Willy Kurant
Willy Kurant | |
---|---|
Born | Liège, Belgium | 15 February 1934
Died | 3 April 2021 Paris, France | (aged 87)
Occupation | Cinematographer |
Years active | 1954–2021 |
Willy Kurant (15 February 1934 – 3 April 2021)[1] was a Belgian cinematographer.
Kurant began as a documentary cameraman[2] before establishing himself as a director of photography for such filmmakers as Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Orson Welles, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Jerzy Skolimowski, Chris Marker and Maurice Pialat. Kurant also collaborated extensively with musician Serge Gainsbourg.
Kurant was a member of the French Society of Cinematographers[2] and the American Society of Cinematographers.[2]
Biography
Kurant was born in 1934 in Liège, Belgium, the son of two Polish immigrants, Jankiel Icek Kurant and Tema Feuer. Kurant lived in Liège until the age of eight, when, due to World War II, he was forced to move to the Belgian countryside with his older sister and her husband.[2] Kurant was later sent to an orphanage, where he lived until the age of 17.[2] As a teen, Kurant read issues of American Cinematographer magazine at an American Cultural Center.[2]He was the nephew of the German cinematographer Curt Courant (1899-1968).
Kurant was initially reluctant to pursue a career as a cinematographer, instead studying still photography.[3] While working at a job processing film at a research lab in France, Kurant took an evening class at a small film school;[3] it was then that he decided to pursue cinematography as a career.[3]
Kurant began his career as a cameraman in 1954, when he spent six months in the
At the
and again to the Congo. In 1962, Kurant moved to France to formally study cinematography.Kurant then began to establish himself as a cinematographer, shooting shorts for filmmakers such as
The next year, Kurant shot the TV movie Anna, directed by Pierre Koralnik starring Godard's ex-wife, Anna Karina. The film was co-written and scored by musician Serge Gainsbourg; this marked the first of several film collaborations between Kurant and Gainsbourg.
Around the same time, Kurant served as the cinematographer on
In 1968, Kurant shot his first American film,
Later in his career, Kurant shot a handful of films in the United States, including
References
- ^ "Willy Kurant, chef opérateur éclectique et maître de la caméra portée, n'est plus". Los Inrockuptibles (in French). 4 May 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kodak On Film: Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cinematographers: Willy Kurant
- ^ Willy Kurant: Welles DP on Immortal, Deep, Heroine
Externals
- Willy Kurant at IMDb