{"id":19392,"date":"2026-01-05T17:05:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T16:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?p=19392"},"modified":"2026-02-26T19:22:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T18:22:02","slug":"hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PM<\/strong>
Metrograph<\/a><\/strong>
7 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002
Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal moderated by cinematographer Jomo<\/strong><\/em> Fray<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Metrograph will host a special Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal, moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray. \u017bal, an acclaimed Polish cinematographer, is best known for his work on Ida<\/em>, Loving Vincent<\/em>, Cold War<\/em>, The Zone of Interest<\/em>, and Hamnet<\/em>. In 2026, he was once again shortlisted for an Oscar, this time for Hamnet<\/em>, further cementing his reputation as one of the most influential cinematographers of his generation. During the event, \u017bal will discuss his work on Hamnet<\/em> and share insights into his creative process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1580 England. Impoverished Latin tutor William Shakespeare meets free-spirited Agnes, and the pair, captivated by one another, strike up a torrid affair that leads to marriage and three children. Yet as Will pursues a budding theater career in far-away London, Agnes anchors the domestic sphere alone. When tragedy strikes, the couple\u2019s once-unshakable bond is tested, but their shared experience sets the stage for the creation of Shakespeare\u2019s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. From Focus Features and Academy Award\u00ae winning filmmaker Chlo\u00e9 Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider) comes a sensitively observed, magnificently crafted tale about the complexities of love and the healing power of art and creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director:<\/strong> Chlo\u00e9 Zhao
Year:<\/strong> 2025
Running Time:<\/strong> 125 minutes
Format:<\/strong> DCP
Distributor:<\/strong> Focus Features<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u0141ukasz \u017bal<\/a><\/strong>, born on 24 June 1981, \u0141ukasz \u017bal is regarded as one of the most outstanding cinematographers of his generation in Poland. His work on Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski\u2019s Ida<\/em> \u2014 considered one of the most remarkable cinematographic debuts in recent years \u2014 earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His body of work includes acclaimed titles such as Joanna<\/em> directed by Aneta Kopacz, Paparazzi<\/em> by Piotr Berna\u015b, and Ida<\/em> by Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous distinctions, including a European Film Award, a BAFTA nomination, two Golden Frogs at the Camerimage Festival, and an Academy Award nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being early in his career at the time of his breakthrough, \u017bal quickly became one of the most internationally recognized figures of Polish cinema. Variety<\/em> named him among the most promising cinematographers to watch, and in February 2014 he received the Spotlight Award for Ida<\/em> from the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141ukasz \u017bal graduated from the Cinematography Department of the National Film School in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a in 2008, as well as from the AFA School of Photography in Wroc\u0142aw. For one of his early student films, Master of the World<\/em> \u2014 available on the \u0141\u00f3d\u017a Film School website \u2014 he received the Offskar Award for Independent Polish Cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film, which \u017bal also directed, was an adaptation of a short story by Etgar Keret from the collection Missing Kissinger<\/em> (trans. A. Maciejowska, Warsaw, 2008). It tells the story of a young boy whose father is celebrating his fiftieth birthday \u2014 an event that marks a turning point in the boy\u2019s life. Depicting a single day in the protagonist\u2019s world, the film allowed \u017bal to experiment with a dynamic, character-driven camera moving through a deserted town, capturing both the irony and melancholy characteristic of Keret\u2019s writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating, \u017bal served as cinematographer on God\u2019s Little Village<\/em> directed by Jacek Bromski. He worked under the mentorship of Ryszard Lenczewski, the first cinematography professor at the National Film School in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a, with whom he later collaborated on Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski\u2019s Ida<\/em>. In addition to his feature film work, \u017bal has created music videos, sitcoms, and commercials, collaborating with brands such as Nike, Mercedes, Bosch & Siemens, and Credit Agricole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pivotal moment in \u0141ukasz \u017bal\u2019s career was the documentary Paparazzi<\/em> directed by Piotr Berna\u015b, a film that examined not only the life of one of Poland\u2019s most prominent paparazzi, Przemys\u0142aw Stoppa, but also the moral ambiguities and sensationalism of contemporary media. In 2013, two further projects featuring \u017bal\u2019s cinematography premiered: Left Side of the Face<\/em> by Marcin Bortkiewicz \u2014 which earned him an award at the Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival in Doha \u2014 and Joanna<\/em> by Aneta Kopacz, the latter widely recognized as a powerful testament to his artistic sensitivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kopacz\u2019s Joanna<\/em> tells the story of Joanna Sa\u0142yga, a young woman documenting the final months of her