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Lukasz Zal

Lukasz Zal

Cinematographer · Born June 24, 1981 (45) · Koszalin, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland

Oscar nominee · BAFTA Award nominee · 1 other major award body

Łukasz Żal (Polish pronunciation: [ˈwukaʐ ˈʐal]; born 24 June 1981) is a Polish cinematographer, best known for his work on the films Ida (2014), Loving Vincent (2017), Cold War (2018) and The Zone of Interest (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Łukasz Żal, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 24, 1981 (45)
From
Koszalin, Zachodniopomorskie, Poland
Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
8 on Motif · 17 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 17% in 30 days

What are Lukasz Zal's films like?

Across their 8 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

Genres

Drama4 titlesTypical Motif score: 93rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Motif score: 88th percentile
: browse their Biography movies

Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
29%
Self
21%
Survival
16%
Bonds
10%
Ideas
9%
Power
8%
Morality
6%
Identity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief4 titles, browse their movies with this themeIsolation3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDisplacement2 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 8

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 4

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 1

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 8

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 3

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
8
Contemplative
5
Dread
2
Cold
2
Romantic
2
Other
6

How their films linger

Thought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Bittersweet4
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Lukasz Zal's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 8 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Lukasz Zal's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

17 credits, 8 with a Motif page.

  • Fatherland(2026)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Hamnet(2025)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 97th percentile of all films

  • The Zone of Interest(2023)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Circus Maximus (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)

    Cinematographer

  • I'm Thinking of Ending Things(2020)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Cold War(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Dovlatov(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Loving Vincent(2017)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Icon (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)

    Cinematographer

  • The High Frontier (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2016)

    Cinematographer

  • Polish Legends. Twardowsky (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    Cinematographer

  • The Here After (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    Cinematographer

  • Ida(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Joanna (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • Arena (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    Camera Operator · Cinematographer

  • God's Little Village (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2009)

    Camera Operator · Still Photographer · Actor

  • World Champion (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2006)

    Director · Cinematographer · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 17 titles from 2006 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Hamnet (2025)

$109M worldwide

Highest rated

Loving Vincent (2017)

Motif 97th

Most popular right now

Hamnet (2025)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 17: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting1 of 17: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting1 of 17: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleCinematography16 of 17: 14 only cinematography, 2 with another role · typical Motif score93rdOther crew2 of 17: 0 only other crew, 2 with another role

17 titles, 3 with more than one role — cinematography and other crew overlap on 1 of them.

By decade

2000s2 · 1 acting · 2 crew2010s10 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

6 major nominations and no wins, 2015–2026.

  1. 2026
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
  2. 2024
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
  3. 2019
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Cinematography
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Cinematography
  4. 2015
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Cinematography
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Cinematography

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Lukasz Zal's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 93rd percentile, the median of all 8; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 92nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

97thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Motif score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th2

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 8 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser5

Most divisive · cinematographer

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

50th percentile spread · 18% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Loving Vincent (2017)

Motif 97th · 88% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 86/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles; fans 89, detractors 70. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Lukasz Zal's work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 Motif titles with content scores, violence & gore and profanity run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore6 titles12–37 · median 28 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity6 titles25–52 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity6 titles13–47 · median 24 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs6 titles29–56 · median 42 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense6 titles20–70 · median 47 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Lukasz Zal work with?

People who share at least 2 of Lukasz Zal's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ewa Puszczynska shares the most, 4.

Directors

Actors

Editors

Producers