DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JERZY PALACZ

Born in Poland Jerzy Palacz studied from 1985 to 1991 at University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He worked as DOP for fiction features, cinema documentaries as well as for commercials. In all of his work you can see his very unique, highly professional and artistic approach towards film photography.

He recently filmed the European coproduction Midsummer Madness (2006/2007) directed by Alexander Hahn and Perl oder Pica (2006) a feature film by Pol Cruchten, lately very successfully released in Luxembourg.

In the past Jerzy Palacz shot several films with director Goran Rebic. The cinema fiction feature Donau, Duna, Dunaj, Dunav, Dunarea (2004) was shown on many international film festivals like Sundance 2004 - World Cinema; San Sebastian 2003; Vancouver 2003. It has won the Audience Award Mannheim-Heidelberg 2003. Jugofilm (1996) won the script award Herzeg Novi-Montenegro, the Silver Award Hongkong’s Critics. The film was also presented on festivals such as Karlovy Vary 1997- Honorary Mention; Moskow; Herzeg Nov-Montenegro; Thesaloniki 1998. The Rebic documentary Punishment (2000) had it’s premiere at Berlinale/Forum 2000 and won the Diagonale Award for best cinema, the Austrian National Award for Cinema Art, the Vienna Film Award and the Documentary Award Florence 2000. Palacz and Rebic had earlier worked together on the documentary Am Rande der Welt (1992).

Jerzy Palacz also filmed two documentaries directed by Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl: Jesusbild (2004) was awarded as Best Documentary Karlovy Vary 2003; Vienna Film Award Viennale 2003; Prix de L’Association Quebecoise des Critiques at 32. International Filmfestival Nouveau Cinema in Montreal. Models (1999) was shown at Berlinale Forum and honoured with the Choice Award Sarajewo 2000 and the Public Education Award as Best Movie in 2000.

Among many other films Jerzy Palacz further worked on: Im Anfang war der Blick (2002) a feature film by Bady Minck opened at Cannes 2003 - Quinzaine de Réalisateur, participated in over 60 international film festivals and won the award for the Cinema of the Future Mostra Internazionale del Nuovo Cinema di Pesaro 2003.

Freaky (2001) a shortmovie by Gabriele Neudecker won 10 international awards including Best European Short Film - Créteil International Women’s Film Festival 2002 .

Halbe Welt (1993) a feature film by Florian Flicker was awarded with the Special Jury Prize - Best Newcomer’s Film at Fantastica Geradmer in 1994.