Adam Holender
Adam Holender | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 November 1937 Kraków, Poland |
| Alma mater | Łódź Film School |
| Occupations | Cinematographer, film director |
| Website | www |
Adam Holender, ASC[1] (born 13 November 1937) is a Polish-American cinematographer and film director.[2]
Early life and education
He was born 13 November 1937 in Kraków, Poland, the son of a judge.[3] In 1940,[2] he and his family were deported to a Siberian labor camp, and not allowed to return to Kraków until 1947.[4]
Holender studied architecture before enrolling at Łódź Film School, from where he graduated in 1964.[4]
Career
Holender worked on short films by Krzysztof Zanussi and Roman Polański, and in the camera department of several Polish films and television series, notably Four Tank-Men and a Dog.
He moved to New York City in the 1960s, working as a truck driver and later finding a job as a grip at a commercial production company, later shooting documentaries for the BBC and CBS.[2]
Midnight Cowboy was Holender's first feature film cinematography assignment: he was recommended to director John Schlesinger by Holender's friend Polanski.[5] Holender later recalled:
Schlesinger turned out to be a great director to work with. (...) He likes the dirt of New York life, I took him on his first subway trip, we wandered around the streets and observed reality. I knew we were making a good film, but that it was going to be an Oscar-winning film, I had no idea.[2]
According to Schlesinger, his inspiration to make the movie came from the 1967 Yugoslav film When I Am Dead and Gone by a Serbian director Živojin Pavlović.[6]
Awards and honors
At the 2007 Camerimage Festival in Toruń, Holender received a special award "to the Polish Cinematographer For Immense Contribution To The Art of Film".[7]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Four Tank-Men and a Dog | 5 episodes |
| 1978 | The Other Side of Hell | TV movie |
| 1980 | The Shadow Box | TV movie |
| 1984 | Threesome | TV movie |
| 1985 | The Best Times | Episode: "Making Out" |
| 2000 | Mary and Rhoda | TV movie |
| Falcone |
References
- ^ "ASC Presents Midnight Cowboy in NYC April 5". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Adam Holender". Culture.pl. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f "Adam Holender". Cinematographers.nl. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Adam Holender ASC". cinematographers. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ Goldstein, Patrick (27 February 2005). "'Midnight Cowboy' and the very dark horse its makers rode in on". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ^ Surfing the Black – Yugoslav Black Wave Cinema and Its Transgressive Moments Author: Gal Kirn, Dubravka Sekulić and Žiga Testen Publisher: Jan van Eyck ISBN 978-90-72076-51-9
- ^ "ADAM HOLENDER ASC – AWARD TO POLISH CINEMATOGRAPHER – EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2024". archive.camerimage.pl. Retrieved 15 February 2026.