Before graduating in film direction from the famous Film School in Łódź, central Poland, Zanussi studied physics and philosophy.
His films probe profound moral, philosophical and psychological questions, including the relationship between science and faith.
Asked about his mentors, Zanussi points to Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, and, above all, Ingmar Bergman, claiming that if he had not watched Bergman’s films as a young man he would not have become a director.
Zanussi has gained a reputation as Poland’s leading proponent of auteur cinema, in which the director, being also the author of the screenplay, is the main creative force of a film.
His long list of acclaimed features includes Behind the Wall, The Structure of Crystal, Family Life, The Illumination, The Spiral, At Full Gallop, A Year of the Quiet Sun, The Constant Factor, Persona Non Grata, Life as Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease, Foreign Body and The Perfect Number, his last feature premiered in 2022.
His 1981 film From a Far Country focused on the life of Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John II, portrayed against the backdrop of Poland’s turbulent history.
Zanussi also worked in theatre and opera, directing productions in several European countries.
His literary output includes several books on filmmaking techniques and a book of memoirs The Time to Die.
He also pursued a teaching career, lecturing in Poland and abroad, including at the National Film School in London and Columbia University in New York.
His numerous honours include the Golden Lion at the 1984 Venice Festival for A Year of the Quiet Sun, the Jury Prize at the 1980 Cannes Festival for The Constant Factor, a lifetime achievement award from the Polish Film Academy and several top accolades at the Polish Film Festivals.
He is also the recipient of the Per Artem Ad Deum Medal of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture.
Zanussi is the holder of the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Reborn Poland, as well as high French, Italian, Lithuanian and Ukrainian state distinctions.
In 2018, in an interview with Poland's PAP news agency, Zanussi said: “If I had been convinced I made a masterpiece, I would have stopped working. In any creative activity, an ideal is unattainable but an artist should never be satisfied with what he has achieved.”
(mk/gs)