AFC’s Conversations

Interview with Denis Lenoir, AFC, ASC, ASK, about "Bergman Island", by Mia Hansen-Løve
The Solstices of Farö, by François Reumont, for the AFC

Bergman Island is the seventh film by director Mia Hansen-Løve. This trip for cinephiles’ only location is the Island of Farö, where the Swedish master lived, filmed and has rested since his death in 2007. A pilgrimage portrayed on screen by the couple Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps; playing a couple of filmmakers that can only echo the one the director once formed with Olivier Assayas. Denis Lenoir, AFC, ASC, ASK, the faithful companion of both, discusses the particularities of this Scandinavian summer film with us. (FR)

Kasper Tuxen, DFF, discusses the shooting of "The Worst Person in the World", by Joachim Trier
The 12 Labors of Kasper, by François Reumont for the AFC

At the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Joachim Trier delivered the portrait of a woman over the course of seven years, from her graduation from university to her thirtieth birthday. This is The Worst Person in the World, played by the wonderful Renate Reinsve, surrounded by Herbert Nordrum and Anders Danielsen Lie, in fourteen tableaux (including prologue and epilogue) of a modern and touching romance. Danish cinematographer Kasper Tuxen, DFF, has teamed up on this project with his Norwegian neighbors to film this bittersweet love story. (FR)

Eric Dumont, AFC, discusses his work on "Suprêmes", by Audrey Estrougo

Eric Dumont, AFC, began his career working on documentary films, and then he lit several of Stéphane Brizé’s films: La Loi du marché, En guerre, Un autre monde. He continues his eclectic career as cinematographer of Audrey Estrougo’s last film, Suprêmes, presented in the Official Selection (Midnight Session) at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival. (BB)

Patrick Blossier, AFC, discusses the shooting of "Ouistreham" by Emannuel Carrère

Author Emmanuel Carrère and cinematographer Patrick Blossier have known each other for fifteen years. They worked together on La Moustache, an adaptation of one of the writer’s novels. They also crossed paths on Les Revenants, a Canal+ television series directed by Fabrice Gobert and co-directed by Emmanuel Carrère. Today, they are working together on Ouistreham, an adaptation of a best-selling novel by journalist Florence Aubenas, which she wrote after spending six months with day laborers and jobseekers in Caen. (FR)

Hélène Louvart, AFC, discusses shooting of "Murina" by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic

Cinematographer Hélène Louvart, AFC has worked with many French and foreign directors since the 1990s. With Murina, she has created the photography for Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s first feature film. This film has been selected in the Directors’ Fortnight at the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival. (BB)

Crystel Fournier, AFC, discusses her choices on "Great Freedom" by Sebastian Meise

Since her graduation from La Fémis in 1998, Crystel Fournier, AFC, has distinguished herself as a cinematographer mainly through her work on three of Céline Sciamma’s films (Naissance des Pieuvres, Bande de Filles, Tomboy). In the last few years, she has chiefly worked on foreign productions, including Great Freedom (Große Freiheit), the third feature film by German director Sebastian Meise (Stillleben, Outing), selected in the Un Certain Regard competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. (MC)

Caroline Champetier, AFC, talks about her work on Leos Carax’s "Annette"

Leos Carax is back in Cannes’s Official Competition nine years after Holy Motors with Annette, a sung-through film written and scored by the musical duo Sparks. Telling the story of a star couple (Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard) and their young daughter, Annette is Carax’s most spectacular work. The director’s faithful companion in arms since the medium-length movie Merde (2008), cinematographer Caroline Champetier, AFC, recounts here the making of Annette, whose every sequence was a technical and artistic challenge. (YT)

Conversation with Philippe Rousselot, AFC, ASC
Chinese Luck

On the occasion of his being awarded a lifetime achievement award, Philippe Rousselot, AFC, ASC, answered questions from Jean-Marie Dreujou, Caroline Champetier, and Denis Lenoir. During their conversation, which was broadcast live on the 2020 Camerimage Festival’s online platform, they discussed the start of his career in France and abroad, including his work with Nestor Almendros. In keeping with his relaxed attitude and straight-talking approach, this recipient of three César awards and one Oscar delighted his colleagues with many memories from shoots and a discussion of the risks a DP sometimes has to take, and the opportunities he has to seize, on set. (FR)

Director of photography Andrew Droz Palermo explains the shooting of "Good Luck", music video of Broken Bells band
Laser Beams

Among the music videos in competition this year at Camerimage, one of them definitely gives light a leading role. "Good Luck", from the group Broken Bells tells the run away of a young boy who gets bored at home and starts meeting people who seem a bit like him, shining from inside. Andrew Droz Palermo tells us how this original music video was made. (FR)

Fred Elmes, ASC, speaks about his work on the "Hunters" series’ pilot, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Al Pacino vs. the 4th Reich

