Camerimage 2017

Camerimage has been a regular haunt of Denis Lenoir, AFC, ASC, for some time now. In attendance this year as a member of the jury for the Polish Film competition, here, he shares his impressions after returning from the 25^th annual festival.

We were once there. A week of meetings, films, discussions with DoPs at Camerimage. I returned home in a particular state of fatigue, leaving the hotel for Poznan Airport at 2:30 a.m., just after the last party of the week, alongside a director from Bombay. That was my last meeting of the week, and like all the encounters during the week, we understood one another immediately! We discussed images, cameras, shootings...

On Thursday, 16 November, Caroline Champetier, AFC, attended the conference given at the Opera Nova by Vittorio Storaro, AIC, ASC. The cinematographer was discussing the physiology of colour with Woody Allen’s film Wonder Wheel as his guiding thread. Here, she summarizes some of the main points of his speech.

Arri Academy’s HDR seminar was well-attended and impressively-outfitted. All the students and young DoPs in attendance at Camerimage came to this event. The session is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., and let’s hope that the hundreds of young people queued up outside will be able to get in at some point.

The Leica team organized a special meeting with the attendees of the festival in order to discuss its new Thalia range of lenses, intended to be used on large-format cameras (like the Arri Alexa 65 or the RED Monstro). In order to illustrate what we’re talking about, nothing is worth a few images taken on the spot.

Cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC, who was recently contacted by Sony to try out its new Venice camera, was a member of the competition jury at Camerimage. He took advantage of the opportunity to teach a Master Class and to share his vision of light, in which the relationship to nature and to camera work seem to be highly important.

Peter Bernaers colour graded the series “Transferts,” cinematography by Pascal Lagriffoul, AFC, whose first episode was selected to compete at the Camerimage Festival in the Television Series’ Pilots competition. In this article, he discusses the colour timing and finishing options for the series.

For its second incursion into science-fiction after “Trepalium,” a television series it produced in the past, Arte France decided to hire Patrick Benedek and Claude Scasso to write a six-episode season on the theme of immortality and on transferring from one body to another. The series will be broadcast as of 16 November and the cinematography of the first season was directed by Pascal Lagriffoul, AFC. The first episode was selected at Camerimage in the Television Series’ Pilots competition. (FR)

At Poznan airport, I met Pascal Lagriffoul, AFC, who, like me, was left without luggage. The tricky Lufthansa must know that in less than 40 minutes of transit in Munich it cannot forward baggage from one plane to another because as a passenger, we have to walk kilometers of corridors, running like lunatics, hoping to "catch" the connecting flight. But at first, she pretends that there is no problem.

During the closing ceremony of the 25^th annual Camerimage Festival, held on Saturday 18 November 2017 in the Grand Theatre of the Opera Nova of Bydgoszcz (Poland), the jury, presided by filmmaker Michael Apted, revealed the names of the winners. The Golden Frog went to Ildikó Enyedi’s film On Body and Soul, cinematography by Máté Herbai, HSC, the Silver Frog, to Loveless, by Andrei Zyvagintsev, cinematography by Mikhail Krichman, RGC, and the Bronze Frog to First They Killed My Father, by Angelina Jolie, cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle, DFF, BSC, ASC.

The Bydgoszcz Film Festival, called Camerimage, is known for the many great filmakers that gather every year. This event is also visited by other people. These are aspiring artists from all around the world.

Every year, the Cinematographers’ Debuts selection holds a few good surprises in store. Last year, it was Juliette Van Doermael; this year, young Copenhagen DoP Maria von Hausswolff tore open the screen with (Vinterbrodre), a strange and pale film that portrays a group of lovelorn workers in a Danish limestone mine. The impressionistic screenplay was well-served by the graininess of the Super16 and an extremely impressive sound design. Director Hlynur Palmason and his cinematographer met during their studies and both work in the field of contemporary art (sculpture and installations).

On Body and Soul, a Hungarian film directed by Ildiko Enyedi, is also the third this year in the official selection to be set in an abattoir. Máté Herbai, HSC, shares his approach to working on this congenial and unusual love story between two wounded souls.

Jonathan Ricquebourg is the only French cinematographer officially competing in the feature-length fiction section of Camerimage 2017. Still Life, a first feature which was released a year ago in France, takes place in an abattoir. Animals and humans live side-by-side in a strange fable with infrequent dialogue. An original choice for this international selection that sometimes pits outsiders against internationally-recognized stars in the profession. (FR)

American director Alexander Payne chose a futuristic science-fiction universe for his latest film in which humans are able to shrink themselves to conserve the planet’s resources. Downsizing narrates the experience of an average American (Matt Damon) who gets caught up despite himself in this social and physiological process that completely changes his life. Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC, shares with us the secrets behind the “making of” of this bittersweet and highly-awaited comedy.

When he is asked about his best memory from Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri, British cinematographer Ben Davis tells us about his first meeting with Frances McDormand who very seriously said to him: “You know, Ben, I want you to film me like John Wayne in this film.” This film is therefore an authentic Western, with a sheriff, a small town, and an avenger, all of whom are seeking redemption. He discusses the film of Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, 7 Psychopaths), which was a great audience success at Camerimage.

Director Roland Joffé shot his latest film, dedicated to the life of Reverend Desmond Tutu (played by Forest Whitaker), in a working South African prison. American cinematographer William Wages, ASC, explains the reasons he chose the new Panasonic VariCam LT in a filmed interview.

Director Xavier Legrand, winner of many awards, including the Grand Prix of the Clermont-Ferrand Festival and of the César for Best Short Film in 2014, is back with his first feature-length film, Jusqu’à la garde. After winning the Silver Lion and the award for best first film at the Venice Film Festival, this restrained film continues the story from his short film. Xavier Legrand and his producer Alexandre Gavras did something uncommon by deciding to work with the exact same team from the short film. While we await the film’s release in France on 7 February 2018, the film continues to meet with enthusiasm as it makes the rounds of film festivals, and will be screened at Camerimage. Nathalie Durand, AFC, takes this opportunity to discuss shooting the film with us. (FR)