Krzysztof Kieślowski
Krzysztof Kieslowski, (1941-1996), influential Polish motion-picture director and screenwriter.
Krzysztof Kieslowski was born on June 27, 1941 in Warsaw, Poland where he studied at Lodz Film School. Living under the oppression of a Communist dictatorship, his films were commentaries on the social problems at the time. After the fall of communism, he would become one of the leading filmmakers in Europe.
His 1988 "The Decalogue," a series of ten short films, each based on one of the Ten Commandments, was created for Polish television but was also screened at major international film festivals and on television networks all over the world. Critics in Europe and North America claim it may be the best dramatic work ever done specifically for television, and the most impressive religious art produced in any field during recent decades.
During his career, he made several commercially successful films in the French language, filmed both in Poland and in France. His commercial motion pictures were co-written by him and although fiction, they were also social commentaries, centered on a variety of moral issues. In 1990, he received international acclaim with the film "La double vie de Véronique (The Double Life of Véronique)."
His last work, a trilogy, is regarded by many as the finest single collection of films, ever. Also made in both France and Poland, the trilogy was titled "Trois Couleurs (Three Colors)," each based on a different color of the French flag and representing its social slogan evolving from the Revolution. Written by Kieslowski with his friend and civil-rights lawyer, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, accompanied by a superb musical score from Zbigniew Preisner, all three films brilliantly illustrate the profound nature of, and possibilities for, human beings.
- Bleu (Blue) - 1993, representing liberty. Starring Juliette Binoche and Benoit Regent, the film was awarded the prize for the best picture at the Venice Film Festival;
- Blanc (White) - 1994, representing equality. Starring Zbigniew Zamachowski and Julie Delpy, the film won the award for best director at the Berlin International Film Festival;
- Rouge (Red) - 1994, representing fraternity. Starring Iréne Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant it was nominated for an Academy Award for Directing.
In 1993, he published an autobiography, "Kieslowski on Kieslowski."
Krzysztof Kieslowski died on March 13, 1996 from a massive coronary and was interred in Powazki Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland.
Years after his death, he remains one of Europe’s most influential directors, his films the study of film classes at universities throughout the world.