Available on Amazon Prime Video, "Hunters" is one of the flagship programs of year 2020 for Jeff Bezos’ platform. Produced by Jordan Peele (Get Out), and written by David Weil, this 10-episodes series is a kind of homage to B cinema. The premise: a Nazi hunt in New York City in the 70’s, led by Al Pacino. Somewhere between extreme violence and humor. Fred Elmes, ASC, has lensed this pilot, picked up from the Fist Look - TV Pilots section at Camerimage 2020. (FR)

Peter Deming, ASC, speaks about the shooting of "The Good Lord Bird", by Albert Hughes
Gunfights, Bible and Daguerreotypes

Produced and starring actor Ethan Hawke in a state of grace, The Good Lord Bird is a Showtime set just before the Civil War.
Albert Hughes (who directed Menace II Society, with his twin brother Allen) directed the pilot, while Peter Deming, ASC (Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive...) shot the seven episodes. He spoke with us about this film shot in Virginia, and which proposes a simultaneously modern and classic vision of a Western.(FR)

Nicolaj Brüel, DFF, speaks about the shooting of "Pinocchio", by Matteo Garrone
A Romantic Pinocchio

After Dogman, in 2018, the Roman director Matteo Garonne once again teams up with Danish cinematographer Nicolaj Brüel, DFF, on a new adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s popular tale Pinocchio. In this adaptation Garonne’s passion for the marvelous is obvious – it was already present in Tale of Tales, 2015, with a parade of characters and places that transpose the children’s tale into a world sometimes close to German romanticism. Pinocchio is selected in the main competition at the Camerimage 2020 festival. (FR)

Director of photography Charlotte Bruus Christensen speaks about the shooting of "The Banker", by George Nolfi
Heist without guns

Adapted from a true story, The Banker is directed by George Nolfi (screenwriter of Ocean’s Twelve and The bourne Ultimatum). This movie tells the uncommon journey of Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris, two black businessmen who eventually bought banks in Texas and democratized loans for the Afro-American community in the late 50’s. Written as a heist film with an Hitchcockian visual tone, Charlotte Bruus Christensen signs the image of this Apple TV production. (FR)

Interview with cinematographer Aurélien Marra about "Two of Us", by Filippo Meneghetti

Selected in competition in Camerimage in the "Cinematographer’s Debuts" and "Director’s Debuts" categories, which are open to first and second films, Two of Us, by Filippo Meneghetti, tells the turbulent love affair between two retired women. At once a romance, a drama, and even at times a thriller, this film was cinematographer Aurélien Marra’s second feature film. The film is mainly set under the autumn sun in the south of France, with interiors shot in studio in Luxembourg. (FR)

Interview with Pierre Aïm, AFC, about his work on "Sympathy for the Devil", by Guillaume de Fontenay
Retrun to Sarajevo

Pierre Aïm undertook a very realistic reconstruction of Sarajevo for Sympathy for the Devil, the first film by Guillaume de Fontenay (Quebec director who started his career in the theatre). The film, released in Paris in late 2019, was selected at Camerimage this year in the “Director’s Debut” competition. Here, he discusses his influences for this film, fake wartime reporting and cigar smoke…

Marcel Zyskind, DFF, speaks about his work on "Falling", by Viggo Mortensen
Father’s Day

Marcel Zyskind is a Danish cinematographer who has often worked with British director Michael Winterbottom. He has also shot several documentaries, clips and advertising campaigns. He became close with Viggo Mortensen during their shared experiences on The Two Faces of January, a film by Hossein Amini (the screenwriter of Drive), and the international star actor chose him to be the DoP for Falling, his first film as a director, in Camerimage’s Main Competition. This is a film that constantly oscillates between past and present in order to portray the complicated relationship between a son and his father. (FR)

Cinematographer Alexis Kavyrchine evokes his collaboration with Albert Dupontel on "Bye Bye Morons"
Albert’s Little World

For his seventh film as director, actor and director Albert Dupontel chose a rather pessimistic dark comedy in which, as is usual in his films, contemporary social reality sometimes slips into an expressionist world that is akin to that of comic books. Alexis Kavyrchine (Perdrix, La Douleur, Ce qui nous lie) was in control of the cinematography. He discusses the way the filmmaker works in order to construct his unique and personal universe. (FR)

Aymerick Pilarski discusses his work on “Öndög”, shot in Mongolia, and directed by Quan’an Wang

Aymerick Pilarski has had an unusual career. Because he was passionate about the cinema and he wanted to discover other cultures, he decided to study in Beijing rather than in France. This young cinematographer decided to leave for Asia nearly 15 years ago, where he learned Chinese and has been following in the footsteps of Christopher Doyle, a legend in cinematography. (FR)