SLAWOMIR IDZIAK

#3: 2004

SLAWOMIR IDZIAK PSC

Born: 25 January 1945, Katowice, Poland, as Slawomir Andrzej Idziak.

Education: PWSFTviT, Lódz, Poland [graduated in 1968].

Career: Started as c.op at Studio Malych Form Filmowych 'Semafor' in Lódz.

Also active as director.

Book: 'Ein Architekt der Sinnlichkeit - Die Farbwelten des Kameramanns Slawomir Idziak' [2007, Schüren Verlag].

Appeared in the doc's 'Das Auge der Erinnerung - Ansichten von Slawomir Idziak' [2000, Hans Steinbichler & Florian Vogel; 25m; prod HFFM] & 'Zawód operator' [2007, Grzegorz Skurski; 30m].

Awards: As doph: Gdansk-Gdynia Polish FF TV Award [1974] for 'Odejscia, powroty' [part 3: 'Tak bardzo zmeczeni']; Gdansk-Gdynia Polish FF [1976] for 'Partita na instrument drewniany'; Venice FF 'Osella d'oro' [1993] & 'César' nom [1994] for 'Trois couleurs: Bleu'; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [1996] for 'Lilian's Story'; Berlin IFF 'Special Mention' [1998] & Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [1998] for 'I Want You'; Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [1999] for 'The Last September'; 'Oscar' AA nom [2002], BAFTA Film Award nom [2002] & AFI [USA] Film Award nom [2002] for 'Black Hawk Down'; Special 'Orzel' Award [2002]; Marburger Kamerapreis [2004]; Camerimage 'Special Award' [2004]; Plus Camerimage 'Lifetime Achievement Award' [2013].

As dir: Awards for 'Nauka latania' [1978 & 1979, Poznan], 'Seans' [1979] & 'Enak' [1992, Gdansk-Gdynia Polish FF].

Slawomir Idziak: 'Our country was for so many years in seclusion, so somehow we had to use a different system... it was first of all grounded in the film schools, in which we had only two departments: the director department and the cinematographer department, so these two people were at the head of the productions. In Poland the cinematographer is number two, and starts work on the project very early. The director is expecting a collaborator in terms of translating the story he has in mind to a kind of visual work. So it was something very unusual when I all of a sudden realized that here in the West it was the director who was telling the cinematographer 'put the camera here'. I mean it's two different professions and I really don't believe, with some exceptions of course as usual, that it's possible to have total control of the actors and the flow of the story and deciding about a single particular take and the lens and the visual part of it. In being a director you shouldn't be too close because very quickly you are losing the sense of the wholeness, the most important element of the profession [and I am someone who has directed as well]. As cinematographer I should be one who observes what happens on the location from the seat of the average spectator. So I really believe in creative group work, and somehow our example in the Polish cinema, where we are really creative partners of the director, is a very good example. It works.'

'Dekalog/Decalogue' [Television, 1987] is a very interesting story because in a way I didn't want to do 'A Short Film About Killing'. Kieslowski approached me and gave me [the choice] of all ten films. The problem was it was planned as a 16mm television series and for a Polish cinematographer doing 16mm is a nightmare because the quality of our laboratories is very low and I decided to do number 9, a very simple story about love and jealousy. Then Kieslowski told me, "I know your trick, the moment I'm ready to do number 9, you'll be abroad and have no time to do it. And now when I'm ready to do 'A Short Film About Killing' [number 5] you won't do it!" I said to Kieslowski, "Listen why do I have to do it; after half an hour one person gets killed, after another half an hour another person gets killed in prison. It's a terrible story! Why do I have to do it?" But he's a very stubborn person and he persuaded me to do it. I told him, "O.K. I will do the film on the condition that I do it green and using all my filters and I have an idea to do it very strong," and Kieslowski was very angry and he says, "I don't want to have it green! I'm doing ten films; I can't have all of a sudden one green!" So I said, "It's up to you. Either I do it green, or I don't do it." The next day he came to me and said, "I'm doing ten films, O.K. If one has to be green, let it be shit green. It's your decision. Do it green." And, you know, it's the first time in my life that it happened: a director telling me, do what you want. [From article by Lindsay Amos in 'Cinema Papers', Australia, August 1995.]

