Interviews at Cannes

The career of cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie, AFC, has been shaped by her relations with very different directors, from Téchiné to Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Ozon to des Pallières, and Israeli directors Ronit and Sholmi Elkabetz. She designed the lighting on the first two films by Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet’s set designer and editor. Her first feature-length film, The Returned, was made into an eponymous television series that has become a legend in both France and the United States. After directing Eastern Boy, Robin Campillo made his début at Cannes in the official competition with 120 Beats per Minute. (BB)

British cinematographer Ben Richardson was discovered by international audiences in 2012 when his film Beasts of the Southern Wild received a Golden Camera Award at Cannes. Since then, he has signed off on a number of feature-length films. He is back this year on a Taylor Sheridan (author of the screenplay of Sicario and Hell or High Water) film, Wind River, a wintertime thriller filmed in the snowy Utah countryside. (FR)

After Snow Therapy in 2014, Swedish director Ruben Östlund returns to Cannes this year with The Square, cinematography by his compatriot Frederik Wenzel. A film that discusses the loss of confidence through the main character who is involved in the contemporary art world. The director’s style includes some unexpected camera movements…

In a filmed interview (in French), Manu Dacosse, SBC, tells us about the making of The Double Lover, his first project with François Ozon. A psychoanalytical thriller reminiscent of the films of both David Cronenberg and Brian de Palma.

Todd Hayne’s new opus, produced by Amazon Studios, is a screen adaptation of a 2011 Brian Selznick novel. The writer and illustrator specialized in children’s books also authored the screenplay of Martin Scorcese’s Hugo Cabret. This film tells two parallel tales, one set in 1920 and the other in 1970, and was photographed by Edward Lachman, ASC. The New York cinematographer was offered a trip to Cannes by his producers and confides to us in this filmed interview his thoughts about the film’s image, his love for 35mm film, and shares some observations regarding the future of cinematographic narration…

For her latest feature-length film, American director Sofia Coppola decided to make an adaptation of Tomas Cullinan’s novel The Beguiled, which tells the story of an enemy soldier’s unexpectedly imposing himself on a boarding school for young girls in the middle of the American Civil War. A remake (but not quite) of the earlier adaptation by Don Siegel in 1971 starring Clint Eastwood in the role of the soldier. For the new version, women are given the primary emphasis and make up a prestigious casting around the character of John Mac Burney (Colin Farrell). Philippe Le Sourd, AFC, was director of photography for this Louisiana-filmed movie. (FR)

Director of photography Agnès Godard, AFC, has collaborated with Claire Denis for almost thirty years, since her first feature, Chocolat, in competition at Cannes in 1988. Director and cinematographer met on a Wim Wenders shoot, where Denis was the assistant director, and Godard the assistant to legendary cinematographer Henri Alekan.
Claire Denis believes “the image speaks to us, first and foremost”. In Let the Sunshine In, which opens the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, Agnès Godard accomplishes that aim, with a pearly, radiant image rendering Juliette Binoche (even more) beautiful. (BB)

For her first feature-length film, Italian director Annarita Zambrano decided to make a film about the exile of a father and his daughter against the backdrop of the post-Red Brigade Italian political context of the 1980s. This story takes place between Italy and Southwest France, and was photographed by Laurent Brunet, AFC. It is in official selection at Cannes this year in the “Un certain regard” section (FR)

Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It is the film that earned Philippe Rousselot, AFC, ASC, the Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1993. A restored version of the film is being screened this year at Cannes. This chronic of rural life in 1920s America depicts the lives of two brothers, played by Brad Pitt and Craig Scheffer. The cinematographer, who is currently preparing for the second instalment of David Yates’ Fantastic Beasts franchise, discussed this noteworthy film from his prestigious career with us. (FR)

Barbara, which isn’t a biopic on “La Dame en noir”, releases in theaters for the twentieth anniversary of the singer’s death. Mathieu Almaric shoots his sixth long feature film and comes back on la Croisette, where he won the “Prix de la mise en scène” in 2010 for Tournée. Christophe Beaucarne, AFC, SBC, Almaric’s Director of Photography for all his films, signs a glamorous photography and tries to transcend the image of the mythical singer, played by Jeanne Balibar. Barbara opens the Un Certain Regard for this seventieth Festival de Cannes. (BB)

After the astounding White God, in which dog hounds take control over town, the duet Kornél Mundruczó (director) - Marcell Rév (DoP) is back on the Croisette to present a strange political and religious allegory, that gives rise to an uplifting filmed visuals, shot on Kodak Vision3 5219 500T . Jupiter’s Moon is in official selection for the Palme d’Or.

This unexpected biopic on Jean-Luc Godard’s life was a brave project by Michel Hazanavicius. The movie lover and director of hit comedies OSS 117 and The Artist decided to pay a trenchant tribute to the internationally-renowned symbol of the Nouvelle Vague.
Shooting this out-of-the-ordinary film suddenly took on a personal and emotional dimension for Guillaume Schiffman, AFC, because of the family relationship between him and the emblematic director of the Nouvelle Vague.

New York based cinematographer Frankie DeMarco began his career on commercials, documentaries and independent films and worked his way up through the grades in the industry to became director of photography on documentaries, feature films, commercials, and television. He received three Independent Spirit Award nominations for his work. How to Talk to Girls at Parties is his fourth film with John Cameron Mitchell.

For A Prayer Before Dawn, the latest film by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (author of the much remarked-upon 2008 film Johnny Mad Dog), David Ungaro, AFC, immersed himself into the universes of prisons and of Thai boxing. This powerful punch of a film is on the true story of Billy Moore, a young delinquent from Liverpool, who was imprisoned in Thailand’s Klong Prem prison for drug trafficking. Thai boxing gradually helped him to survive and get out of this hell alive... A look back on this film shot between Thailand and the Philippines, and which will be screened this year during Cannes’ Midnight Screenings. (FR)

Some directors are regulars on the Croisette and Arnaud Desplechin is one of them, as this is his 7^th time at Cannes, this year with Ismaël’s Ghosts, the film chosen to open the 70^th annual Cannes Film Festival, and whose director of photography was Irina Lubtchansky.