Zbigniew Rybczyński facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zbigniew Rybczyński
Born	(1949-01-27) 27 January 1949 (age 76) Łódź, Poland
Awards	Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film 1982 Tango Polish Film Festival 1975 Zupa Cannes Film Festival 1987 Imagine

Zbigniew Rybczyński (born January 27, 1949) is a famous Polish filmmaker and artist. He directs, films, writes, and creates amazing animated movies. He has won many important awards around the world, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1983 for his film Tango.

Zbigniew is known for his new and exciting ways of using sound and images. He was one of the first to experiment with new picture technologies. He also taught about how to film movies and how to use digital cameras. He even worked on special effects like "blue and green screen" technology, which helps combine different images.

In 2009, Rybczyński moved back to Wrocław, Poland. There, he helped create the Center for Audiovisual Technologies (CeTA). This center, which opened in 2013, has a special studio designed by him. It helps make complex film images and research new visual technologies.

Later, he left CeTA after finding problems there. He then decided to give up his Polish citizenship.

Early Life and Creative Start

Zbigniew Rybczyński was born in Łódź, Poland. He grew up in Warsaw. He went to an art school and then worked at a film studio for a short time. He studied filmmaking at the National Film School in Łódź from 1969 to 1973. His student films were called Take Five and Plamuz.

While studying, he helped start a group called the Film Form Workshop. This was an important group for new and experimental art in Poland. He also worked as a cinematographer, which means he filmed movies for other young directors. He helped make short films, documentaries, and educational movies. From 1973 to 1980, Rybczyński made his own films at the Se-ma-for Studio in Łódź. He also set up a special effects studio in Vienna, Austria, and worked there.

During a time of political change in Poland in 1980, he was involved with the Solidarity movement at the Se-Ma-For studio.

Moving to the United States

In 1982, during a time of strict rules in Poland called "martial law," Zbigniew was able to leave for Vienna. He asked for protection there. The next year, he and his family moved to the United States. They lived in Los Angeles and then New York City.

His first works in the US were short experimental videos. These were called "The Day Before" and "The Discreet Charm of the Diplomacy." He made them in 1984 for a TV show. In 1985, he opened his own studio in New York called ZBIG VISION. He filled it with the newest video and computer technology.

In this studio, he made some of his most important American films. These include Steps (1987), The Fourth Dimension (1988), The Orchestra (1990), Manhattan (1991), and Kafka (1992). These films received great reviews and many awards.

He also made over 30 music videos between 1984 and 1989. He worked with famous artists like Mick Jagger, Yoko Ono, Lou Reed, and Pet Shop Boys. One of his music videos, "Imagine" (1986) for John Lennon's song, was the first music video ever made using high-definition (HD) technology.

In 1994, Rybczyński moved to Germany. He helped start an experimental film center in Berlin. Later, he worked in Cologne. He returned to Los Angeles in 2001. There, he continued his research where art, science, and digital technology meet. He worked on new ways to create moving images.

Rybczyński has invented new electronic-image technologies. He holds several patents in the US for these inventions. They are now widely used in the film and TV industries.

He was a professor at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. He also taught at many other art and film schools. These include the National Film School in Łódź and Columbia University in New York.

In 2014, Rybczyński moved to a ranch near Tucson, Arizona. With his wife, Dorota Zglobicka, who is also a filmmaker, he created Gila Monster Studios. They are currently working on a new feature film called The Designer.

Awards and Recognition

Zbigniew Rybczyński's star on the Łódź Walk of Fame

Zbigniew Rybczyński has won many important awards at film festivals around the world. These include awards from Oberhausen (1981), Tampere (1982), and Kraków (1981). He also won the Golden Gate Award in San Francisco (1993).

In 1983, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Tango. This was the first Oscar ever given to a Polish artist. The awards night was quite memorable for him. After stepping out for a moment, a security guard stopped him from re-entering, even though he held his Oscar!

He has also received three MTV Video Music Awards. He won three American Video Awards and three Monitor Awards. In 1985–86, he received an MTV Video Vanguard Award. This award is for being a visionary in music videos. He also won a Billboard Music Video Award (1986). Other awards include a Silver Lion at the Cannes Advertising Film Festival (1987) and an Emmy Award (1990). In 2010, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award. This was for his contributions to international film art.

In 1999, Rybczyński was honored with a star on the Łódź Walk of Fame. In 2008, the Łódź Film School gave him an honorary doctorate. This was for his amazing artistic skill and new ideas in film. In the same year, he received the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. He also got the prestigious Katarzyna Kobro Award for his artistic achievements.

