Sławomir Idziak (; born 25 January 1945) is a Polish

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

and director who has worked on over forty Polish and foreign films. He is especially known for his collaboration with director

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (, 27 June 1941 – 14 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, ''Three Colours'' ...

. In 2019, the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

included '' Three Colours: Blue'' shot by Idziak on the list of the best-photographed films of the 20th century.

Life and career

Idziak was born on 25 January 1945 in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1969, he graduated from the National Film School in Łódź. He has made fourteen films with Krzysztof Zanussi, including ''Kontrakt'' (''The Contract''), '' The Constant Factor'' and '' A Year of the Quiet Sun''. He worked on all the early films of

, including his television, feature film and foreign debuts, additionally, the two collaborated on '' A Short Film About Killing'', '' The Double Life of Véronique'' and '' Three Colors: Blue''. He has made films with such directors as

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

John Sayles John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), '' Matewan'' (1987), ...

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland (1999 film), Wonderland'' and ''24 ...

and

John Duigan John Duigan (born 19 June 1949) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He is mostly known for his two autobiographical fiction, autobiographical films ''The Year My Voice Broke'' and ''Flirting (film), Flirting'', and the 1994 film ' ...

, and has also written and directed two films himself. He worked on Winterbottom's film '' I Want You'', where he won an Honourable Mention at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. He moved to more mainstream films such as ''

Gattaca ''Gattaca'' is a 1997 American dystopian science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol in his List of directorial debuts, feature directorial debut. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Go ...

'' (1997), '' Proof of Life'' (2000), '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), and ''

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

'' (2004). In 2002, he was nominated for an

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 ...

as well as a

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 ...

for 'Best Cinematography' in the film '' Black Hawk Down''. Idziak was the director of photography for '' Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', the fifth film adaptation of

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

's popular fantasy series, directed by

David Yates David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English filmmaker, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' series ...

. He is also Director of Photography for '' Battle of Warsaw 1920'', the first ever Polish-language feature film, to be shot in 3D. Sławomir Idziak teaches at film schools in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and also conducts seminars in cinematography in other countries. He is currently working on a Virtual Film Studio Web site calle
Film Spring Open
which gives users an opportunity to present work to global audiences and to make films online. Participants can share ideas, exchange equipment or write scripts together. The aim is to create an international community of filmmakers who will support each other, make films together and will care about the advertising and distribution of their films. In 2012, he was awarded the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

for his "outstanding achievements for the Polish and world culture" and in 2014, he became the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.

Personal life

Sławomir was married to actress Maria Gładkowska., Retrieved July 2016

Filmography

Cinematographer

Feature film

Television

TV movies

Director

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Sławomir Idziak
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Idziak, Slawomir 1945 births Living people Łódź Film School alumni Polish cinematographers People from Katowice