Boris Kaufman Video | Interviews

Boris Abelevich Kaufman, A.S.C. (Russian: Борис Абелевич Кауфман; August 24, 1897 – June 24, 1980) was a cinematographer. He was the younger brother of famous filmmakers Dziga Vertov (Denis Kaufman) and Mikhail Kaufman. Kaufman was born into a family of Jewish intellectuals living in Białystok at the time when the Congress Poland was a part of the Russian Empire. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Poland regained its independence, and Boris moved there with his parents. Mikhail and Denis stayed in the Soviet Union and became notable Soviet filmmakers producing... MORE

Boris Abelevich Kaufman, A.S.C. (Russian: Борис Абелевич Кауфман; August 24, 1897 – June 24, 1980) was a cinematographer. He was the younger brother of famous filmmakers Dziga Vertov (Denis Kaufman) and Mikhail Kaufman. Kaufman was born into a family of Jewish intellectuals living in Białystok at the time when the Congress Poland was a part of the Russian Empire. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Poland regained its independence, and Boris moved there with his parents. Mikhail and Denis stayed in the Soviet Union and became notable Soviet filmmakers producing avant-garde and agitprop films. The three brothers later stayed in touch mainly by way of letters; Vertov visited Boris Kaufman in Paris twice, in 1929 and 1931. After graduating from Sorbonne University, Boris turned to cinematography. He collaborated with Jean Vigo and later Dimitri Kirsanoff. During World War II, he served in the French Army against the Nazis and when France lost he managed to escape to Canada. After working briefly with John Grierson, for the National Film Board of Canada, Kaufman moved to the United States in 1942. He supported himself shooting short subjects and documentaries until Elia Kazan chose LESS