Born in Bialystok, Russian Empire (now Poland); younger brother of Soviet filmmakers Dziga Vertov (born Denis Kaufman, 1896-1954) and Mikhail Kaufman (1897-1980). He went to France in the mid-1920s to study at the Sorbonne. He subsequently shot four of Jean Vigo's films (À PROPOS DE NICE, 1930; TARIS, ROI DE L'EAU, 1931; ZÉRO DE CONDUITE, 1933; and L'ATALANTE, 1934), among others. He served in the French infantry from 1939 to 1941 and moved to New York after the German occupation of France. In 1942 and 1943, he worked for the National Film Board of Canada and the US Office of War Information. In the US after WW II, he photographed a number of shorts and documentaries before being hired as cinematographer on Elia Kazan's ON THE WATERFRONT (1954). For the next 15 years Kaufman remained independent from Hollywood and worked almost exclusively with left-oriented directors on a number of outstanding films shot in New York. He worked on seven Sidney Lumet features including THE PAWNBROKER (1965), a strikingly photographed black-and-white journey through the mind of a concentration camp survivor living in Harlem. He was director of photography on a number of wonderfully shot motion pictures throughout the 1950s and 60s: 12 ANGRY MEN (1957), SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961); LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (1962); THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT (1964); and TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME JUNIE MOON (1970). The re-release in 1990 of Vigo's restored L'ATALANTE brought posthumous acclaim for Kaufman's shimmering cinematography.  Cinematography (Black & White) 1954: ON THE WATERFRONT  Nominated for Cinematography (Black & White) 1956: BABY DOLL 2 nominations, 1 Award