KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI - BIOGRAPHY

Kzsysztof Kieslowski was born in 1941 and graduated from the State Theatrical and Film College in Lodz in 1969. His early films were documentaries and shorts and while still a student he made PHOTOGRAPH for Polish television. His feature debut came in 1973 with PEDESTRIAN SUBWAY, which was followed in 1975 by PERSONNEL, a semi-documentary in which the hero has to choose whether to denounce a friend or lose his job. THE SCAR (1976) was followed by CAMERA BUFF, a story about an amateur cameraman whose love for his hobby causes trouble with the authorities. CAMERA BUFF won the Grand Prix at the 1979 Moscow Film Festival.

CALMNESS (1976) was banned at the time by the Polish authorities. It focuses on a worker newly released from prison who vows to stay out of trouble but finds himself caught in a No Man's Land between the workers and the management of a factory. The satires BLIND CHANCE and the television feature SHORT DAYS WORK, both made in 1981, were also banned at the time. Kieslowski's collaborator on Dekalog was Krzysztof Piesiewicz, a lawyer who had previously worked with Kieslowski on the script for NO END, a film which attracted criticism in Poland for its uncompromising stance. After Dekalog, Kieslowski and Piesiewicz went on to write THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE which was an award-winner at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival and one of the most acclaimed films to be shown in competition. Kieslowski was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in 1990 and has joined the ranks of Europe's most admired directors.

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