FILMS AT THE PWSFTviT
1965	Pilot Station [Marek Piestrak; doc] c.asst; ph: Andrzej Jaroszewicz
1965	Wyjscie/Sen [Grzegorz Królikiewicz] b&w; short/4m
1966	Dzien zwyciestwa [Marek Piestrak; short] c.asst; ph: Edward Klosinski
1966	Kazdemu to, czego mu wcale nie trzeba/Kapiel [Grzegorz Królikiewicz] b&w; short/12m
1966	Niebo [Juan Manuel Torres; short] c.asst; ph: Edward Klosinski
1966	Wygrana, przegrana/Park [Raszko Uzunow] b&w; short/8m; cph: Edward Klosinski
1967	Wagary [Jacek Butrymowicz] b&w; short/23m
1967	Zawal serca/Heart Attack [Wojciech Wiszniewski] b&w; short/7m
1969	Wino mszalne [Witold Orzechowski] co-scrpl only; ph: Zdzislaw Kaczmarek

FILMS
1968	Wesola Ludwika [Teresa Badzian] c; anim/10m
1970	Franciszek Leczycki [Henryk Rewkiewicz] b&w; doc/398mtr
1970	To trud zrodzil urode [Edmund Z. Szaniawski] c; doc/435mtr
1971	Jeszcze slychac spiew. I rzenie koni... [Mieczyslaw Waskowski] b&w-c
1974	Bilans kwartalny/Quarterly Balance [Krzysztof Zanussi] c
1974	Profile [Krzysztof Rogulski] ?; doc/?m
1975	Partita na instrument drewniany/Partita for a Wooden Instrument [Janusz Zaorski] c
1976	Blizna/The Scar [Krzysztof Kieslowski] c
1976	Klaps/Slate [Krzysztof Kieslowski] c; doc/6m; cph: Stanislaw Igar, Leszek Pieszko, a.o.
1978	Nauka latania/Flying Lessons/Learning to Fly [Slawomir Idziak] c; cph: Andrzej Poplawski & Janusz Zachwajewski; + scrpl
1979	Dyrygent/Orchestra Conductor/The Conductor [Andrzej Wajda] c
1980	Constans/The Constant Factor [Krzysztof Zanussi] c; see 2009
1980	Kontrakt/The Contract [Krzysztof Zanussi] c
1983	Jagger und Spaghetti [Karsten Wichniarz] c
1983	Der Fall Bachmeier - Keine Zeit für Tränen [Hark Bohm] c
1984	Rok spokojnego slonca/The Year of the Quiet Sun/Das Jahr der ruhenden Sonne [Krzysztof Zanussi] c
1985	Wie ein freier Vogel [Hark Bohm] 16mm/c
1985	Harmagedon [Juha Rosma] c
1985	Sarah [Reginald Puhl] c; cph: Klaus Beckhausen, Michael Marszalek & Dragan Rogulj
1986	Erloschene Zeiten/Wygasle czasy [Krzysztof Zanussi] c; dram doc/60m
1986	Gute Nacht [Gerhard Schmidt] c; short/15m
1987	Krótki film o zabijaniu/A Short Film About Killing [Krzysztof Kieslowski] c; expanded (84m) ep #5 of tv-series 'Dekalog/Decalogue'
1987	Yasemin [Hark Bohm] c
1988	Wherever You Are.../Gdzieskolwiek jest, jeslis jest… [Krzysztof Zanussi] c; cph: William Lubtchansky
1989	Stan posiadania/Inventory/Liebesfesseln [Krzysztof Zanussi] c
1990	La double vie de Véronique/Podwójne zycie Weroniki [Krzysztof Kieslowski] c
1992	Trois couleurs: Bleu/Trzy kolory: Niebieski [Krzysztof Kieslowski] c
1994	Traumstreuner [Erwin Michelberger] c; cph: Paul Ellmerer
1994	The Journey of August King [John Duigan] c
1994	Tár úr steini/Tears of Stone [Hilmar Oddsson] c; action ph; ph: Sigurdur Sverrir Pálsson
1995	Lilian's Story [Jerzy Domaradzki] c
1995	Männerpension/Jailbirds [Detlev W. Buck] c; 2uc: Sophie Maintigneux
1995	Commandments [Daniel Taplitz] c
1996	Gattaca [Andrew Niccol] s35/c
1997	Men with Guns/Hombres armados [John Sayles] c
1997	I Want You/Beloved [Michael Winterbottom] p/c; uwph: Mark Silk
1997	Love and Rage [Cathal Black] c
1998	The Last September [Deborah Warner] c
1999	Paranoid [John Duigan] c
1999	LiebesLuder/Bundle of Joy [Detlev W. Buck] c
2000	Proof of Life [Taylor Hackford] s35/c; 2uc: Lukasz Jogalla; aph: John Marzano
*2000*	Sass [Carlo Rola] announced as doph, but replaced by Martin Langer
2001	Black Hawk Down [Ridley Scott] s35/c; 2uc: Alexander Witt; aph: John Marzano
2003	King Arthur [Antoine Fuqua] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Daniele Massaccesi; aph: John Marzano
2004	Klaps/Clap Project [idea: Krzysztof Kieslowski] exp film (6m) with scenes submitted by several doph & dir; shot, ed & shown during Camerimage FF, 2004
2006	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix [David Yates] s35 (+ IMAX-70bu)/c; 2uc: Mike Brewster; aph: Adam Dale; model unit ph: Nigel Stone
2009	Rewizyta/Revisited [Krzysztof Zanussi] c; co-archive ph ('Constans', 1980); ph: Dariusz Kuc

