Kieslowski's Made-for-TV Feature Film Debut Exploring Personnel

Krzysztof Kieślowski (1941-1996), an internationally recognized Polish filmmaker, made seven feature-length dramatic films before creating the television series Dekalog for the Polish Public Broadcasting Corporation (TVP). Shot during a politically turbulent decade in Poland between 1975 and 1984, these seven feature films are lesser-known than his Dekalog series and the serialized Three Colours trilogy co-produced with France. Kieslowski started out as a documentary filmmaker, and these Polish period dramas provide an entry point into his cinematic world. In particular, it is worth noting that Personnel, the first of Kieslowski's three dramatic films that he also wrote the screenplay for, has a significant autobiographical element, unlike its predecessors. This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of Kieslowski's cinematic universe by focusing on the opening and closing sequences of his first made-for-TV feature film Personnel and how he bridged the two genres of documentary and fiction.