Born in Lvov, Ukraine; then he moved with his father Miroslaw Zulawski to Czechoslovakia and later to Poland. In the late 1950s, he studied cinema in France. In the 1960s, he was an assistant of the famous Polish film director Andrzej Wajda. His feature debut La troisième partie de la nuit (1971) was an adaptation of his father's novel. His second feature Le diable (1972) was prohibited in Poland, and Zulawski went to France. After the success of his French debut L'important c'est d'aimer (1975) in 1975, he returned to Poland where he spent two years in making Le globe d'argent (1988). The work on this film was brutally interrupted by the authorities. After that, Zulawski moved to France where became known for his highly artistic, controversial, and very violent films. Zulawski is well known for his ability to discover and "rediscover" actresses. Romy Schneider, Isabelle Adjani and Sophie Marceau played their best parts in his films.
