SLAWOMIR GRÜNBERG
Director of Photography
Slawomir Grunberg, born in Lublin, Poland is a graduate of Polish Film School in Lodz, where he studied cinematography and directing. Between 1974-76 he worked as a cinematographer for Polish Television Network in Warsaw, Poland. He emigrated from Poland to the US in 1981, and has since shot and produced over 35 television documentaries. His independent works focus on critical social and political issues and have won him international recognition. Slawomir has been a contributing director of photography and editor for the PBS’ series: Frontline, American Masters, NOVA, AIDS Quarterly and Health Quarterly. He has also shot for ABC, NBC, HBO, Lifetime and Discovery networks. Slawomir had worked with such filmmakers as: Tod Lending (Legacy), Roger Weisberg (Breaking the Cycle) and Lee Grant (Confronting the Crisis) In 2000 Slawomir won the Emmy Award for a documentary he photographed, directed and co-produced: School Prayer: A Community at War. As a principal director of photography, he has shot over 50 documentaries, four of which received Emmy Nominations. His director of photography credits include among others: Legacy, which received an Academy Award Nomination for the best documentary feature in 2001, and Sister Rose’s Passion, which won the Best in Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2004 and received an Academy Award Nomination for the best documentary short in 2005. In 1997, Slawomir Grunberg was named a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Documentary Filmmaking, in 2002 received a New York Artist's Fellowship and in 2003 Soros Justice Media Fellowship.
SELECTED CREDITS
Coming Out in Poland (Director of Photography/Director/Producer/) What does it mean to be gay or lesbian in Poland today? In the Life/PBS 2008, 18 min.
Chops (Director of Photography)
a documentary film by Bruce Broder that follows a Florida high school jazz band’s journey to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition. Tribeca Film Festival. 2007
Praying with Lior (Director of Photography) Ilana Trachtman's documentary
portrays how community including religious inclusion, can enhance the lives of people with disabilities. San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. 2007
Portraits of Emotion (Director of Photography/Director/Producer) ) This film follows over the course of four years, the life of 14-year-old Jonathan Lerman, an artistic prodigy who is diagnosed with autism,
an Expression Award at Brazil’s Disability Film Festival, 2007
Saved by Deportation (Director of Photography/Director/Co-Producer/) The first feature length documentary film to tell the dramatic story of Polish Jews who escaped the Holocaust through their deportation to the Soviet Union. The Audience Award at the Washington Jewish Film Festival. 2006
Cruel and Unusual (Director of Photography) This film raises awareness about the abuse, isolation and poor medical care faced by transgender prisoners. Jane Baus, Dan Hunt,Reid Williams – Producers. HDTV. Best Doc at San Francisco and NYC LGBT Film Festivals. 2006
Plonacy Facet “Burning Man” (Director of Photography/Producer) On the 20th anniversary of Burning Man my camera followed several Polish artists, who became participants of this biggest festival of art in the open. HDV, Polish TV 1, 2006. 52 and 90 min.
Waging a Living (Director of Photography) Four low-wage earners fighting to make work pay. Roger Weisberg - Director. PBS/POV, 2006. 85 min.
Wygnancy – Exiles (Director of Photography/Co-Director) A story of Solidarity activists, who immigrated to US. Three part series, TV Polonia, 2005
Sister Rose’s Passion (Director of Photography/Line Producer) The film talks about Christian-Jewish relations and Sister Rose Thering passion to educate Christians about the Jews. Oren Jacoby - Director, Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival, Academy Award Nomination for the best documentary short in 2005, 39 min. HBO, 2005
Omar and Pete (Director of Photography) Two years study of the life outside the Baltimore prison system. Tod Lending - Director. EMMY Nomination. HDTV. PBS/POV 75 min, 2005
Aging Out (Director of Photography) Chronicles the daunting obstacles three foster care youth encounter when they age out of the system. Roger Weisberg - Director. PBS. 2005, 85 min.
Michael and Svetlana (Director of Photography/Producer) A fascinating transatlantic love affair journey and a documentary about an American who subscribed to matchmaking service to find himself a Russian bride. Warsaw International Film Festival. 2005. 56 and 93 min.
Borderline: The People v. Eunice Baker (Director of Photography/Director/Producer) A documentary that tells the story of Eunice Baker, a borderline mentally retarded woman who was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for murdering a young child, despite evidence that the death was accidental.
Best Documentary Award on a Theme on Disability at the Picture This…Festival in Calgary, Canada. PBS, Free Speech TV, Link TV, Denmark TV2, Planete Poland, 56 and 77 min., 2005
The Legacy of Jedwabne (Director of Photography/Director/Producer) A documentary that tells the story of a pogrom in 1941 in Jedwabne, Poland and explores the implications of the past for present constructions and negotiations of personal, national and religious identity.
