Łukasz Żal

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Łukasz Żal
Łukasz Żal (2015)
Born (1981-06-24) 24 June 1981 (age 42)
NationalityPolish
Alma materNational Film School in Łódź
OccupationCinematographer
Years active2004–present

Łukasz Żal (Polish pronunciation: [ˈwukaʂ ˈʐal]; born 24 June 1981)[1][2] is a Polish cinematographer, best known for his work on the films Ida (2014), Loving Vincent (2017), Cold War (2018) and The Zone of Interest (2023).[3]

Life and career[edit]

Żal has said that he "fell in love" with cinema at the age of 16, when he attended a course on filmmaking held at a local gymnasium in his home town of Koszalin, Poland. His interest in photography was sparked by a friend, who asked to use him as a subject and also showed him how to use a camera. He went on to study photography at the Leon Schiller National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź, from which he graduated in 2007. Whilst there, he watched many films and decided to pursue a career as a cinematographer because of the "stronger emotional content" he observed in movies.[3]

When preparing to work on a film, Żal has stated that he reads though the script and tries "to find part of [him]self in the movie".[3]

In 2019 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the British Royal Photographic Society, from which he also received the annual Lumière Award.[3]

He has been named as the recipient of the Variety Artisan Award at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]

Filmography[edit]

Short films

Year Title Director Notes
2006 World Champion Himself
2011 Papparazzi Piotr Bernas Documentary Short
2013 Joanna Aneta Kopacz
Arena Piotr Bernas
Left Side of the Face Marcin Bortkiewicz
2015 What Went Down Niall O'Brien
Polish Legends: The Dragon Tomasz Baginski
Polish Legends: Twardowsky

Feature films

Year Title Director Notes
2013 Ida Paweł Pawlikowski With Ryszard Lenczewski
2015 The Here After Magnus von Horn
2016 Ikona Wojciech Kasperski Documentary
2017 Loving Vincent Dorota Kobiela
Hugh Welchman
With Tristan Oliver
2018 Dovlatov Aleksei Alekseivich German
Cold War Paweł Pawlikowski
2020 I'm Thinking of Ending Things Charlie Kaufman
2023 The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer

Awards and nominations[edit]

Major awards[edit]

Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
Academy Awards
2014 Best Cinematography Ida Nominated [5]
2018 Cold War Nominated
British Academy Film Awards
2014 Best Cinematography Ida Nominated [5]
2018 Cold War Nominated
2024 The Zone of Interest Nominated
American Society of Cinematographers Awards
2014 Spotlight Award Ida Won [5]
2018 Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Cold War Won

Critics awards[edit]

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2013 National Polish Film Festival Best Cinematography Ida Won [6]
Warsaw Jewish Film Festival Best Cinematographer Won
20th Listapad Best Photography Won [7]
Camerimage International Film Festival Golden Frog Won [8]
2014 Polish Society of Cinematographers Awards PSC Award Won
Polish Academy Film Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
Mediaş Central European Film Festival Best Cinematography Award Won
Manaki Brothers Film Festival Silver Camera Won
European Film Awards Best Cinematographer Won [9]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards Best Cinematography Won [10]
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Cinematography Nominated [11]
2015 International Online Film Critics' Poll Best Cinematography Nominated
Polish Independent Cinema Awards Best Cinematography Joanna Nominated
2016 Kraków Film Festival Best Cinematography - Short Subject Ikona Won
2018 Manaki Brothers Film Festival Brown Camera Cold War Won
Camerimage International Film Festival Silver Frog Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Cinematography Nominated [12]
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Cinematography Won
2019 Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
North Carolina Film Critics Association Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Cinematography Nominated

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Łukasz Żal". FilmPolski. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Łukasz Żal". Filmweb (in Polish). Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Łukasz Żal – Lumière Award and Honorary Fellowship". The RPS Journal. Vol. 159, no. 9. Bristol: Royal Photographic Society. September 2019. pp. 614–620. ISSN 1468-8670.
  4. ^ Jeremy Kay, "TIFF adds Carolina Markowicz, Lukasz Zal, Andy Lau to tribute line-up". Screen Daily, August 22, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Lukasz Zal". IMDb.
  6. ^ "Gdynia 2013: "Ida" triumfuje na tegorocznym festiwalu". Filmweb.
  7. ^ "Awards and prizes of MIFF "Listapad-2013"". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  8. ^ "Camerimage - International Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  9. ^ "European Film Academy : THE 27TH EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS: WINNERS".
  10. ^ "The San Francisco Film Critics Circle» Blog Archive » 2014 SAN FRANCISCO FILM CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS".
  11. ^ ""Birdman" Leads 2014 CFCA Nominations". Chicago Film Critics Associated. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  12. ^ "2018 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards". Chicago Film Critics Association. December 8, 2018. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.

External links[edit]