Darius Khondji
Darius Khondji داریوش خنجی | |
|---|---|
 Khondji in 2017. | |
| Born | 21 October 1955 |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Alma mater | UC Los Angeles New York University International Center for Photography |
| Occupation | Cinematographer |
| Years active | 1984–present |
Darius Khondji AFC, ASC (Template:Lang-fa; born 21 October 1955) is an Iranian-French cinematographer.[1][2] Khondji has worked with a number of high-profile directors, including David Fincher, Woody Allen, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Roman Polanski, Wong Kar-wai, Michael Haneke, Danny Boyle, Philippe Parreno, Bong Joon-ho, Nicolas Winding Refn, Paul Thomas Anderson, the Safdie brothers, Alejandro G. Iñárritu and James Gray. He was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Evita, and has been nominated for three César Awards.
Early life and education
Khondji was born in Tehran, Iran, to an Iranian father and a French mother. At an early age, his family relocated in France. He became interested in film early on and made Super-8 films in his teens.[3] Later in life, he moved to the United States to study at UCLA and then majored in film from New York University and the International Center of Photography. During this period, two teachers influenced his decision to become a cinematographer: Jonas Mekas and Haig Manoogian (Martin Scorsese's film teacher).[3] He realized that "all I wanted to do was shoot the other students' films. I was concerned with the power of the image and much less with story."[4]
Career
After his time in the United States, Khondji returned to France in 1981 and worked as an assistant for cinematographers like Bruno Nuytten, Martin Schafer and Pascal Marti. He also worked as a lighting director on music videos and commercials.[3]
His second feature film was Le tresor des Iles Chiennes (1991), a low budget, black and white, post-atomic adventure film. His work on this movie was significant enough to warrant the Cahiers du cinéma to publish one of its rare interviews with a cinematographer. It was on this film that he demonstrated an affinity for Cinemascope. He remarked in an interview, "I think it's the most beautiful format to frame. One can become absorbed in the faces when they're framed in 'Scope."[4] His subsequent work on Delicatessen established his international reputation and earned him a Cesar nomination for Best Cinematography. One of his highest profile films was Seven which he got based on a Nike ad he shot with David Fincher and his work on Delicatessen. His work on Evita was nominated for an Oscar for the Best Cinematography.
Darius worked on three European-shot films by Woody Allen: Midnight in Paris (2011),[5] To Rome with Love (2012)[6] and Magic in the Moonlight (2014).[7]
In 2012, Khondji shot the Palme D'or-winning film Amour, which also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for Best Picture.[8]
Creative inspiration
Khondji cites Gregg Toland as his favorite cinematographer. "I particularly admire his work on John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath."[4] He also greatly admires James Wong Howe's work, in particular Hud. Khondji has said that his dream project would be "a 16mm black and white film of On the Road!"[4]
Personal life
Khondji is married to Marianne Chemetov, a daughter of the French architect Paul Chemetov and has three children: Marie-Louise, Josephine, and Alexandre.[1]
Filmography
Film
Short films
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Courtes chasses | Manuel Flèche | |
| 1985 | Classique | Christian Vincent | |
| 1986 | Sur les talus | Laurence Ferreira Barbosa | |
| 1988 | Une femme pour l'hiver | Manuel Flèche | |
| K.O.K. | Régine Chopinot | ||
| 1991 | Models: The Film | Peter Lindbergh | |
| Le trou de la corneille | François Hanss | ||
| 2002 | Tooba | Shirin Neshat | |
| 2003 | Ich kann dir die Welt nicht zu Füssen legen | Ralf Schmerberg | |
| Engine | Chris Cunningham | ||
| 2008 | Protect You + Me. | Brady Corbet | |
| 2010 | Invisible Boy | Philippe Parreno | |
| 2011 | dior j'adore | Jean-Jacques Annaud | |
| C.H.Z | Philippe Parreno | ||
| 2013 | Castello Cavalcanti | Wes Anderson | |
| Illusions & Mirrors | Shirin Neshat | ||
| 2016 | Anywhen | Philippe Parreno | |
| Anywhen in a Timecolored palce | |||
| 2018 | Why Can't We Get Along | Aaron Duffy Benjamin Millepied Bob Partington |
|
| 2019 | ANIMA | Paul Thomas Anderson | |
| 2020 | Strasbourg 1518 | Jonathan Glazer | Shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, using iPhone cameras [9] |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Méliès 1988 | Aline Issermann | Episode: "Bénie soit celle par qui le scandale arrive" |
| 2015 | The Devil You Know | Gus Van Sant | Failed pilot |
| 2019 | Too Old to Die Young | Nicolas Winding Refn | Miniseries; 7 episodes |
| 2021 | Lisey's Story | Pablo Larraín | Miniseries |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Fever" | Madonna | |
| 1996 | "You Must Love Me" | ||
| "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" | |||
| 1998 | "Frozen" | ||
| 1999 | "Afrika Shox" | Leftfield | |
| 2000 | "Dirge" | Death in Vegas | |
| 2001 | "Boiler" | Limp Bizkit | |
| 2008 | "Miles Away" | Madonna | |
| 2010 | Sticky & Sweet Tour | ||
| 2011 | "Marry the Night" | Lady Gaga | |
| 2014 | "Everything" | Neneh Cherry | |
| 2018 | "The Icon Project" | Eminem | |
| 2019 | "Marcy Me" | Jay-Z |
Exhibitions
- 2010: Discovery award laureate and exhibition at Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France.
References
- ^ a b "Darius Khondji". IMDb. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- ^ Alex Ballinger (12 October 2004). New Cinematographers. Laurence King Publishing. pp. 2–. ISBN 978-1-85669-334-9.
- ^ a b c Sciolino, Elaine (2012-07-13). "The Cinematography of Darius Khondji". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ a b c d Darke, Chris (April 1996). "Inside the Light". Sight and Sound.
- ^ "Contender – Director of Photography Darius Khondji, Midnight in Paris - Below the Line". Below the Line. 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ "Cinematographer Darius Khondji on Woody Allen's To Rome with Love - Studio Daily". www.studiodaily.com. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ "Cinematographer Darius Khondji, AFC, ASC, discusses his work on "Magic in the Moonlight", a film by Woody Allen". www.afcinema.com (in French). Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ "Darius Khondji AFC / Amour - British Cinematographer". British Cinematographer. 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ "Strasbourg 1518: reliving a 16th-century 'dancing plague' in lockdown". the Guardian. 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
External links
- Darius Khondji at IMDb
- An interview with Darius Khondji