life while battling cancer. Rather than focusing on death, the film became a meditation on life, resilience, and beauty. In 2015, it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Shortly thereafter, \u017bal joined the production of Ida<\/em> directed by Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski. Initially serving as camera operator under cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski, \u017bal assumed the role of lead cinematographer when Lenczewski fell ill, marking his feature-length debut. Ida<\/em> brought him international acclaim, including the Golden Frog at Camerimage, a European Film Award, a BAFTA Award, an Academy Award nomination, and honors from both the American and Polish Societies of Cinematographers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u017bal\u2019s subsequent projects further cemented his reputation for visual innovation. He collaborated on Loving Vincent<\/em>, the world\u2019s first fully painted feature-length animation, created from 65,000 oil paintings inspired by the works of Vincent van Gogh and produced by a team of 125 artists. In 2018, his cinematography shaped the visual language of Dovlatov<\/em> directed by Aleksei German Jr., chronicling several days in the life of Russian writer Sergei Dovlatov. \u017bal reunited with Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski for Cold War<\/em>, a visually striking black-and-white drama that earned three Academy Award nominations in 2019, including Best Cinematography \u2014 \u017bal\u2019s second Oscar nomination. Celebrated for its poetic compositions and references to the Polish Film School, the French New Wave, and the work of Wojciech Jerzy Has, Cold War<\/em> marked another milestone in his internationally acclaimed career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After achieving international acclaim, \u0141ukasz \u017bal worked as a cinematographer on his first American set: I\u2019m Thinking of Ending Things<\/em>, directed by Charlie Kaufman, the creative mind behind Synecdoche, New York<\/em> (director and writer), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind<\/em>, and Being John Malkovich<\/em> (writer). In a conversation with Variety<\/em>, \u017bal explained some of the challenges he faced on the project, including how to convincingly depict snow at the end of March and how to visually differentiate between reality and memory. Kaufman also envisioned the film to look like a painting. To achieve this, \u017bal employed a 4:3 aspect ratio\u2014a choice he had previously used in Ida<\/em>\u2014which amplified the film\u2019s anxious and claustrophobic atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Hollywood, \u017bal balanced commercial work with more experimental, artistic projects. He shot commercials for prestigious brands while collaborating with directors who continually pushed the boundaries of cinematic language in search of new forms of expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, \u017bal served as cinematographer for the experimental music film Circus Maximus<\/em>, directed by Travis Scott, collaborating with luminaries such as Harmony Korine, Gaspar No\u00e9, and Nicolas Winding Refn. That same year in Poland, he worked with Jonathan Glazer on The Zone of Interest<\/em>, a provocative film depicting the banality of evil through the eyes of an Auschwitz German Nazi concentration camp commander. The film broke with traditional cinematic portrayals of the Holocaust by avoiding emotional manipulation and instead prompting viewers to reflect on the nature of evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, \u017bal contributed one of the most celebrated works of his career with Hamnet<\/em>, directed by Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker of Nomadland<\/em>. The film explores the fictionalized story of William Shakespeare\u2019s wife mourning the death of her son, Hamnet. The costume drama blends Hollywood grandeur with an intimate, personal story of love and loss. The richly realized Elizabethan world, co-created with Polish costume designer Ma\u0142gosia Turza\u0144ska, is captured through \u017bal\u2019s cinematography, evoking both heartbreak and beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2026, \u0141ukasz \u017bal was among the artists shortlisted for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, cementing his place as one of the most influential cinematographers of his generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More on Culture.pl<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Co-presented with the Polish Cultural Institute, New York<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PMMetrograph7 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray Metrograph will host a special Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal, moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray. \u017bal, an acclaimed Polish cinematographer, is best known for his work on Ida, Loving Vincent, Cold War, The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":19909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-film"],"yoast_head":"\nHamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pl_PL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PMMetrograph7 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray Metrograph will host a special Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal, moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray. \u017bal, an acclaimed Polish cinematographer, is best known for his work on Ida, Loving Vincent, Cold War, The […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-05T16:05:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T18:22:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"724\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"stypulkowskaa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Napisane