| Łukasz Żal | |
| Birth Date: | 1981 6, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Koszalin, Poland |
| Yearsactive: | 2004–present |
| Nationality: | Polish |
| Alma Mater: | National Film School in Łódź |
| Occupation: | Cinematographer |
Łukasz Żal (pronounced as /pl/; 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]
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]
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Ida | Paweł Pawlikowski | With Ryszard Lenczewski | |
| 2015 | The Here After | Magnus von Horn | ||
| 2016 | Na granicy | Wojciech Kasperski | ||
| 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 | ||
| TBA | Chloé Zhao | Filming |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Zielony | Himself Jedrzej Baczyk | Also writer | |
| 2006 | Mistrz swiata | Himself | ||
| 2011 | Odwyk | Krzysztof Jankowski | ||
| 2015 | Legendy Polskie Smok | Tomasz Baginski | ||
| Legendy Polskie Twardowsky | ||||
| 2023 | Til Further Notice | Valdimar Jóhannsson | Segment of Circus Maximus |
Documentary
| Year | Title | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Papparazzi | Piotr Bernas | Short film | |
| 2013 | Joanna | Aneta Kopacz | ||
| Arena | Piotr Bernas | |||
| Lewa polowa twarzy | Marcin Bortkiewicz | |||
| 2016 | Ikona | Wojciech Kasperski |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||||
| 2014 | Best Cinematography | Ida | [5] | ||
| 2018 | Cold War | ||||
| British Academy Film Awards | |||||
| 2014 | Best Cinematography | Ida | |||
| 2018 | Cold War | ||||
| 2024 | The Zone of Interest | ||||
| American Society of Cinematographers Awards | |||||
| Spotlight Award | Ida | ||||
| 2018 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases | Cold War | |||