Piotr Sobociński

Piotr Sobociński
Piotr Sobociński
Born	3 February 1958; Łódź, Polish People's Republic
Died	26 March 2001 (aged 43); Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Alma mater	National Film School in Łódź
Occupation	Cinematographer;
Children	3, including Maria Sobocińska
Father	Witold Sobociński

Piotr Sobociński (Polish pronunciation: [ˈpjɔtr sɔbɔˈt͡ɕiɲskʲi]; 3 February 1958 – 26 March 2001) was a Polish cinematographer.^[1]

He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Three Colours: Red in 1994. Sobociński was the son of Polish cinematographer Witold Sobociński.

Early life

Born in 1958, in Łódź, Poland, as a youngster, Sobociński felt led in his father's footsteps.^{[citation needed]} He studied at the National Film School in Łódź and earned his degrees in 1987.

Career

He worked with noted Polish director, Krzysztof Kieślowski in many films, starting with Dekalog (1988) and culminating with Kieślowski's final film, Three Colours: Red (1994), for which Sobociński won his first award the Silver Frog Award at Camerimage, Poland's International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in 1994,^[2] as well as an Oscar nomination the same year. In the following year, he won the Golden Frog award for The Seventh Room and, in 1997, received a Golden Frog nomination for Marvin’s Room.

His career hit a peak in the mid-1990s when he was asked by Ron Howard to work on the film Ransom starring Mel Gibson and Rene Russo.

Death

While filming Trapped (aka 24 Hours) in 2001, he suffered a massive heart attack and died in his sleep in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[3] He was buried at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland. Hearts in Atlantis, released a few months after his death, and Trapped are dedicated to him.

His sons, Piotr and Michał, are both cinematographers.^[4] His daughter, Maria, is an actress.

Filmography

Short film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1983	Die Kinder von Himmlerstadt
1990	Koniec	Bogusław Linda
1992	Zuk	Dariusz Kadziela Jakub Skoczen	With Dariusz Kadziela

Documentary short

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1979	Arena Zycia	Bogdan Dziworski
1985	Zu Hause - Was ist das eigentlich?	Reinhardt Firchow	With Hans-Eberhard Leupold and Serge Roman
1986	Szczurolap	Andrzej Czarnecki

Feature film

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1985	Milosc z listy przebojów	Marek Nowicki
1986	Tanie pieniadze	Tomasz Lengren
1987	Magnat	Filip Bajon
1989	Lawa	Tadeusz Konwicki
1989	Pension Sonnenschein	Filip Bajon
1990	Bal na dworcu w Koluszkach	Filip Bajon
1990	Potyautasok	Sándor Söth
1992	A nagy postarablás	Sándor Söth
1993	Die Wildnis	Werner Masten
1994	Three Colours: Red	Krzysztof Kieślowski
1995	The Seventh Room	Márta Mészáros
1996	Ransom	Ron Howard
1996	Marvin's Room	Jerry Zaks
1998	Twilight	Robert Benton
2001	Hearts In Atlantis	Scott Hicks	Posthumous release
2001	Angel Eyes	Luis Mandoki
2002	Trapped^[a]	Luis Mandoki

^ Shared credit with Frederick Elmes

Television

Miniseries

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1988	Dekalog	Krzysztof Kieślowski	Segments Three and Nine
1989	Biala wizytówka	Filip Bajon
1993	Die Piefke-Saga	Werner Masten	Episode "Die Erfüllung"

TV series

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1992-1993	Unser Lehrer Doktor Specht	Werner Masten	21 episodes
1995	Frauenarzt Dr. Markus Merthin	Matthias Gohlke	Episodes "Alte Bekannte" and "Pläne"
1995	Die Straßen von Berlin	Werner Masten	Episode "Babuschka"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1994	Academy Awards	Best Cinematography	Three Colours: Red	Nominated
2001	Satellite Awards	Best Cinematography	Hearts In Atlantis	Nominated

References

^ Marek Haltof (2 February 2015). Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-4422-4472-6.
^ Dillon, Mark (June 2001). "Memory and Loss". American Cinematographer. 82 (6): 80.
^ Cinematographer Piotr Sobocinski, 43, Dies In Sleep By Beth Laski and Sheigh Crabtree. The Hollywood Reporter, March 27, 2001.
^ "Hearts in Atlantis with Director Scott Hicks". The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast (Podcast). Bloody FM. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2023.