AFC-related activities 

Recap of IAGA 2024 in London

The Annual General Assembly of Imago (IAGA) – the International Federation of Cinematographers – was held in London from 14-15 February 2024, hosted by the BSC. Richard Andry, who represented the AFC alongside Jean-Marie Dreujou, Eric Guichard (Imago’s Controller) and Denis Lenoir (Board member), has written the following detailed and illustrated recap of this event.

The Origins of a Trophy

Room 1163, Bry-Sur-Marne Hospital: Pierre-William Glenn is holding a small bronze Caméflex in his hands. The image is both sad and beautiful… this moment was recounted to us by Gilles Porte the day after the first-ever AFC Awards ceremony. He went to visit Pierre-William on his sickbed to show him the trophy that would be awarded to the winner of the new AFC Awards, as he was a founding member of the association. This small object in Pierre-William’s tired hands is the embodiment of the association’s founders passing the reins over to us, who are committed to making the AFC both active and lively.

Interview with Grimm Vandekerckhove, winner of the 2024 Robby Müller Award

The Rotterdam International Film Festival, in association with the NSC (Netherlands Society of Cinematographers) celebrates the memory of great cinematographer Robby Müller every year by awarding the prize that bears his name to an up-and-coming filmmaker. In past years, recipients of the award have included Diego Garcia (a Mexican cinematographer who worked with Darius Khondji, AFC, ASC, on the series “Too Old to Die Young” in 2020, and Hélène Louvart, AFC, in 2023. This year, it is the turn of Belgian cinematographer Grimm Vandekerckhove to be recognized. We discuss this award with him, and particularly his work with Belgian director Bas Devos for whom he has shot two films (Ghost Tropic in 2019 and Here in 2023). (FR)

Technical stuff 

Yves Cape, AFC, speaks to Seth Emmons, Leitz, about "Memory", directed by Michel Franco

Memory sees Mexican writer and director Michel Franco push into new territory with a film that follows two characters who both have troubled relationships with memory. Jessica Chastain’s Sylvia is a social worker and recovering alcoholic with a history of sexual abuse while Peter Sarsgaard’s Saul is a widower suffering from dementia. The narrative weaves a story of uncertainty even as the two grow closer. Behind the camera was long-time collaborating cinematographer Yves Cape, AFC and the film opened in competition at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.

On Screen 

Looking back on the meeting and discussion with Peter Biziou, BSC

Peter Biziou, BSC, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his entire body of work at the Camerimage festival this year. A retrospective enabled all festivalgoers to discover or rediscover some of his biggest hits, and a conference about his career was held before a packed audience. This conference highlighted four key films from his body of work, and then the audience was given an opportunity to ask questions.

Professional life 

A Tribute to Trevor Steele

We were saddened to learn of the passing of Trevor Steele on Wednesday, 20th December 2023, at the age of 84. In January 1982, he founded the EMIT corporation (Equipement Moderne Image Technique), which he ran for many years, and he was one of the most well-liked and respected pillars of the filmmaking industry. Cinematographer Philippe Ros, AFC, who was an intimate, gives us the following tribute.

Petition for a César Award for Makeup and Hairdressing

Of all the countries awarding film prizes, France, cradle of cinema, is the only one not to reward the departments of Makeup and Hairdressing. However, we all know, in our position as directors of photography, how much we owe to close collaboration with the people in charge of makeup and hairstyling. Their work on set supports the actresses and actors on a daily basis and contributes to the visual identity of a film. The AFC relays below a petition launched by the makeup artists of the AMC for the creation of a César for Makeup and Hairdressing.

Bookshelf 

Death of John Bailey, ASC, and Victor J. Kemper, ASC

We learnt of the death of John Bailey, ASC, just as the 31st annual Toruń Camerimage festival was about to begin. The most European of American cinematographers died on 10th November, in Los Angeles, at the age of 81. Two weeks later, on 27th November, Victor J. Kemper, ASC, one of the architects of the revival of American cinema in the 1970s, passed away at the age of 96. Let’s take a look back at two parallel careers that embody two different sensibilities in American cinema.

A real-life conference on virtual production

This article to download below is a report on the "Visual Media Lab Conference" and on the activities of the Imago Technical Committee (ITC) on this occasion. You will find links to the speakers’ recordings. The article which features a selection of the most important presentations is dedicated to all those who work or will work in the field of virtual production and/or who teach.

Death of Bill Butler, ASC (1921-2023)

Bill Butler, who passed away two days before his 102nd birthday, was of the same generation as his colleagues William Fraker or Haskell Wexler and was hardly older than Conrad Hall. He was born Wilmer C. Butler on 7 April 1921 in Colorado. He began cinematography later in life (he was already 47 years old when he shot The Rain People, by Francis Ford Coppola in 1968), but Bill Butler left his mark on several films that remain hallmarks of a certain American cinema of the 1970s: The Conversation, Jaws, Grease, Rocky II (and III and IV). But he was careful not to allow himself to get locked into a specific genre or style, and he veered into commercial productions, which were better able to anonymize his talent.

A random picture

Sigma 20 mm F1,4 DG DN
Sigma 20 mm F1,4 DG DN

A random video


https://youtu.be/_z3hqvmw6KA?si=zJCR-b8e5oTJ8Gkp
In Les Derniers hommes

Quotation of the month

La lune éclairait sans passion un paysage de poulaillers et de poireaux. Enfin, Étienne arriva à la lisière de la forêt. A l’église du village, minuit sonna.

Raymond Queneau, Le Chiendent, Éditions Gallimard, 1933

another quote