---
name: "Krzysztof Kieślowski"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/krzysztof-kieslowski"
fi1m_id: "krzysztof-kieslowski"
imdb_id: "nm0001425"
tmdb_id: 1126
wikidata_id: "Q55165"
roles: ["Writer","Director"]
born: "27 June 1941"
died: "13 March 1996"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-21T05:02:00.486597+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Krzysztof Kieślowski

## Identity

Krzysztof Kieślowski

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/krzysztof-kieslowski
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** krzysztof-kieslowski
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001425
- **TMDB ID:** 1126
- **Wikidata ID:** Q55165
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55165, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001425/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1126

Writer and director. Born 27 June 1941 in Warsaw, General Government, German Reich [now Poland]. Died 13 March 1996.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Director
- **Born:** 27 June 1941, Warsaw, General Government, German Reich [now Poland]
- **Died:** 13 March 1996
- **Active:** 1989–2026
- **Also known as:** 크쥐시토프 키에슬로브스키
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 6: 5 directing, 1 writing
- **Frequently works with:** [Krzysztof Piesiewicz](https://film.one/person/krzysztof-piesiewicz.md), [Marin Karmitz](https://film.one/person/marin-karmitz.md), [Irène Jacob](https://film.one/person/irene-jacob.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 84 (1), 1990s 86 (4), 2020s 83 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55165, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001425/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1126

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Three Colors: Red*](https://film.one/film/three-colors-red.md) (90), [*Three Colors: Blue*](https://film.one/film/three-colors-blue.md) (88), [*Three Colors: White*](https://film.one/film/three-colors-white.md) (78)
- **The Criterion Channel:** [*The Double Life of Véronique*](https://film.one/film/the-double-life-of-veronique.md) (86)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Krzysztof Kieślowski

> Krzysztof Kieślowski takes ordinary people's difficult choices seriously, without always making them easier to understand. We value that patience, especially in *Three Colours: Blue*, though his music and images can tell us too firmly what to feel.

In *Three Colours: Blue* (1993), Juliette Binoche's Julie keeps other people at a distance, and Kieślowski does not hurry her into being agreeable. We were frightened by the opening crash because its violence arrived before we had settled into watching. That shock makes Julie's subsequent reserve feel like an effort we can understand, however little she explains herself. Kieślowski gives a guarded face time to hold our attention, and Binoche makes that trust worthwhile.

His move from documentaries into fiction did not end his interest in ordinary behaviour. *Camera Buff* (1979) examines the consequences of filming everyday life; the ten-part television series *Decalogue* (1988–89) puts moral conflicts into individual stories. With the international co-productions *The Double Life of Véronique* (1991) and the *Three Colours* trilogy (1993–94), coincidence and connections between lives become more prominent. These are sizeable questions, but a person trying to decide what to do remains a better starting point than a speech explaining the theme.

Screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz became a regular collaborator from 1985, and co-wrote *Blue*. Their account of Julie's wish to withdraw understands why freedom from other people might be tempting. The director's recurring collaborators also include cinematographer Sławomir Idziak and composer Zbigniew Preisner. Image and music matter enormously to this cinema, but in *Blue* they sometimes press harder than Binoche's performance needs.

The control can be excessive. Claude Lenoir's restrained production design for *Blue* keeps our attention on Julie, yet the surroundings sometimes seem too neatly arranged. Supporting characters are given less weight than Julie, and can seem to have been sent in principally to test her determination. For a director concerned with the difficulty of living among others, that is a limitation worth noticing.

Kieślowski is worth the solemnity because he does not require Julie to become wiser for our benefit. The film lets her wish for solitude remain understandable, even when her behaviour offers little comfort to anyone else. Begin with *Blue* for Binoche, and give her silences as much attention as the score.

## Biography

Krzysztof Kieślowski was a Polish film director and screenwriter. Born in Warsaw in 1941, he graduated from the Łódź Film School and began his career with documentaries before moving to features.

He is known internationally for the television series *Dekalog* (1989), *The Double Life of Véronique* (1991) and the *Three Colours* trilogy (1993–1994). Kieślowski received numerous awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for *Three Colours: Blue* (1993) and Academy Award nominations for best director and best original screenplay for *Three Colours: Red* (1994). He died in Warsaw in 1996.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, culture.pl.*

## On Fi1m (6)

### Directed (5)

- *Three Colors: Red* (1994), Fi1m 90, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/three-colors-red.md)
- *Three Colors: White* (1994), Fi1m 78, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/three-colors-white.md)
- *Three Colors: Blue* (1993), Fi1m 88, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/three-colors-blue.md)
- *The Double Life of Véronique* (1991), Fi1m 86, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-double-life-of-veronique.md)
- *Decalogue V* (1989), Fi1m 84, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/decalogue-v.md)

### Wrote (1) — the average rests on these

- *Possible Love* (2026), Fi1m 83, Original Story — [page](https://film.one/film/possible-love.md)