przez\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"stypulkowskaa\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Szacowany czas czytania\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minut\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"event\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/\",\"name\":\"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":[\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg\",\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image-300x170.jpg\",\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image-1024x579.jpg\",\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg\"],\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-05T16:05:59+02:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T18:22:02+02:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/c732b2695ee92026d080eec35471c7f1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/\"]}],\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"startDate\":\"2026-01-10\",\"endDate\":\"2026-01-10\",\"eventStatus\":\"EventScheduled\",\"eventAttendanceMode\":\"OfflineEventAttendanceMode\",\"location\":{\"@type\":\"place\",\"name\":\"\",\"address\":\"\",\"geo\":{\"@type\":\"GeoCoordinates\",\"latitude\":\"\",\"longitude\":\"\"}},\"description\":\"Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PMMetrograph7 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray\\nMetrograph will host a special Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal, moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray. \u017bal, an acclaimed Polish cinematographer, is best known for his work on Ida, Loving Vincent, Cold War, The Zone of Interest, and Hamnet. In 2026, he was once again shortlisted for an Oscar, this time for Hamnet, further cementing his reputation as one of the most influential cinematographers of his generation. During the event, \u017bal will discuss his work on Hamnet and share insights into his creative process.\\n1580 England. Impoverished Latin tutor William Shakespeare meets free-spirited Agnes, and the pair, captivated by one another, strike up a torrid affair that leads to marriage and three children. Yet as Will pursues a budding theater career in far-away London, Agnes anchors the domestic sphere alone. When tragedy strikes, the couple\u2019s once-unshakable bond is tested, but their shared experience sets the stage for the creation of Shakespeare\u2019s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. From Focus Features and Academy Award\u00ae winning filmmaker Chlo\u00e9 Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider) comes a sensitively observed, magnificently crafted tale about the complexities of love and the healing power of art and creativity.\\nDirector: Chlo\u00e9 ZhaoYear: 2025Running Time: 125 minutesFormat: DCPDistributor: Focus Features\\n\u0141ukasz \u017bal, born on 24 June 1981, \u0141ukasz \u017bal is regarded as one of the most outstanding cinematographers of his generation in Poland. His work on Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski\u2019s Ida \u2014 considered one of the most remarkable cinematographic debuts in recent years \u2014 earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.\\nHis body of work includes acclaimed titles such as Joanna directed by Aneta Kopacz, Paparazzi by Piotr Berna\u015b, and Ida by Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous distinctions, including a European Film Award, a BAFTA nomination, two Golden Frogs at the Camerimage Festival, and an Academy Award nomination.\\nDespite being early in his career at the time of his breakthrough, \u017bal quickly became one of the most internationally recognized figures of Polish cinema. Variety named him among the most promising cinematographers to watch, and in February 2014 he received the Spotlight Award for Ida from the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers.\\n\u0141ukasz \u017bal graduated from the Cinematography Department of the National Film School in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a in 2008, as well as from the AFA School of Photography in Wroc\u0142aw. For one of his early student films, Master of the World \u2014 available on the \u0141\u00f3d\u017a Film School website \u2014 he received the Offskar Award for Independent Polish Cinema.\\nThe film, which \u017bal also directed, was an adaptation of a short story by Etgar Keret from the collection Missing Kissinger (trans. A. Maciejowska, Warsaw, 2008). It tells the story of a young boy whose father is celebrating his fiftieth birthday \u2014 an event that marks a turning point in the boy\u2019s life. Depicting a single day in the protagonist\u2019s world, the film allowed \u017bal to experiment with a dynamic, character-driven camera moving through a deserted town, capturing both the irony and melancholy characteristic of Keret\u2019s writing.\\nAfter graduating, \u017bal served as cinematographer on God\u2019s Little Village directed by Jacek Bromski. He worked under the mentorship of Ryszard Lenczewski, the first cinematography professor at the National Film School in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a, with whom he later collaborated on Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski\u2019s Ida. In addition to his feature film work, \u017bal has created music videos, sitcoms, and commercials, collaborating with brands such as Nike, Mercedes, Bosch & Siemens, and Credit Agricole.\\nA pivotal moment in \u0141ukasz \u017bal\u2019s career was the documentary Paparazzi directed by Piotr Berna\u015b, a film that examined not only the life of one of Poland\u2019s most prominent paparazzi, Przemys\u0142aw Stoppa, but also the moral ambiguities and sensationalism of contemporary media. In 2013, two further projects featuring \u017bal\u2019s cinematography premiered: Left Side of the Face by Marcin Bortkiewicz \u2014 which earned him an award at the Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival in Doha \u2014 and Joanna by Aneta Kopacz, the latter widely recognized as a powerful testament to his artistic sensitivity.