With Jerzy Hoffman [left] - "1920 Bitwa Warszawska"

2010	1920 Bitwa Warszawska/Battle of Warsaw 1920 [Jerzy Hoffman] HD (Sony HDC-P1)-to-D-Cinema (also 3-D version)/b&w-c; 2uc: Lukasz Kosmicki
2011	Die Vermessung der Welt/Measuring the World [Detlev Buck] HD (ARRI ALEXA + Sony F3)-to-D-Cinema (also 3-D version)/c; 2uc: Jana Marsik; filmed 2011-12
2014	A Tale of Love and Darkness [Natalie Portman] HD (ARRI ALEXA) scope/b&w-c

TELEVISION
1969	Podrózni jak inni [Wojciech Marczewski] tvm/b&w/24m
1970	Cicha noc, swieta noc [Marek Piestrak] tvm/b&w/24m; + co-scrpl
1970	Góry o zmierzchu [Krzysztof Zanussi] tvm/b&w/28m; spec ph: Andrzej Galinski & Jerzy Surdel
1971	Pizama [Antoni Krauze] tvm/b&w/29m
1971	Meta/The Pad [Antoni Krauze] tvm/b&w; cph: Edward Klosinski
1971	Papierowy ptak/Paper Bird [Slawomir Idziak] tvm/50m; + scrpl
1973	Odejscia, powroty [ep #3 'Tak bardzo zmeczeni' dir by Wojciech Marczewski] 3-part series; other ph: Jacek Prosinski
1973	Przejscie podziemne/Pedestrian Subway [Krzysztof Kieslowski] tvm/b&w/28m
1976	Krótka podróz [Krzysztof Rogulski] tvm/43m
1977	Powrót [Filip Bajon] tvm/56m
1981	Da un paese lontano - Papa Giovanni Paolo II/From a Far Country: Pope John Paul II/Z dalekiego kraju [Krzysztof Zanussi] tvm
1981	Versuchung/Pokuszenie [Krzysztof Zanussi] tvm
1981	Imperativ/Imperatyw [Krzysztof Zanussi] tvm/b&w-c
1982	Die Unerreichbare/The Unapproachable [Krzysztof Zanussi] tvm/16mm; also released theatrically
1982	Città del Vaticano [Krzysztof Zanussi] ?; doc/55m; ep series 'Capitali culturali d'Europa'
1983	Blaubart/Sinobrody [Krzysztof Zanussi] tvm/16mm
1987	Dekalog/Decalogue [ep five/piec (57m) dir by Krzysztof Kieslowski] 10-part series; other ph: Wieslaw Zdort, Witold Adamek, Dariusz Kuc, Piotr Sobocinski, a.o.; ep #5 was expanded into the feature film 'Krótki film o zabijaniu'; see Films (1987); see above

"Napoléon et l'Europe"