His first solo art show was called "A Treatise on the Visual Image." It was shown in 2009 in different Polish cities. The show highlighted his special artistic and scientific achievements. It presented his work not just as film, but as modern fine art.

Rybczyński was also part of an experimental art group. He worked with Se-ma-for Studios in Łódź. There, he made several short films. These include Plamuz (1973), Zupa (1974), and Nowa książka (1975).

After winning the Oscar for Tango, Rybczyński moved to New York. He started directing music videos for MTV. He made many music videos for artists like Art of Noise, Mick Jagger, and Rush. His video for John Lennon's Imagine was made to show off HDTV technology. Rybczyński won several MTV Awards for his groundbreaking work.

He is known as a pioneer in HDTV technology. In 1990, he made an HDTV program called The Orchestra for Japan. This program featured classical music videos and won many awards. It even won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.

Rybczyński was not happy with the quality of "chroma key" technology. This technology helps remove a specific color from film or video. It was very important for his work. So, in the 1990s, he started to create his own chroma key software. This led him to work for Ultimatte Corporation in Los Angeles. They are leaders in chroma key technology.

Filmography

Films Made in Poland

Later Works (After 1984)

1984

• "Sign of the Times" - music video for Grandmaster Flash, 4:25
• "The Real End" - music video for Rickie Lee Jones, 4:47
• "All That I Wanted" - music video for Belfegore, 4:15
• "Diana D" - music video for Chuck Mangione, 4 min
• "Close (To the Edit)" - music video for Art of Noise, 4:30
• "The Discreet Charm of the Diplomacy" - experimental video, 2:56
• "The Day Before" - experimental video, 1:38

1985

• "Lose Your Love" - music video for Blancmange, 3:54
• "Alive and Kicking" - music video for Simple Minds, 5:25
• "Ultimo Ballo" - music video for Angel and Maimone, 4:50
• "Midnight Mover" - music video for Accept, 3:10
• "Minus Zero" - music video for Lady Pank, 3:55
• "She Went Pop" - music video for I Am Siam, 4:10
• "Hot Shot" - music video for Jimmy Cliff, 3:55
• "P-Machinery" - music video for Propaganda, 3:45
• "Who Do You Love" - music video for Bernard Wright, 4:15

1986

• "Imagine" - experimental HDTV film, 4:20, music by John Lennon
• "Candy" - HDTV music video for Cameo, 4:20
• "The Original Wrapper" - music video for Lou Reed, 4:40
• "I Can't Think About Dancing" - music video for Missing Persons, 4 min
• "All the Things She Said" - music video for Simple Minds, 4:15
• "Hell in Paradise" - music video for Yoko Ono, 3:30
• "Stereotomy" - music video for The Alan Parsons Project, 4:10
• "OPPORTUNITIES" - music video for Pet Shop Boys, 3:40

1987

• "Let's Work" - HDTV music video for Mick Jagger, 4:05
• "Why Should I Cry?" - HDTV music video for Nona Hendryx, 4 min
• "Keep Your Eye On Me" - HDTV music video for Herb Alpert, 5:15
• Steps - experimental video/film, 26 min
• "I'm Beggin' You" - music video for Supertramp, 4 min
• "Time Stand Still" - music video for Rush, 3:30
• "Something Real" - music video for Mr. Mister, 4:10
• "Dragnet 1987" - music video for Art of Noise, 3 min

1988

• Fluff - opening video, 1:47, HDTV
• The Duel - a tribute to G.Melies, 4:08, HDTV
• Blue Like You - HDTV music video for Étienne Daho, 3:41
• The Fourth Dimension - experimental film, 27 min

1989

• Capriccio no.24 - experimental HDTV film, 6:18
• You Better Dance - HDTV music video for The Jets, 3:34
• Cowbell - HDTV music video for Takeshi Itoh, 4 min
• GMF Groupe - promo, 2:03, HDTV

1990

• The Orchestra - HDTV long film, 57:11
• Video Hits One - 17 network IDs for VH1

1991

• Manhattan - experimental HDTV film, 28 min
• Washington - experimental HDTV film, 28 min

1992

• Kafka - HDTV long film, 52:16
• Curtains - opening for Tonight Show, 0:34, HDTV

2004

• Une odyssée Tunisian movie

2011

• The Vision, 2011, co-director Dorota Zgłobicka

See also

In Spanish: Zbigniew Rybczyński para niños

• List of Poles
• Cinema of Poland
• List of Polish Academy Award winners and nominees