Special Award at the Crossroads Film Festival, Lublin 2007;
Polish TV Kultura, PBS, Link TV, Al Jazeera TV, Nostalgia Cable TV Russia, Planete Poland., 56 and 75 min., 2005
Best Friends: The Power of Sisterhood (Director of Photography) The unique bond between women friends is explored and celebrated in the moving documentary. Deborah Shaffer - Director, PBS, 2005
B&B Guestbook 9/11 (Director of Photography/Producer) Reactions of B&B guests to the September 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath. PBS. 2004. 26 minutes.
A Father...A Son...Once Upon a Time In Holywood (Co-Director of Phptography) An intimate look at the Kirk and Michael Douglases' rocky relationship. Lee Grant - Director, HBO, 90 min. 2004
Shakespeare Sessions (Director of Photography). Royal Shakespeare founders: John Barton and Sir. Peter Hall travel to America for series of workshops. PBS. 2003. 57 minutes.
Proud to be a Girl (Director of Photography). Girl s adolescence and parent s fear. EMMY Award (local). PBS 2003, 26 minutes.
Stealing the Fire (Director of Photography). German connection between its Nazi past
and selling nuclear devices to Iraq. ZDF Germany; Sundance Channel 2003. 95 minutes.
Green Card Gamble (Co-Director of Photography/Co-Director) Three Polish families who,
as a result of winning a Diversity Program visa lottery, each received a green card. PTV 2, Poland, 2003, 31x25
minutes.
The Topdog Diaries, Suzan-Lori Parks (Director of Photography). A portrait of a Pulitzer
Prize winner and MacArthur Fellow. scriptwriter. PBS 2002. 57 minutes.
A Crime of Insanity (Director of Photography). What happens when mentally ill person
commits a violent crime. PBS/Frontline 2002. 57 minutes.
Grab Hold of the Reins (Director of Photography). Women struggling with cancer. PBS 2002,
26 minutes.
Fencline: A Company Town Divided (Director of Photography/Producer). Film depicts
the struggle of an African-American community in Louisiana s cancer alley to be relocated from under the shadow
of a Shell refinery; Best of the Environment Category: Vermont International Film Festival and International San
Francisco Film Festival, EMA Award (Environmental Media Association Award): - Best in Documentary Feature, Los
Angeles, ITVS/POV 2002, 57 minutes
The Last Chance (Co-Director of Photography) for MSNBC. Struggle with obesity in America.2001.
57
John Leguizamo (Co-Director of Photography) for Bravo. A documentary portrait of an artist.
2001.57
Beatles (Co-Director of Photography) for ABC. A new look at the phenomenon of Beatles.
2000. 57
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light (Director of Photography) for WNET/Thirteen - American
Masters. An intimate documentary portrait of one of the greatest artists. 2000. 57 minutes.
Legacy (Co-Director of Photography) for HBO. Filmed over five years lives of three generations
of African-American family. Academy Award Nomination and EMMY Nomination for the best documentary feature in 2001.
90 minutes.
Trail of a Killer (Director of Photography). Famous Sam Sheppard murder mystery and the
science behind re-opening of the case. Super 16 mm. NOVA 1999. 57 minutes.
Confronting the Crisis (Director of Photography) Real stories in child care in America.
Lifetime Channel. 1999. 57 minutes
School Prayer: A Community at War (Director of Photography/Producer). A woman from Wisconsin
who, after moving to Mississippi with her family, fights a heated battle with school authorities to have traditional
religious practices removed from the public schools. POV 1999. Gold Award: WorldFest, Houston, National EMMY
Award 2000, 57 minutes
My Retirement Dreams (Director of Photography/Editor) for PBS-Frontline. A journey into
the mind and soul of retired persons in America. 1998. 57 minutes.
Living in Tall Trees (Director of Photography) for WGBH/Asahi Japan. Canopy researches
and environmentalists fight to preserve old forests of the Americas. 1998. 30 minutes.
Skin Deep (Director of Photography) for BBC/PBS Peoples Century series. A study of racism
in the United States and South Africa. 1998. 57 minutes.
Time to Speak (Director of Photography) A documentary on child abuse seen through the
children s point of view. PBS National. 1998. 57 minutes.
From Chechnya to Chernobyl (Co-Director of Photography/Producer) Fleeing civil war refugees
seek safety outside Chernobyl,Golden Cine Award, RVU Holland, Planete Poland, 1997. 30 minutes.
Breaking Ties (Director of Photography) 58 Min. Homelessness and poverty examined through
experience of three families. PBS National. 1997. 57 minutes.
