Manaki Brothers Festival

Simeon Moni Damevski was appointed director of the Manaki Brothers festival three years ago. Overflowing with enthusiasm and kindness towards his guest, he explains why this festival dedicated to cinematography, organized in a small town in Northern Macedonia, is so special to him. (FR)

Doubly honored in 2023 (at the Manaki Brothers Festival and soon at Camerimage), British cinematographer Peter Biziou, BSC, shares with us some memories from his long and prestigious career on commercial and fiction sets. Although Mississippi Burning (Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1989) was undoubtedly his highest distinction, his name has appeared in the credits of films such as Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, Richard Loncraine’s Richard III, or Peter Weir’s The Truman Show. (FR)

Seamus McGarvey, BSC, ISC, ASC, was one of the guests of honor at the 44^th annual Manaki Brothers Festival. He recently received the Camera 300 career award. Cinematographer of over 50 feature films, some of the most remarkable are Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity, Stephen Daldry’s The Hours, Gareth Edward’s Godzilla, and Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina and Atonement. He recently finished work with the same director on the Italian series “M” dedicated to the life of dictator Benito Mussolini. He discusses this 130-day marathon shoot, how to manage the unexpected on set, and artificial intelligence. (FR)

A gem from Estonia, this film was given a special screening at the Manaki Brothers Festival this year. The Sleeping Beast is a rather implacable study of human nature, remarkably well-acted by a group of five children aged around 12 and a little girl younger than them. Elen Lotman, ESC, Estonian cinematographer, discussed her very sensitive cinematographic choices for filming this captivating story which threads its way between the reality of the adult world and the fantasy world of children left to their own devices. (FR)

The closing ceremony of the 40^th-annual Manaki Brothers Festival was held on Saturday, 21 September 2019 in Bitola (Republic of Northern Macedonia), in the Great Hall of the local Palace of Culture. The jury, which was presided over by Ed Lachman, ASC, presented the golden Camera 300 award to Hélène Louvart, AFC, for her work on The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, by Karim Ainouz. Due to her inability to be present in person, the award was accepted on her behalf by Eric Gautier, AFC. Yorgos Arvanitis, AFC, GSC, received the Golden Camera 300 for Life Achievement Award.

I’m at Bitola, in Macedonia, for a Festival dedicated to cinematographers everywhere in the world: the “Manaki Brothers” Festival. In 1905, these two brothers began to film daily life in the Balkans. I’ve been here for a few days and here are my first impressions.