# Darius Khondji

Darius Khondji AFC, ASC (Persian: داریوش خنجی; born 21 October 1955) is an Iranian-French cinematographer, known for works from a number of high-profile directors, including Bong Joon-ho, David Fincher, Woody Allen, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and James Gray. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award and three 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 relocated in France. He became interested in film early on and made Super-8 films in his teens. Later in life, 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. During this period, two teachers influenced his decision to become a cinematographer: Jonas Mekas and Haig 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 was significant enough to warrant the Cahiers du cinéma to publish one of its rare interviews 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.

## Creative inspiration

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: Marie-Louise, Josephine, and Alexandre.

## Filmography
### Short film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1984 | Courtes chasses | Manuel Flèche | |
| 1985 | Classique | Christian Vincent | |
| 1986 | Sur les talus | Laurence Ferreira Barbosa | |
| 1988 | Une femme pour l'hiver | Manuel Flèche | |
| 1988 | K.O.K. | Régine Chopinot | |
| 1991 | Le trou de la corneille | François Hanss | |
| 1994 | Sado et Maso vont en bâteau | Manuel Flèche | Segment of Parano |
| 2000 | Inner Voices a film about Expression | Peter Lindbergh | Documentary short |
| 2002 | Tooba | Shirin Neshat | |
| 2003 | Ich kann dir die Welt nicht zu Füssen legen | Ralf Schmerberg | Segment of Poem: I Set My Foot Upon the Air and It Carried Me |
| 2008 | Protect You + Me. | Brady Corbet | |
| 2010 | Invisible Boy | Philippe Parreno | |
| 2011 | C.H.Z | Philippe Parreno | |
| 2013 | Prada: Candy | Wes Anderson Roman Coppola | |
| 2013 | Illusions & Mirrors | Shirin Neshat | |
| 2013 | Castello Cavalcanti | Wes Anderson | |
| 2016 | Anywhen | Philippe Parreno | |
| 2016 | Anywhen in a Time Colored Space | Philippe Parreno | |
| 2018 | Why Can't We Get Along | Aaron Duffy Benjamin Millepied Bob Partington | |
| 2019 | ANIMA | Paul Thomas Anderson | |

### Feature film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1989 | Embrasse-moi | Michèle Rosier | |
| 1990 | Le trésor des îles chiennes | F. J. Ossang | |
| 1991 | Delicatessen | Marc Caro Jean-Pierre Jeunet | |
| 1992 | Prague | Ian Sellar | |
| 1993 | Shadow of a Doubt | Aline Issermann | |
| 1995 | The City of Lost Children | Marc Caro Jean-Pierre Jeunet | |
| 1995 | Marie-Louise ou la permission | Manuel Flèche | With Florent Montcouquiol |
| 1995 | Se7en | David Fincher | |
| 1996 | Stealing Beauty | Bernardo Bertolucci | |
| 1996 | Evita | Alan Parker | |
| 1997 | Alien: Resurrection | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | |
| 1999 | In Dreams | Neil Jordan | |
| 1999 | 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 Gordon Philippe Parreno | Documentary film |
| 2007 | My Blueberry Nights | Wong Kar-wai | With Pun-Leung Kwan |
| 2007 | Funny Games | Michael Haneke | |
| 2008 | The Ruins | Carter Smith | |
| 2009 | Chéri | Stephen Frears | |
| 2011 | Midnight in Paris | Woody Allen | |
| 2012 | To Rome with Love | Woody Allen | |
| 2012 | Amour | Michael Haneke | |
| 2013 | The Immigrant | James Gray | |
| 2014 | Magic in the Moonlight | Woody Allen | |
| 2015 | Irrational Man | Woody Allen | |
| 2016 | The Lost City of Z | James Gray | |
| 2017 | Okja | Bong Joon-ho | |
| 2019 | Uncut Gems | Safdie brothers | |
| 2022 | Armageddon Time | James Gray | |
| 2022 | Bardo | Alejandro González Iñárritu | |
| 2025 | Mickey 17 | Bong Joon-ho | |
| 2025 | Marty Supreme | Josh Safdie | Post-production |
| 2025 | Eddington | Ari Aster | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1988 | Méliès 1988 | Aline Issermann | Episode "Bénie soit celle par qui le scandale arrive" |
| 2015 | The Devil You Know | Gus Van Sant | Failed pilot |
| 2019 | Too Old to Die Young | Nicolas Winding Refn | 7 episodes (3 episodes with Diego García) |
| 2020 | Strasbourg 1518 | Jonathan Glazer | TV short |
| 2021 | Lisey's Story | Pablo Larraín | Miniseries |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist |
| 1993 | "Fever" | Madonna |
| 1996 | "You Must Love Me" | Madonna |
| 1996 | "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" | Madonna |
| 1998 | "Frozen" | Madonna |
| 1999 | "Afrika Shox" | Leftfield |
| 2000 | "Dirge" | Death in Vegas |
| 2001 | "Boiler" | Limp Bizkit |
| 2008 | "Miles Away" | Madonna |
| 2010 | Sticky & Sweet Tour | Madonna |
| 2011 | "Marry the Night" | Lady Gaga |
| 2014 | "Everything" | Neneh Cherry |
| 2017 | "Look What You Made Me Do" | Taylor Swift |
| 2018 | "The Icon Project" | Eminem |
| 2019 | "Marcy Me" | Jay-Z |

## Awards and nominations

Academy Awards
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1996 | Evita | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2022 | Bardo | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
BAFTA Awards
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1996 | Evita | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
American Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1995 | Se7en | Outstanding Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1996 | Evita | Outstanding Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2013 | The Immigrant | Spotlight Award | Nominated |
British Society of Cinematographers
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1995 | Se7en | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1996 | Evita | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2011 | Midnight in Paris | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
César Awards
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1991 | Delicatessen | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 1995 | The City of Lost Children | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2012 | Amour | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
Chicago Film Critics Association
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 1995 | Se7en | Best Cinematography | Won |
| 1996 | Evita | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2022 | Bardo | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
Independent Spirit Awards
| Year | Title | Category | Result |
| 2011 | Midnight in Paris | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
| 2013 | The Immigrant | Best Cinematography | Nominated |
Other Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
| 1995 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Cinematography | Se7en | Nominated |
| 1996 | Globo d'oro | Best Cinematography | Stealing Beauty | Won |
| 1996 | Camerimage | Golden Frog | Stealing Beauty | Nominated |
| 1996 | David di Donatello | Best Cinematography | Stealing Beauty | Nominated |
| 2012 | European Film Awards | Best Cinematographer | Amour | Nominated |
| 2013 | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Cinematographer | The Immigrant | Won |
| 2013 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Cinematography | The Immigrant | Nominated |
| 2014 | Lumières Awards | Best Cinematography | Magic in the Moonlight | Nominated |
| 2016 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Cinematography | The Lost City of Z | Nominated |
| 2016 | London Film Critics' Circle | Technical Achievement of the Year | The Lost City of Z | Nominated |

## Exhibitions

* 2010: Discovery award laureate and exhibition at Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France.