaths Łódź Film School alumni Film people from Warsaw Polish film directors Polish documentary filmmakers Directors of Golden Lion winners Silver Bear for Best Director recipients Burials at Powązki Cemetery French-language film directors 20th-century Polish screenwriters Polish male screenwriters 20th-century Polish male writers