Shtetl (Director of Photography /Second Unit Producer) for PBS-Frontline. Several Polish-American
Jews return to their Shtetl for the first time since World War II and recall memories of Jewish life in the small
town, while also discovering lingering anti-Semitism. Silver Baton for Excellence in Radio/Television Journalism,
duPont- Columbia University, First Prize: Jerusalem Film Festival, Israel, Grand Prix: Cinema du Reel Film Festival,
Paris. 1996. 3 hours
No Time To Be a Child (Director of Photography) for PBS Growin Up Not A Child series.
It examines issues of children and violence from the child s point of view. 1995, 57 min. EMMY nomination 1996.
When Billy Broke his Head and Other Tales of Wonder (Director of Photography) for ITVS
- PBS Special. A deep and personal look at what it means to be disabled in America today. 1995. 57 minutes. EMMY
nomination 1996
Diary of an Artist (Director of Photography/Producer) for Polish Television Network.
The story of a Polish rock and roll star who tries to make it big in America. 1995, 45 minutes.
Jerzy Soltan - The Man Who Didn't Build Poland (Director of Photography/Producer) for
Polish Television Network. Documentary portrait of Polish architect and intellectual Jerzy Soltan, who studied
under master architect Le Corbesseuir. 1995, 45 minutes.
Diamonds in the Snow (Co-Director of Photography) for WDR Germany and PBS Special. A
story of three children who survived the Nazi Holocaust, one of them the filmmaker. 1995. 57 minutes
Chelyabinsk - The Most Contaminated Spot on the Planet (Producer/Director/Photography)
for NHK Japan, NOS Holland, SWF Germany, TVP Poland. A journey into the horror of nuclear contamination in the
Ural region of Russia. 1994. Grand Prix: International Nature & Environmental Film Festival, Grenoble, France;
Award for Best Documentary: International Festival of Environmental Films, Paris; Best Journalistic Achievement:
Okomedia - International Environmental Film Festival,Germany 60 min.
Adopting Olya (Co-Producer/Director/Photography) for Discovery - Great Britain, Denmark
TV, TVP Poland, NOS Holland. A couple from California travels to Russia to adopt a 4-year old girl. 1994, 30 min.
With a Song to Russia (Producer/Director/Photography) for WETA - PBS Special. The Washington
Choral Arts Society with Slava Rostropovich s National Symphony Orchestra tour to Russia in the midst of its 1993
political turmoil. 1994, 30 minutes
Mysterious Crash of Flight 201 (Co-Director of Photography) for PBS-NOVA. The Story of
a 12 month investigation into a passenger plane crash in the dense jungle of Panama. 1993. 57 min.
Betting on the Lottery (Director of Photography/Editor) for PBS-Frontline. An entertaining
look at lottery systems in various states 1990. 57 min
Russia for Sale (Director of Photography) for PBS-WNET. 58 Min. A documentary on the
conservative forces challenging the processes of Pierestroika in Russia. PBS-WNET. 1992. 58 min.
AIDS in Poland (Director of Photography) for PBS THE AIDS Quarterly with Peter Jennings.
A look at the AIDS crises in Poland. 1990. 30 minutes
When the Family Gets AIDS (Producer/Director/Photography) for WNET Independent Focus
and Nippon TV - Japan. The impact of AIDS on one American family. First Prize: Sinking Creek Film Celebration;
First Prize: Athens International Film Festival, First Prize: Video Festival, New York Expo of Short Film and Video,
1989. 30 minutes
Messenger to Poland (Co-Producer/Photography/Editor) for WTTW s Journal - PBS. A look
at Poland adjusting to a non-communist government. 1989. EMMY award (local). 57 minutes
Is This Life Worth Living? (Director of Photography/Producer) 30 Min. A film exploring the right to die dilemma
and euthanasia. Filmmakers Library. 1987. 30 minutes.
Beret (Director of Photography/Producer) The story of a European mime artist whose dream
is to become a mime in New York City. Manhattan Cable. 1984. 20 minutes.
A Sunday (Co- Director of Photography/Producer) A film about boredom in a small town
in Poland. Polish Television Network., Best Student Documentary in Kracow Film Festival, 1980. 10 minutes.
Selected television shows (Cameraman) Polish Television Network, Warsaw, Poland. 1974-76.
FIELD PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT
Sony HDW-F900 (PAC3), Cine Alta, high definition camera
Sony DVW Digital D 700 Betacam
Sony BVW D 600 Betacam SP; Fujinon 15x8 lens, Century .8x wide angle
Sony DSR 570 DVCAM
Sony DSR PD 150 (Pal)
Sony DSP PD 100A (NTSC)
Shure stereo sound mixer; Lectrosonic wireless mics (3); Senheiser boom mics
Vinton Vision tripod; Sony field monitor; Lighting kit
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