Marian Czura, born in the Upper Silesian village of Groszowice, started to study theology in Oppeln but left university shortly before his ordination out of protest against the conservative morals of the Catholic Church. After studying psychology in Warsaw for several semesters, Czura emigrated to Germany with his family in the late 1960s. In 1971, he started to study painting at the well-known Städelschule in Frankfurt. At the same time, he also studied at the equally well-known art school at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk museum.

At that time, Czura discovered his passion for film. After finishing his first feature-length film "Krautsand" (1977) together with Tillmann Scholl, Czura mainly worked as a cinematographer from 1980 on. He started a longtime collaboration with director Leo Hiemer and filmed several of Hiemer’s films, including the award-winning, critical, and satirical success "Daheim sterben die Leut" (1985), the Third Reich drama "Leni" (1994), and the relationship story "Komm, wir träumen!" ("Let Us Dream! ", 2004).

As a director, Czura finished several documentary films over the decades, including "Er tanzte das Leben" (2003), a documentary about the Russian-Polish dancer Sylvin Rubinstein. Czura again dealt with an artistic and musical topic in his documentary film "Klang der Seele" that opened in German cinemas in 2009. In the film, he portrays four talented teenagers who are trained to become composers.