\\nKopacz\u2019s Joanna tells the story of Joanna Sa\u0142yga, a young woman documenting the final months of her life while battling cancer. Rather than focusing on death, the film became a meditation on life, resilience, and beauty. In 2015, it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Shortly thereafter, \u017bal joined the production of Ida directed by Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski. Initially serving as camera operator under cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski, \u017bal assumed the role of lead cinematographer when Lenczewski fell ill, marking his feature-length debut. Ida brought him international acclaim, including the Golden Frog at Camerimage, a European Film Award, a BAFTA Award, an Academy Award nomination, and honors from both the American and Polish Societies of Cinematographers.\\n\u017bal\u2019s subsequent projects further cemented his reputation for visual innovation. He collaborated on Loving Vincent, the world\u2019s first fully painted feature-length animation, created from 65,000 oil paintings inspired by the works of Vincent van Gogh and produced by a team of 125 artists. In 2018, his cinematography shaped the visual language of Dovlatov directed by Aleksei German Jr., chronicling several days in the life of Russian writer Sergei Dovlatov. \u017bal reunited with Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski for Cold War, a visually striking black-and-white drama that earned three Academy Award nominations in 2019, including Best Cinematography \u2014 \u017bal\u2019s second Oscar nomination. Celebrated for its poetic compositions and references to the Polish Film School, the French New Wave, and the work of Wojciech Jerzy Has, Cold War marked another milestone in his internationally acclaimed career. \\nAfter achieving international acclaim, \u0141ukasz \u017bal worked as a cinematographer on his first American set: I\u2019m Thinking of Ending Things, directed by Charlie Kaufman, the creative mind behind Synecdoche, New York (director and writer), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Being John Malkovich (writer). In a conversation with Variety, \u017bal explained some of the challenges he faced on the project, including how to convincingly depict snow at the end of March and how to visually differentiate between reality and memory. Kaufman also envisioned the film to look like a painting. To achieve this, \u017bal employed a 4:3 aspect ratio\u2014a choice he had previously used in Ida\u2014which amplified the film\u2019s anxious and claustrophobic atmosphere.\\nIn Hollywood, \u017bal balanced commercial work with more experimental, artistic projects. He shot commercials for prestigious brands while collaborating with directors who continually pushed the boundaries of cinematic language in search of new forms of expression.\\nIn 2023, \u017bal served as cinematographer for the experimental music film Circus Maximus, directed by Travis Scott, collaborating with luminaries such as Harmony Korine, Gaspar No\u00e9, and Nicolas Winding Refn. That same year in Poland, he worked with Jonathan Glazer on The Zone of Interest, a provocative film depicting the banality of evil through the eyes of an Auschwitz German Nazi concentration camp commander. The film broke with traditional cinematic portrayals of the Holocaust by avoiding emotional manipulation and instead prompting viewers to reflect on the nature of evil.\\nA year later, \u017bal contributed one of the most celebrated works of his career with Hamnet, directed by Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker of Nomadland. The film explores the fictionalized story of William Shakespeare\u2019s wife mourning the death of her son, Hamnet. The costume drama blends Hollywood grandeur with an intimate, personal story of love and loss. The richly realized Elizabethan world, co-created with Polish costume designer Ma\u0142gosia Turza\u0144ska, is captured through \u017bal\u2019s cinematography, evoking both heartbreak and beauty.\\nIn 2026, \u0141ukasz \u017bal was among the artists shortlisted for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, cementing his place as one of the most influential cinematographers of his generation.\\nMore on Culture.pl\\nCo-presented with the Polish Cultural Institute, New York.\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":724,\"caption\":\"Screenshot\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/\",\"name\":\"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku\",\"description\":\"Instytuty Polskie\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/c732b2695ee92026d080eec35471c7f1\",\"name\":\"stypulkowskaa\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pl-PL\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"stypulkowskaa\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/author\/stypulkowskaa-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/","og_locale":"pl_PL","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal - Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","og_description":"Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PMMetrograph7 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray Metrograph will host a special Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal, moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray. \u017bal, an acclaimed Polish cinematographer, is best known for his work on Ida, Loving Vincent, Cold War, The […]","og_url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/","og_site_name":"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","article_published_time":"2026-01-05T16:05:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-26T18:22:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":724,"url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"stypulkowskaa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Napisane przez":"stypulkowskaa","Szacowany czas czytania":"9 minut"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"event","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/","name":"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#primaryimage"},"image":["https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image-300x170.jpg","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image-1024x579.jpg","https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg"],"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-05T16:05:59+02:00","dateModified":"2026-02-26T18:22:02+02:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/c732b2695ee92026d080eec35471c7f1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"pl-PL","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/"]}],"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","startDate":"2026-01-10","endDate":"2026-01-10","eventStatus":"EventScheduled","eventAttendanceMode":"OfflineEventAttendanceMode","location":{"@type":"place","name":"","address":"","geo":{"@type":"GeoCoordinates","latitude":"","longitude":""}},"description":"Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 5:40 PMMetrograph7 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray\nMetrograph will host a special Q&A with cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal, moderated by cinematographer Jomo Fray. \u017bal, an acclaimed Polish cinematographer, is best known for his work on Ida, Loving Vincent, Cold War, The Zone of Interest, and Hamnet. In 2026, he was once again shortlisted for an Oscar, this time for Hamnet, further cementing his reputation as one of the most influential cinematographers of his generation. During the event, \u017bal will discuss his work on Hamnet and share insights into his creative process.\n1580 England. Impoverished Latin tutor William Shakespeare meets free-spirited Agnes, and the pair, captivated by one another, strike up a torrid affair that leads to marriage and three children. Yet as Will pursues a budding theater career in far-away London, Agnes anchors the domestic sphere alone. When tragedy strikes, the couple\u2019s once-unshakable bond is tested, but their shared experience sets the stage for the creation of Shakespeare\u2019s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet. From Focus Features and Academy Award\u00ae winning filmmaker Chlo\u00e9 Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider) comes a sensitively observed, magnificently crafted tale about the complexities of love and the healing power of art and creativity.\nDirector: Chlo\u00e9 ZhaoYear: 2025Running Time: 125 minutesFormat: DCPDistributor: Focus Features\n\u0141ukasz \u017bal, born on 24 June 1981, \u0141ukasz \u017bal is regarded as one of the most outstanding cinematographers of his generation in Poland. His work on Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski\u2019s Ida \u2014 considered one of the most remarkable cinematographic debuts in recent years \u2014 earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.\nHis body of work includes acclaimed titles such as Joanna directed by Aneta Kopacz, Paparazzi by Piotr Berna\u015b, and Ida by Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski. Over the course of his career, he has received numerous distinctions, including a European Film Award, a BAFTA nomination, two Golden Frogs at the Camerimage Festival, and an Academy Award nomination.\nDespite being early in his career at the time of his breakthrough, \u017bal quickly became one of the most internationally recognized figures of Polish cinema. Variety named him among the most promising cinematographers to watch, and in February 2014 he received the Spotlight Award for Ida from the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers.\n\u0141ukasz \u017bal graduated from the Cinematography Department of the National Film School in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a in 2008, as well as from the AFA School of Photography in Wroc\u0142aw. For one of his early student films, Master of the World \u2014 available on the \u0141\u00f3d\u017a Film School website \u2014 he received the Offskar Award for Independent Polish Cinema.\nThe film, which \u017bal also directed, was an adaptation of a short story by Etgar Keret from the collection Missing Kissinger (trans. A. Maciejowska, Warsaw, 2008). It tells the story of a young boy whose father is celebrating his fiftieth birthday \u2014 an event that marks a turning point in the boy\u2019s life. Depicting a single day in the protagonist\u2019s world, the film allowed \u017bal to experiment with a dynamic, character-driven camera moving through a deserted town, capturing both the irony and melancholy characteristic of Keret\u2019s writing.\nAfter graduating, \u017bal served as cinematographer on God\u2019s Little Village directed by Jacek Bromski. He worked under the mentorship of Ryszard Lenczewski, the first cinematography professor at the National Film School in \u0141\u00f3d\u017a, with whom he later collaborated on Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski\u2019s Ida. In addition to his feature film work, \u017bal has created music videos, sitcoms, and commercials, collaborating with brands such as Nike, Mercedes, Bosch & Siemens, and Credit Agricole.\nA pivotal moment in \u0141ukasz \u017bal\u2019s career was the documentary Paparazzi directed by Piotr Berna\u015b, a film that examined not only the life of one of Poland\u2019s most prominent paparazzi, Przemys\u0142aw Stoppa, but also the moral ambiguities and sensationalism of contemporary media. In 2013, two further projects featuring \u017bal\u2019s cinematography premiered: Left Side of the Face by Marcin Bortkiewicz \u2014 which earned him an award at the Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival in Doha \u2014 and Joanna by Aneta Kopacz, the latter widely recognized as a powerful testament to his artistic sensitivity.