Rybczyński, Zbigniew

(1949-)

   Director of experimental animated films and music videos, cinematographer. After graduating from the Łódź Film School in 1973, Rybczyński worked as a cin-ematographer on documentary films with directors such as Andrzej Barański and Wojciech Wiszniewski (Wanda Gościmińska—The Textile Worker, 1975) and on one feature film, the classic Dancing Hawk (1978) by Grzegorz Królikiewicz. In the 1970s, Rybczyński also produced some memorable experimental films for the SE-MA-FOR studio, including New Book (Nowa książka, 1975). His later experimental Tango (1980) received several festival awards, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1983, the first Oscar for a Polish production. After migrating to the United States in 1983, Rybczyński made a number of acclaimed music videos (including one for John Lennon's "Imagine" in 1986) and several distinguished films, among them Steps (1987), The Fourth Dimension (1988), The Orchestra (1990, Emmy Award for special effects), and Kafka (1992). After his 1994-2001 stay in Germany where he lectured and worked on new projects, Rybczyński continues his career in the United States.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof