SOBOCIŃSKI, WITOLD

(1929-)

One of the most esteemed Polish cinematographers. After graduating from theŁódź Film Schoolin 1955, Sobociński worked fortelevision(1955-1959) and the studioCzołówka(1959-1964). In the mid-1960s, he worked as a camera operator onThe Pharaoh(1966,Jerzy Kawalerowicz) andCiphers(1966,Wojciech J.Has). His debut as a cinematographer came withJerzy Skolimowski'sHands Up(1967, released in 1985). Later he also collaborated with Skolimowski on his films made abroad,The Adventures of Gerard(1970) andTorrents of Spring(1989).Sobociński, however, became internationally known for his work onAndrzej Wajda's classic films, includingEverything for Sale(1969),The Wedding(1973), andThe Promised Land(1975). In the 1970s, he also photographed Has'sHospital under the Hourglass(1973),AndrzejŻuławski'sThe Third Part of the Night(1972), andEdward Zebrowski'sThe Hospital of Transfiguration(1979).

Sobociński also worked abroad. For example, he collaborated withRoman PolańskionPirates(1986) andFrantic(1988). He also photographedThe Catamount Killing(1974) and several other films made outside of Poland byKrzysztof Zanussi, with whom he had madeFamily Life(1971). In the 1950s, Sobociński was a drummer in the first jazz group that emerged in Poland, Melomani (Music Lovers), headed by another cinematographer trained at Łódź, Jerzy "Duduś" Matuszkiewicz. In 1981Feliks Falkmade a film about this group,There Was Jazz, photographed by Sobociński and with him on-screen (as himself). In recent years Sobociński worked on two films directed by his fellow cinematographerJerzy Wójcik:The Complaint(1991) andThe Gates of Europe(1999). For the latter he won theFestival of Polish Filmsand thePolish Film Award"Eagle." Sobociński has also been a lecturer at the Łódź Film School. In 1994 he received the Lifetime Achievement award at theCamerimagefilm festival. He is cinematographerPiotr Sobocinski's father.