\nKopacz\u2019s Joanna tells the story of Joanna Sa\u0142yga, a young woman documenting the final months of her life while battling cancer. Rather than focusing on death, the film became a meditation on life, resilience, and beauty. In 2015, it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Shortly thereafter, \u017bal joined the production of Ida directed by Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski. Initially serving as camera operator under cinematographer Ryszard Lenczewski, \u017bal assumed the role of lead cinematographer when Lenczewski fell ill, marking his feature-length debut. Ida brought him international acclaim, including the Golden Frog at Camerimage, a European Film Award, a BAFTA Award, an Academy Award nomination, and honors from both the American and Polish Societies of Cinematographers.\n\u017bal\u2019s subsequent projects further cemented his reputation for visual innovation. He collaborated on Loving Vincent, the world\u2019s first fully painted feature-length animation, created from 65,000 oil paintings inspired by the works of Vincent van Gogh and produced by a team of 125 artists. In 2018, his cinematography shaped the visual language of Dovlatov directed by Aleksei German Jr., chronicling several days in the life of Russian writer Sergei Dovlatov. \u017bal reunited with Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski for Cold War, a visually striking black-and-white drama that earned three Academy Award nominations in 2019, including Best Cinematography \u2014 \u017bal\u2019s second Oscar nomination. Celebrated for its poetic compositions and references to the Polish Film School, the French New Wave, and the work of Wojciech Jerzy Has, Cold War marked another milestone in his internationally acclaimed career. \nAfter achieving international acclaim, \u0141ukasz \u017bal worked as a cinematographer on his first American set: I\u2019m Thinking of Ending Things, directed by Charlie Kaufman, the creative mind behind Synecdoche, New York (director and writer), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Being John Malkovich (writer). In a conversation with Variety, \u017bal explained some of the challenges he faced on the project, including how to convincingly depict snow at the end of March and how to visually differentiate between reality and memory. Kaufman also envisioned the film to look like a painting. To achieve this, \u017bal employed a 4:3 aspect ratio\u2014a choice he had previously used in Ida\u2014which amplified the film\u2019s anxious and claustrophobic atmosphere.\nIn Hollywood, \u017bal balanced commercial work with more experimental, artistic projects. He shot commercials for prestigious brands while collaborating with directors who continually pushed the boundaries of cinematic language in search of new forms of expression.\nIn 2023, \u017bal served as cinematographer for the experimental music film Circus Maximus, directed by Travis Scott, collaborating with luminaries such as Harmony Korine, Gaspar No\u00e9, and Nicolas Winding Refn. That same year in Poland, he worked with Jonathan Glazer on The Zone of Interest, a provocative film depicting the banality of evil through the eyes of an Auschwitz German Nazi concentration camp commander. The film broke with traditional cinematic portrayals of the Holocaust by avoiding emotional manipulation and instead prompting viewers to reflect on the nature of evil.\nA year later, \u017bal contributed one of the most celebrated works of his career with Hamnet, directed by Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker of Nomadland. The film explores the fictionalized story of William Shakespeare\u2019s wife mourning the death of her son, Hamnet. The costume drama blends Hollywood grandeur with an intimate, personal story of love and loss. The richly realized Elizabethan world, co-created with Polish costume designer Ma\u0142gosia Turza\u0144ska, is captured through \u017bal\u2019s cinematography, evoking both heartbreak and beauty.\nIn 2026, \u0141ukasz \u017bal was among the artists shortlisted for an Oscar for Best Cinematography, cementing his place as one of the most influential cinematographers of his generation.\nMore on Culture.pl\nCo-presented with the Polish Cultural Institute, New York."},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pl-PL","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/01\/image.jpg","width":1280,"height":724,"caption":"Screenshot"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/2026\/01\/05\/hamnet-with-cinematographer-lukasz-zal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hamnet with Cinematographer \u0141ukasz \u017bal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#website","url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/","name":"Instytut Polski w Nowym Jorku","description":"Instytuty Polskie","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"pl-PL"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/c732b2695ee92026d080eec35471c7f1","name":"stypulkowskaa","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"pl-PL","@id":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a29bb1802c91e057084d5d112dd59dc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"stypulkowskaa"},"url":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/author\/stypulkowskaa-2\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19392"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19922,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19392\/revisions\/19922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instytutpolski.pl\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}