Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowśki

Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowśki

16 Episodes

Few filmmakers contemplated such weighty philosophical themes with as much authority as Polish cinema titan Krzysztof Kieślowski. Originally a documentary filmmaker, he turned to narrative with early narrative features like CAMERA BUFF and NO END that remained rooted in social reality—often garnering controversy for their dissident commentary on life in Communist Poland. It was with internationally acclaimed features like A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING, A SHORT FILM ABOUT LOVE, THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VÉRONIQUE, and the career-capping Three Colors trilogy that Kieślowski revealed himself as his generation’s leading heir to the transcendent cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky and Robert Bresson, exploring universal metaphysical questions—of life and death, freedom and fate, sin and morality—through an increasingly refined, symbol-laden visual style.

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Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowśki
  • The Tram

    Episode 1

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1966 • Poland

    While a film student in Łódź, Krzysztof Kieślowski made the 1966 silent short THE TRAM, about a flirtatious boy and a pretty girl. The film is presented here courtesy of the Polish National Film, Television, and Theatre School in Łódź.

  • Factory

    Episode 2

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1970 • Poland

    Krzysztof Kieślowski began his career making documentaries. Presented here is FACTORY, one of his nonfiction shorts.

  • Hospital

    Episode 3

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1976 • Poland

    Krzysztof Kieślowski began his career making documentaries. Presented here is HOSPITAL, one of his nonfiction shorts.

  • The Scar

    Episode 4

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1976 • Poland

    Krzysztof Kieślowski embarked on one of the major careers in world cinema with this feature debut. Building on the director’s documentary background, THE SCAR is a richly observed story of community, politics, and ambition in a rural Polish factory.

  • Seven Women of Different Ages

    Episode 5

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1978 • Poland

    Krzysztof Kieślowski made more than twenty documentaries, including this wryly observed short, which profiles seven ballet dancers, one for each day of the week. From a fledgling student to a star ballerina in her prime to an older dancer now cast...

  • Camera Buff

    Episode 6

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1979 • Poland

    A reflexive meditation on art and documentary and a key film in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s career, CAMERA BUFF follows a factory worker's growing obsession with filmmaking after he captures the birth of his daughter on his new 8 mm camera.

  • Railway Station

    Episode 7

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1980 • Poland

    Krzysztof Kieślowski began his career making documentaries. Presented here is RAILWAY STATION, one of his nonfiction shorts.

  • Talking Heads

    Episode 8

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1980 • Poland

    Krzysztof Kieślowski made more than twenty documentaries, including the following short. In TALKING HEADS, Kieślowski poses the questions “What year were you born?” “Who are you?” and “What do you most wish for?” to forty different people, rangi...

  • Blind Chance

    Episode 9

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1981 • Poland
    Starring Bogusław Linda

    Before he stunned the cinematic world with the epic series DEKALOG and the THREE COLORS trilogy, the great Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski made his first work of metaphysical genius, BLIND CHANCE, a compelling drama a...

  • No End

    Episode 10

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1985 • Poland

    Antek is a young lawyer who dies four days before the beginning of the film, but continues to haunt his beautiful young widow.

  • A Short Film About Killing

    Episode 11

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1988 • Poland

    A shocking, powerful film expanded from episode V of Kieslowski's legendary Decalogue, A Short Film About Killing considers societal violence in its many forms through the story of an idealistic young lawyer and the brutal murderer he is called ...

  • A Short Film About Love

    Episode 12

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1988 • Poland

    An expanded version of episode VI in Kieslowski's legendary Decalogue, this film examines love, longing and sex through the story of a young postal worker who spies on a promiscuous woman in an adjacent housing project.

  • The Double Life of Véronique

    Episode 13

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1991 • France
    Starring Irène Jacob, Philippe Volter, Sandrine Dumas

    Krzysztof Kieślowski’s international breakthrough remains one of his most beloved films, a ravishing, mysterious rumination on identity, love, and human intuition. Irène Jacob is incandescent a...

  • Three Colors: Blue

    Episode 14

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1993 • France
    Starring Juliette Binoche, Benoit Régent

    In the devastating first film of the Three Colors trilogy, Juliette Binoche gives a tour de force performance as Julie, a woman reeling from the tragic death of her husband and young daughter. But BLUE is m...

  • Three Colors: Red

    Episode 15

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1994 • France
    Starring Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant

    Krzysztof Kieślowski closes his Three Colors trilogy in grand fashion, with an incandescent meditation on fate and chance, starring Irène Jacob as a sweet-souled yet somber runway model in Geneva whose ...

  • Three Colors: White

    Episode 16

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski • 1994 • France
    Starring Julie Delpy, Zbigniew Zamachowski

    The most playful and also the grittiest of Kieślowski's Three Colors films follows the adventures of Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), a Polish immigrant living in France. The hapless hairdresser opts t...