Marek Kanievska(born 9 March 1948[1]) is a British film director. His films have won awards at theCannes Film Festivaland the Florence Film Festival.[2] His 2004 filmA Different Loyaltywas entered into the26th Moscow International Film Festival.[3]
Marek Kanievska | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 March 1948 |
| Other names | Marek Kaniewski |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1976–present |
Career
editKanievska began his television directing career in Australia in the early 1970s withCrawford Productions,producing episodes of the drama seriesMatlock Police(1971–1976), which details the lives of policemen working in a fictional country town inVictoria.
Returning to London, Kanievska spent the latter half of the 1970s building up a range of credits including live television and entertainment programmes likeOur Show(1977–1978) and the drama serialRooms(1974).
During this period he also helmed episodes of the ITV detective dramaHazell(1978–1979); a parody of early film-noir,Shoestring(1979–1980); another detective drama for the BBC,Thomas & Sarah(1979), a spin-off from the BAFTA Award winning seriesUpstairs, Downstairs;A Light that Shines(1979) forBBC 2 Play of the Week;and various instalments ofITV Playhouse(1967–1983), a comedy drama series featuring contributions from playwrights such asDennis Potter,Rhys Adrian,andAlan Sharp.
In the early 1980s Kanievska directed several episodes ofMuck and Brass(1982) starringMel Smithas an opportunistic property developer in the Midlands. Dealing with issues of greed, corruption, and power politics in council chambers, the series had a hard-edged realism and gritty humour that was greeted with acclaim on its original transmission.
Early features
editFollowing a short film calledThe First Day(1980),[4]a docu-drama starringMiranda Richardson,Kanievska's career as a feature director began in earnest withAnother Country(1984), a British romantic historical drama written byJulian Mitchelland adapted fromhis play of the same title.
The film is loosely based on the life of the spy and double agentGuy Burgessand explores his homosexuality and exposure to Marxism while examining the hypocrisy and snobbery of the English public school system. StarringRupert EverettandColin Firth,the film was entered into the1984 Cannes Film Festivalwhere it won the award for Best Artistic Contribution.[5][6]
It was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards in film: Editing (1984)Gerry Hambling,Most Outstanding Newcomer to Film (1984) Rupert Everett, and Adapted Screenplay (1984) Julian Mitchell.[7]
Encountering Kanievska for the first time on set, Everett recalls "Marek was an eccentric Pole, only ten years older than most of the actors and quite unlike the normal British director of those times. He was not class-obsessed and did not put himself on a pedestal."[8]
Of his visual aesthetic Everett recalls, "He was addicted to complicated tracking shots where the camera is put on a kind of railway and moves around during the action, like a silent voyeur… Marek directed it beautifully.Another Countrywas the best-made film of my career. "[9]
Kanievska followed this withLess than Zero(1987) an American drama very loosely based onBret Easton Ellis'novel of the same name.The film starsAndrew McCarthyas Clay, a college freshman returning home for Christmas to spend time with his ex-girlfriend Blair (Jami Gertz) and his friend Julian (Robert Downey, Jr.), who is struggling with drug addiction. The film presents a look at the culture of wealthy, decadent youth in 1980sLos Angeles.
Ellis, initially hostile to the film over liberties taken with the source material was interviewed in 2006 saying that he has "really warmed up to it now." Still maintaining the movie bears little resemblance to his novel, he goes on to say, "… it's a beautiful looking film… I don't know any other movies that caught that period in LA so well."[10]
Less than Zerowas voted as the 22nd best film set in Los Angeles in the last 25 years by a group ofLos Angeles Timeswriters and editors.[11]
Commercials
editDuring the 1980s and 1990s Kanievska also helmed a variety of high-profile television and cinema commercials as a director with Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), a film and commercial production company founded byRidley ScottandTony Scott.Work during this period included campaigns for a broad roster of clients including Shell, Mercedes, Chrysler, Renault, Deutsche Bank, Kronenbourg 1664, Pernod, Miller, and Guinness.[12]
His work with RSA earned him several Golden Lions from the British Advertising Awards.[2]
2000 – present
editA return to features in 2000 saw Kanievska directingPaul NewmanandLinda FiorentinoinWhere the Money Is,from a script written byE. Max Frye.Newman stars as legendary bank robber Henry Manning who ends up in prison where he suffers a stroke. Transferred to a nursing home Henry meets Carol Ann McKay (his carer, played by Fiorentino), a high school prom queen whose glamour days are well behind her. Gradually Carol Ann starts to suspect that Henry isn't as sick as he seems and they are soon working together to plan his final and greatest score.
Kanievska followed this withA Different Loyalty(2004), a drama inspired by the story of British traitorKim Philby's love affair and marriage to Eleanor Brewer in Beirut and his eventual defection to the Soviet Union. The story takes place in the 1960s and starsSharon Stoneand Rupert Everett.A Different Loyaltywas entered into the 26th Moscow International Film Festival.[13]
On the experience of reuniting with Kanievska and the logistical problems of shooting in Russia, Everett recalls "We had no permits to shoot in Red Square, and Marek particularly wanted a shot of me walking past Lenin's tomb, so early one morning five of us snuck out and hid behind an archway until there was no\body about. When the coast was clear we all jumped out and filmed for a couple of minutes while the soldiers back was turned. It was such fun to work this way and we were all thoroughly invigorated."[14]
Currently retired from film-making, Kanievska is now a full-time traveller and photographer, indulging his love ofKite surfing,Paragliding,Paramotoringand other extreme outdoor activities in various locations all over the world.[15][16]
Filmography
editFilm
edit- The First Day(1980) – short film
- Another Country(1984)
- Less than Zero(1987)
- Where the Money Is(2000)
- A Different Loyalty(2004)
Television
edit- Matlock Police(1971–1976)
- Within These Walls(1976–1978)
- Hazell(1979)
- ITV Playhouse(1979)
- Thomas & Sarah(1979)
- Shoestring(1979–1980)
- Muck and Brass(1982)
References
edit- ^"Marek Kanievska".Nndb.Retrieved25 June2011.
- ^abBiography for Marek KanievskaatIMDb
- ^"26th Moscow International Film Festival (2004)".MIFF.Archived fromthe originalon 3 April 2013.Retrieved7 April2013.
- ^The First DayatIMDb
- ^"ANOTHER COUNTRY – Festival de Cannes 2014 (International Film Festival)".Festival-cannes.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^"Awards 1984: All Awards – Festival de Cannes 2014 (International Film Festival)".Festival-cannes.fr.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^"Explore the Awards | BAFTA Awards".Awards.bafta.org.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^Everett, Rupert, 2006, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, Hachette Digital,ISBN978 07481 0978 4,Pg. 319
- ^Everett, Rupert, 2006, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, Hachette Digital,ISBN978 07481 0978 4Pg.320
- ^Buchanan, Kyle (17 May 2010)."Bret Easton Ellis on Less Than Zero, Its Adaptation, and Its Sequel Imperial Bedrooms".Movieline.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^"L.A.'s story is complicated, but they got it – Los Angeles Times".Articles.latimes. 31 August 2008.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^Raw, Laurence, 2009, The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia, Scarecrow Press Inc,ISBN978-0-8108-6951-6,Pg.184
- ^"2004:: Moscow International Film Festival".Moscowfilmfestival.ru. 27 July 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 3 April 2013.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^Everett, Rupert, 2006, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, Hachette Digital,ISBN978 07481 0978 4,Pg. 756
- ^Everett, Rupert, 2006, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, Hachette Digital,ISBN978 07481 0978 4,Pg. 722
- ^"marek | Flickr".3 August 2014.