Piotr Sobocinski

Short Biography

Piotr Sobociński (3 February 1958 – 26 March 2001) was one of the most respected cinematographers ever to come from Poland, picking up where his father, legendary Polish cinematographer, Witold Sobociński, left off. He was nominated for Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Three Colours: Red in 1994.Early lifeBorn in 1958, in Łódź, Poland, as a youngster, Sobociński felt led in his father's footsteps. He studied at the National Film School in Łódź and earned his degrees in 1987.CareerHe worked with noted Polish director, Krzysztof Kieślowski in many films, starting with Dekalog (1988) and culminating with his 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 and an Oscar nomination also in 1994. In the following year, he won the Golden Frog award for The Seventh Room, and in 1997 he 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. However, while filming Trapped (aka 24 Hours) in 2001, he suffered a massive heart attack and died in his sleep in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was buried at the Powazki Cemetery Warsaw, Poland. Hearts in Atlantis, released a few months after his death, and Trapped are dedicated to him.He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter and his father Witold, who is retired from the film business.