Kieślowski, Krzysztof (1941–1996)

Polish film director and screenwriter. One of the great European auteurs of the 1980s and 1990s, his films are often personal narratives with broader moral and political implications. His ‘Three Colours’ trilogy – Trois couleurs: Bleu/Blue (1993), Trois couleurs: Blanc/White (1993), and Trois couleurs: Rouge/Red (1994) – is based on the French flag and the concepts of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Kieślowski began his film career making documentaries during the 1970s, before directing such feature films as Amator/Camera Buff (1979), Bez Końca/No End (1984), and Przypadek/Blind Chance (1987). He won international recognition for his series of ten short television films Dekalog/Decalogue (1988), which offered contemporary readings of the Ten Commandments. Two of these were made into feature-length films, Krotki film o milosci/A Short Film About Killing and Krotki film o zabijaniu/A Short Film About Love (both 1988). These were followed by the Franco-Polish coproduction La Double Vie de Véronique/The Double Life of Veronique (1991). He retired from film-making in 1994.