We are proud to announce that Sławomir Idziak will be the recipient of our Lifetime Achievement Award at the 21st edition of the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE, which will be held in Bydgoszcz from 16th to 23rd November 2013. Sławomir Idziak is a Polish cinematographer of truly worldwide reputation, though he is also an acknowledged director, screenwriter, educator and a professional filmmaker who is constantly taking a keen interest in all the changes occurring in the realm of cinema. Our Special Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Art of Cinematography is among many distinctions he achieved during his career. Sławomir Idziak will be a special guest of the 21st Camerimage and he will talk with the audiences during Q&A's after selected screenings from a retrospective of his films organized for this occasion by Camerimage. The Festival will also publish an album dedicated to Sławomir Idziak's life and work - another unique publication in tribute to our Lifetime Achievement Award recipient's breath-taking career.

Sławomir Idziak
photo by Fotografowie.com
Sławomir Idziak was born on January 25th, 1945 in Katowice, Silesia, to a family with long tradition in artistic photography. His decision to take up a career in movies became a fait accompli when he enrolled into the Cinematography Department of The Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź. Idziak made his debut as a cinematographer even before graduating in 1969. He gathered precious knowledge of the art of film, as well as experience in visual sophistication, as an assistant camera and camera operator in films by Wojciech Marczewski (Travellers Like Others, 1969), Krzysztof Zanussi (Mountains at Dusk, 1970) and Andrzej Wajda's The Wedding (1972), the last of which he made already after his feature debut as a cinematographer in Mieczysław Waśkowski's You Can Still Hear the Singing and the Neighing of the Horses. At the same time he tried his luck as a film director, making quite a stir, both among the critics and the Polish audience, with Paper Bird (1972), Flying Lessons (1978), and A Performance (1978).

Still from "A Year of the Quiet Sun"
Still from "A Short Film About Killing"
Ultimately he decided, however, to continue his career as a cinematographer, thinking it being a path that would guarantee him the greatest artistic challenges and personal satisfaction. Since then, Sławomir Idziak has always been more of a partner for the director he was working with, than a creator of new worlds; he supported their visions with his experience and knowledge. The first, distinctly Polish phase of his career was marked by these types of collaborations with Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi and Krzysztof Kieślowski, three great Polish filmmakers whose visual style Idziak co-created, establishing himself a reputation of a specialist with filters and extracting different shades of visual poetry from each gesture, shape or location. With Wajda he shot The Conductor. With Zanussi he made as much as fourteen films, including The Contract, The Constant Factor and A Year of the Quiet Sun, thus showing himself to the whole world as one of the cinematographers of the future. With Kieślowski he made “only" six movies, including A Short Film About Killing, The Double Life of Veronique and Three Colours: Blue (awarded at IFF Venice and nominated to a César Award), confirming his status of a cinematographer of worldwide fame.

Still from "Three Colours: Blue"
Still from "The Double Life of Veronique"
After such distinctively great triumphs, Idziak was approached by Hollywood. He used this golden opportunity to prove once and for all that he's as good at artistic projects (Gattaca) as at fast, action-packed blockbusters (Proof of Life, Black Hawk Down - for the second one he was nominated to numerous awards, including Golden Globe, BAFTA, and OSCAR®). Idziak found himself at the top of his game. Then he was invited by the producers of Harry Potter franchise to join the crew of its fifth part, The Order of the Phoenix. During the time of his greatest international triumphs, Sławomir Idziak also shot Golden Frog-nominated Lilian's Story(1996), I Want You (1998, also awarded at IFF Berlin), and The Last September (1999). The last chapter of his career as a cinematographer was marked by his co-operation with Jerzy Hoffman in the making of the first Polish 3D feature film - Battle of Warsaw 1920.

Still from "Gattaca"
Still from "Black Hawk Down"
Due to his immense experience in the film industry, incredible knowledge in the world of cinematography, and his dedication to educating the youth, Sławomir Idziak was granted the title of professor in Germany, and he gives lectures in many international schools, including those in Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, London, Helsinki and Sydney. However, it was the Film Spring Open project that became his greatest masterpiece. Film Spring Open (www.filmspringopen.eu) is an internet platform designed to connect filmmakers from around the world, and aid them in exchanging ideas and passion for cinema, thus creating a space for development in which every member can define their skills - both in theory and in practice. One of Film Spring Open's most interesting initiatives are the annual workshops in which its participants discuss new production models, film distribution, technology development, the future of cinema, etc.

Sławomir Idziak's involvement in the betterment of the art of cinematography and film education cannot be overestimated. This year's recipient of Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award also helped to establish the Polish Society of Cinematographers, is always eager to be involved in various initiatives promoting artistic ideas, and creates an international society of filmmakers making its way into the future. During his forty-year-lasting career he made over seventy features in over a dozen countries around the world. He worked with such great filmmakers as Ridley Scott, Michael Winterbottom, Andrew Niccol, Taylor Hackford, or John Sayles. We are extremely proud that we can award such a distinguished cinematographer with Camerimage Lifetime Achievement Award.


SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY:

• 2011 Battle of Warsaw 1920, dir. Jerzy Hoffman
• 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, dir. David Yates
• 2004 King Arthur, dir. Antoine Fuqua
• 2001 Black Hawk Down, dir. Ridley Scott
• 2000 Proof of Life, dir. Taylor Hackford
• 1998 I Want You, dir. Michael Winterbottom
• 1997 Gattaca, dir. Andrew Niccol
• 1996 Lilian's Story, dir. Jerzy Domaradzki
• 1993 Three Colours: Blue, dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
• 1991 The Double Life of Veronique, dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
• 1987 A Short Film About Killing, dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
• 1984 A Year of the Quiet Sun, dir. Krzysztof Zanussi
• 1980 The Contract, dir. Krzysztof Zanussi
• 1979 The Conductor, dir. Andrzej Wajda
• 1974 Quarterly Balance Sheet, dir. Krzysztof Zanussi
• 1969 The Criminal Who Stole a Crime, dir. Janusz Majewski
  
  

We sincerely invite everyone to come to Bydgoszcz and participate in the 21st edition of Camerimage, which will be held from 16th to 23rd November 2013.