## Complete filmography (71)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Possible Love* (2026), Original Story — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/possible-love.md)
- *Parallel Tales* (2026), Original Story
- *Dwando* (2009), Story
- *Hope* (2007), Screenplay
- *Cinema 16: European Short Films (European Edition)* (2006), Director
- *Hell* (2005), Scenario Writer
- *Heaven* (2002), Screenplay
- *The Big Animal* (2000), Screenplay
- *Horoscope* (2000), Co-Director
- *Love Stories* (1997), In Memory Of
- *Short Working Day* (1995), Director, Writer
- *Three Colors: Red* (1994), Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/three-colors-red.md)
- *Three Colors: White* (1994), Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/three-colors-white.md)
- *Three Colors: Blue* (1993), Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/three-colors-blue.md)
- *The Double Life of Véronique* (1991), Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-double-life-of-veronique.md)
- *City Life* (1990), Director
- *Seven Days a Week* (1990), Director
- *Dekalog* (1989), series, Director, Writer
- *Decalogue V* (1989), Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/decalogue-v.md)
- *Decalogue VI* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue I* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue II* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue III* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue IV* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue VII* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue X* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue VIII* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *Decalogue IX* (1989), Director, Screenplay
- *A Short Film About Love* (1988), Director, Writer
- *A Short Film About Killing* (1988), Director, Screenplay
- *Blind Chance* (1987), Director, Screenplay
- *No End* (1985), Director, Screenplay
- *The Calm* (1980), Director, Screenplay
- *Talking Heads* (1980), Director, Writer
- *Railway Station* (1980), Director, Writer
- *Camera Buff* (1979), Director, Screenplay, Dialogue
- *The Card Index* (1979), Director
- *From a Night Porter's Point of View* (1979), Director
- *Seven Women of Different Ages* (1979), Director
- *Hospital* (1977), Director
- *I Don't Know* (1977), Director, Writer
- *The Scar* (1976), Writer, Director, Dialogue
- *Two for the Seesaw* (1976), Director
- *Personnel* (1976), Director, Writer
- *Slate* (1976), Director, Writer
- *Curriculum Vitae* (1975), Director, Writer
- *Legend* (1975), as Krzysztof Kieślowski · Director
- *First Love* (1974), Director, Writer
- *Pedestrian Subway* (1974), Director, Screenplay
- *X-Ray* (1974), Director
- *Niebieskie jak Morze Czarne* (1973), as Survey Participant (uncredited)
- *The Bricklayer* (1973), Director, Writer
- *The Sun Rises Once a Day* (1972), as MO Officer (uncredited)
- *Checking the King* (1972), Director
- *Refrain* (1972), Director, Writer
- *Workers '71: Nothing About Us Without Us* (1972), Director, Screenplay
- *The Principles of Safety and Hygiene in a Copper Mine* (1972), Director
- *Between Wrocław and Zielona Góra* (1972), Director
- *Culling* (1972), Director
- *Factory* (1971), Director
- *I Was a Soldier* (1971), Director
- *Before the Rally* (1971), Director
- *From the City of Lodz* (1969), Director, Writer
- *The Photograph* (1968), Scenario Writer, Director
- *Concert of Requests* (1967), Director, Writer
- *Hell and Heaven* (1966), as Saved Man (uncredited)
- *Don Gabriel* (1966), as Soldier (uncredited)
- *The Office* (1966), Director
- *Tramway* (1966), Writer, Director
- *The Face* (1966), as The Artist
- *Jeleń*, Idea

## Gallery

- ![Krzysztof Kieślowski](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-4a347da43e5e.jpg) Krzysztof Kieślowski — Alberto Terrile, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski_Portrait_1994.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Sculpture memroized Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz and Zbigniew Preisner on Walk of Fame in Międzyzdroje. (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-bc03fc50ad0d.jpg) Sculpture memroized Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz and Zbigniew Preisner on Walk of Fame in Międzyzdroje. (2014) — Mariochom, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Al_Gwiazd_Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski%2C_Krzysztof_Piesiewicz%2C_Zbigniew_Preisner.jpg/1280px-Al_Gwiazd_Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski%2C_Krzysztof_Piesiewicz%2C_Zbigniew_Preisner.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Galeria osobowości kultury Warszawy XX w. Trasa Łazienkowska w Warszawie. Portret Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego. (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-23f8c1371b1a.jpg) Galeria osobowości kultury Warszawy XX w. Trasa Łazienkowska w Warszawie. Portret Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego. (2010) — Panek, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/GOKW_Kieslowski.JPG/1280px-GOKW_Kieslowski.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Grave of Krzysztof Kieślowski at Powązki Cemetery (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-6836194942be.jpg) Grave of Krzysztof Kieślowski at Powązki Cemetery (2012) — Jolanta Dyr, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Grave_of_Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski_at_Pow%C4%85zki_Cemetery_-_02.jpg/1280px-Grave_of_Krzysztof_Kie%C5%9Blowski_at_Pow%C4%85zki_Cemetery_-_02.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Krzysztof Kieślowski](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-3be3c54cfeb0.jpg) Krzysztof Kieślowski — Image via TMDB
- ![Krzysztof Kieślowski](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-38c6a9d038d7.jpg) Krzysztof Kieślowski — Image via TMDB
- ![Grób Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego autorstwa Krzysztofa M. Bednarskiego na warszawskich Starych Powązkach Krzysztof Kieslowski's grave by Krzysztof M. Bednarski at t](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-a0abd1999bfd.jpg) Grób Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego autorstwa Krzysztofa M. Bednarskiego na warszawskich Starych Powązkach Krzysztof Kieslowski's grave by Krzysztof M. Bednarski at t — No machine-readable author provided. Zuska assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Kieslowski_Powazki.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Tablica pamiątkowa na domu, w którym mieszkał Krzysztof Kieślowski w Sokołowsku (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/79661/gallery-87f69a978f45.jpg) Tablica pamiątkowa na domu, w którym mieszkał Krzysztof Kieślowski w Sokołowsku (2008) — Bonio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Kie%C5%9Blowski-Soko%C5%82owsko1.JPG/1280px-Kie%C5%9Blowski-Soko%C5%82owsko1.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1995: Best Director (nominated), for *Three Colours: Red*
- 1995: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Three Colours: Red*

### Other awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2002: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (nominated), for *Heaven*
- European Film Award for Best Film 1994: European Film Award for Best Film (nominated), for *Three Colors trilogy*
- European Film Award for Best Film 1988: European Film Award for Best Film (won), for *A Short Film About Killing*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/krzysztof-kieslowski