1990	Napoléon et l'Europe [ep #3 (52m) 'Maria Walewska' dir by Krzysztof Zanussi & #5 (49m) 'Moskwa' dir by Janusz Majewski] 6-part miniseries/16mm; other ph: Grzegorz Kedzierski, Elso Roque, a.o.
1990	Das lange Gespräch mit dem Vogel/Dluga rozmowa z ptakiem [Krzysztof Zanussi] tvm/16mm
1993	Weltmeister [Zoran Solomun] tvm/16mm
1993	Ein Bett für drei [Bettina Woernle] tvm/60m

MISCELLANEOUS
1966	Trzynaste pietro/13 pietro [Edward Etler; tvm/13m] actor; ph: Jan Laskowski
1967	Jowita [Janusz Morgenstern; feature] actor; ph: Jan Laskowski
1968	Gra [Jerzy Kawalerowicz] co-c.asst (+ small part); ph: Jan Laskowski
1969	Nie ma powrotu Johnny [Kaveh Pur Rahnama] 2nd op; ph: Kazimierz Wawrzyniak
1969	Zbrodniarz, który ukradl zbrodnie/The Criminal Who Stole a Crime [Janusz Majewski] co-c.asst; ph: Antoni Nurzynski
1972	Wesele/The Wedding [Andrzej Wajda] co-c.op; ph: Witold Sobocinski
1985	Paradigma/Le pouvoir du mal/Il potere del male [Krzysztof Zanussi] ph cons; ph: Pierluigi Santi
2005	Lou [Séverine Cornamusaz, Barbara Müller, Pascal Verdosci, Anja Ehrhardt, Carla B. Guttmann & Karim Patwa] mdv/c; short/23m; as artistic adv & FilmSpring's Godfather; ph: Adrian Cranage, Hasan Gazi, Matthias Bolliger, Mauro Boscarato & Ariel Manuel Salati; also 17m version called 'Hel'; filmed in October; prod Kölner Filmhaus, FilmSpring & Focal; edited with 'Anniken' into 'Crossing Paths' (2008; 37m); FilmSpring is a unique event in the professional world of filmmaking. With Polish doph Slawomir Idziak as a mentor, a group of 6 directors and 5 dp's have shot a short film based on a screenplay previously developed through a collective process on an Internet forum. This initiative was born of Slawomir Idziak's concern with having young filmmakers break new grounds in the filmmaking process in Europe.
2007	Anniken [Jorge Navarro Fica, Jochen Bechler, Miika Soini, Andreas Wuttke + 5 others] digital/c; short/31m; as artistic adv & FilmSpring's Godfather; ph: Birdy-Birgitte Heneide, Hans Jørgen Ersvik, Jennifer Günther, Daniel Lindholm, Diego Wettstein & Martin Wittlich; prod FilmSpring; edited with 'Lou' into 'Crossing Paths' (2008; 37m)

With actors - "Hell Hotel"

2009

Hell Hotel [8 directors] HD/c; short/45m; as artistic adv & FilmSpring's Godfather; ph: Martin Demmer, Tilo Hauke, a.o.; prod Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln & FilmSpring

FILMS AS DIRECTOR
1970	Spojrzenie/Look [doc/9m/b&w; + co-scrpl] ph: Edward Klosinski
1971	Papierowy ptak/Paper Bird [+ scrpl/ph] see Television
1971	Z kregu czarów sztuki/Inside Art's Magic Circle [doc/14m] ph: Jacek Prosinski
1972	Pan... dziad z lira/Master Beggar with a Lyre [co-d: Andrzej Kotkowski; doc/18m; + co-scrpl] ph: Maria Wituska
1973	Z czterech stron [doc/1084mtr] ph: Michal Bukojemski, Jacek Zygadlo & Krzysztof Langda
1977	Seans/Seance [tvm/73m; + co-scrpl] ph: Michal Bukojemski
1978	Nauka latania/Flying Lessons/Learning to Fly [+ scrpl/cph] see Films
1979	Debiut/Debut [short/22m; + scrpl] ph: Jacek Zygadlo
1980	Bajki na dobranoc [tvm/73m; + scrpl] ph: Piotr Kwiatkowski
1982	La piste [16mm/c; short/15m] ph: Gil Moizon
1992	Enak [tvm/b&w-c; + scrpl] ph: Andrzej Jaroszewicz