Darius Khondji (; born 21 October 1955) is an Iranian-French cinematographer.
He has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, twice for the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography and other three at the César Awards.
Early life and education Khondji was born in Tehran, Iran, to an Iranian father and a French mother. At an early age, his family moved to France. He became interested in film early on and made Super-8 films in his teens. Later, he moved to the United States to study at UCLA and then majored in film at New York University and the International Center of Photography. Two teachers influenced his decision to become a cinematographer: Jonas Mekas and Haig P. Manoogian (Martin Scorsese's film teacher). He realized that "all I wanted to do was shoot the other students' films. I was concerned with the power of the image and much less with story."
Career
After his time in the United States, Khondji returned to France in 1981 and worked as an assistant for cinematographers like Bruno Nuytten, Martin Schafer and Pascal Marti. He also worked as a lighting director on music videos and commercials.
His second feature film was Le tresor des Iles Chiennes (1991), a low-budget, black-and-white, post-atomic adventure film. His work on this movie led the Cahiers du cinéma to publish a rare interview with a cinematographer. It was on this film that he demonstrated an affinity for Cinemascope. He remarked in an interview, "I think it's the most beautiful format to frame. One can become absorbed in the faces when they're framed in 'Scope." His subsequent work on Delicatessen established his international reputation and earned him a Cesar nomination for Best Cinematography. One of his highest profile films was Seven which he got based on a Nike ad he shot with David Fincher and his work on Delicatessen. His work on Evita was nominated for an Oscar for the Best Cinematography.
Darius worked on three European-shot films by Woody Allen: Midnight in Paris (2011), To Rome with Love (2012) and Magic in the Moonlight (2014).
In 2012, Khondji shot the Palme d'Or-winning film Amour, which also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for Best Picture.
Influences Khondji cites Gregg Toland as his favorite cinematographer. "I particularly admire his work on John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath." He also greatly admires James Wong Howe's work, in particular Hud. Khondji has said that his dream project would be "a 16mm black and white film of On the Road!"
Personal life Khondji is married to Marianne Chemetov, a daughter of the French architect Paul Chemetov, and has three children.
Filmography Short films Year Title Director Notes2013 Illusions & Mirrors Shirin Neshat Castello Cavalcanti Wes Anderson
Feature films Year Title Director Notes 1989 Embrasse-moi Michèle Rosier 1990 Le trésor des îles chiennes F. J. Ossang 1991 Delicatessen Marc CaroJean-Pierre Jeunet 1992 Prague Ian Sellar 1993 Shadow of a Doubt Aline Issermann1995 The City of Lost Children Marc CaroJean-Pierre Jeunet Marie-Louise ou la permission Manuel Flèche with Florent Montcouquiol Seven David Fincher1996 Stealing Beauty Bernardo Bertolucci Evita Alan Parker 1997 Alien Resurrection Jean-Pierre Jeunet1999 In Dreams Neil Jordan The Ninth Gate Roman Polanski 2000 The Beach Danny Boyle 2002 Panic Room David Fincher with Conrad W. Hall 2003 Anything Else Woody Allen 2004 Wimbledon Richard Loncraine 2005 The Interpreter Sydney Pollack 2006 Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait Douglas GordonPhilippe Parreno Documentary film2007 My Blueberry Nights Wong Kar-wai with Pun-Leung Kwan Funny Games Michael Haneke 2008 The Ruins Carter Smith 2009 Chéri Stephen Frears 2011 Midnight in ParisWoody Allen2012 To Rome with Love Amour Michael Haneke 2013 The Immigrant James Gray 2014 Magic in the MoonlightWoody Allen 2015 Irrational Man 2016 The Lost City of Z James Gray 2017 Okja Bong Joon-ho 2019 Uncut Gems Safdie brothers 2022 Armageddon Time James Gray Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths Alejandro González Iñárritu 2025 Mickey 17 Bong Joon-ho Eddington Ari Aster Marty Supreme Josh Safdie
Television Year Title Director Notes 2019 Too Old to Die Young Nicolas Winding Refn Miniseries; 7 episodes 2020 Strasbourg 1518 Jonathan Glazer TV short 2021 Lisey's Story Pablo Larraín Miniseries; 8 episodes
Music videos Year Title Artist Director 1993 "Fever"Madonna Stéphane Sednaoui1996 "You Must Love Me"Alan Parker "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" 1998 "Frozen"Chris Cunningham 1999 "Afrika Shox" Leftfield 2000 "Dirge" Death in Vegas Richard FearlessRichard Fenwick 2001 "Boiler" Limp Bizkit Fred DurstDave Meyers 2008 "Miles Away"Madonna Nathan Rissman 2010 Sticky & Sweet Tour Nathan RissmanSteven KleinTom MunroNick Wickham 2011 "Marry the Night"Lady Gaga 2014 "Everything" Neneh Cherry Jean-Baptiste Mondino 2017 "Look What You Made Me Do" Taylor Swift Joseph Kahn 2018 "The Icon Project" Eminem Marissa Velez 2019 "Marcy Me" Jay-Z Safdie brothers
Exhibitions 2010: Discovery award laureate and exhibition at Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France.
Awards and nominations Major awards Year Award Category Title Result 1996Academy AwardsBest Cinematography Evita 2022 Bardo 2025 Marty Supreme 1996British Academy Film AwardsBest Cinematography Evita 2025 Marty Supreme 1995American Society of CinematographersOutstanding Cinematography Seven 1996 Evita 2013 Spotlight Award The Immigrant 2025 Outstanding Cinematography Marty Supreme 1995British Society of CinematographersBest Cinematography Seven 1996 Evita 2011 Midnight in Paris 2025 Marty Supreme 1991César AwardsBest Cinematography Delicatessen 1995 The City of Lost Children 2012 Amour 1995Chicago Film Critics AssociationBest Cinematography Seven 1996 Evita 2022 Bardo 2011Independent Spirit AwardsBest Cinematography Midnight in Paris 2013 The Immigrant
Other awards Year Award Category Title Result 1995 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Se7en 1996 Globo d'oro Best CinematographyStealing Beauty Camerimage Golden Frog David di Donatello Best Cinematography 2012 European Film Awards Best Cinematographer Amour 2013 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best CinematographerThe Immigrant National Society of Film Critics Best Cinematography 2014 Lumière Awards Best Cinematography Magic in the Moonlight 2016 San Diego Film Critics Society Best CinematographyThe Lost City of Z London Film Critics' Circle Technical Achievement of the Year
References
External links
An interview with Darius Khondji