Kafard Film

With her first feature Cotton Queen, filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani paints a portrait of a young Sudanese woman working on a cotton farm in a village on the banks of the Nile. The arrival of a new young boss with more modern working methods suddenly turns her life and that of those around her upside down. This is all the more significant given that her grandmother Al Sit, nicknamed the cotton queen, once led a revolt and emancipation against the former British colonisers... In this film, which begins in a rather naturalistic style, the choice of an increasingly dreamlike narrative gradually takes over and transforms the film into a feminist tale. Cinematographer Frida Marzouk, AFC, teamed up with the director on this first feature film shot in Egypt. Cotton Queen is being screened in its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the International Critics’ Week selection. (FR)

Laura Samani decided to adapt Giani Stuparich’s novel "A Year at School" (1929) for the screen, which tells the story of a girl’s arrival at an all-boys high school in Trieste. Transposed to the late 2000s, the director makes the story her own, infusing it with her own memories and the music of her 20’s. Inès Tabarin, AFC, teams up for the first time with this transalpine filmmaker, working on screen on this nostalgia-filled film shot entirely in this Italian border town, which geographically marks the gateway to Central Europe. (FR)

On February 8, 1977, in Indianapolis, Tony Kiritsis, a mortgage borrower, entered the offices of a local lending company and held its president hostage for 63 hours. Having tied the president’s neck to a cable connected to the trigger of a sawed-off shotgun, he denounced the irregularities of the mortgage system in the United States. This unusual hostage-taking, which received widespread media coverage at the time, had national repercussions and even led to changes in real estate lending practices. It is this true story that filmmaker Gus Van Sant decided to bring to the screen in a hard-hitting film shot in just 19 days in the middle of winter in Kentucky. Cinematographer Arnaud Potier, AFC, teamed up with the American filmmaker for the first time... The film will have its world premiere out of competition at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. (FR)

With La Ligne de vie, director Hugo Becker (who is also an actor) took on a real challenge : recreating the atmosphere of the trenches of the Great War in a short film. This historical episode has been widely adapted for cinema, with references known to all that cannot fail to resonate in the minds of viewers. Thanks to the writing and the multiplicity of points of view, he starts from a simple news item and attempts to shed light on it, much as Akira Kurosawa experimented with in Rashomon. Tommaso Fiorilli, AFC, SBC, was responsible for shooting this short film, which was selected for Competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival. (FR)

Tyler B. Cohen is a renowned Creative Director celebrated for his expertise in both physical and digital realms. At Tool, he co-leads AI initiatives, revolutionizing how some of the biggest brands in the world create and deliver narratives and experiences through bespoke generative AI systems. Tyler’s dynamic body of work includes collaborative projects helmed under his direction with globally recognized brands, chart-topping musicians, superstar athletes, major sports leagues, and all those brave marketers interested in embracing what’s next. Google gave him the opportunity to test his latest VEO2 text to video generator, and he made Roommate From Hell with it. This funny short movie is online since early january. (FR)

À l’occasion de la sortie en salles, le 13 novembre 2024, du Royaume, de Julien Colonna, lire ou relire un entretien dans lequel le directeur de la photographie Antoine Cormier évoque la fabrication du film, sélectionné à Un Certain regard lors du 77^e Festival de Cannes.

Selected in the Orizzonti section at the Venice Film Festival, the fifth film by director Carine Tardieu deals with the theme of family ties, over a two year period following a tragedy. From its first scenes, L’Attachement is characterized by a mother’s loss, yet the film manages to avoid the pathetic thanks to the luminous, innocent performance of the character of Elliot by 6-year-old César Botti. Elin Kirschfink AFC, SBC, was director of photography for this film produced by Fabrice Goldstein and Antoine Rein (KarKaré Productions). (FR)

With Planète B, filmmaker Aude Léa Rapin (Les héros ne meurent jamais, in 2018) offers us an ambitious tale of anticipation. Two dimensions - real and virtual - coexist in a paradoxical prison film where the inmates are placed in a very... summery atmosphere. Jeanne Lapoirie, AFC, and her gaffer Guillaume Ader were responsible for the cinematography of this plunge into a 15-year future where the government has devised new means of incarceration to counter a group of young activists bent on defending the planet. The director’s second film is presented out of competition as the opening film of Critics’ Week at the 81st Venice Film Festival. (FR)

“Taking pictures was always a passion that I had. For me the best job on a film crew has always been operating a camera. I adore operating, I love the challenges. Capturing images that you hope and pray people will enjoy looking at gives me great satisfaction. It gives a feeling of joy looking through the viewfinder. I’ve been so lucky.”

Fiona Braillon, SBC, began her career in cinematography together with Rachel Lang, a young Belgian director. After graduating from the IAD (Institute of Broadcasting Arts) in 2010, Fiona Braillon signed in 2016 the cinematography of Rachel Lang’s first feature film, Baden Baden, then, four years later, that of My Legionnaire. This film was selected at the Directors’ Fortnight of this 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (BB)

Jacques Audiard is what one might call a habitué of the Cannes Film Festival. Besides his Golden Palm Award for Dheepan, in 2015, he has presented most of his films at Cannes. This year, he is offering audiences a study based around the love relationships of four young people of different backgrounds, but who all live in the same neighborhood in Paris. A new choral film photographed in black-and-white by Paul Guilhaume, AFC. (FR)

Like their other films, Tralala, by Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu, is an eccentric poem in which Mathieu Amalric, their favorite actor, plays a homeless musician who is visited by religious passion. Filmed between Paris and Lourdes (their hometown), this film is also a musical comedy where the different songs are sung by the actors themselves. Jonathan Ricquebourg, AFC, was behind the camera, and traveled alongside the filmmaker brothers on their strange journey to a city deserted by its pilgrims because of Covid. (FR)

Chef électricien avec, entre autres, Benoît Debie, SBC (Climax) et Claire Mathon, AFC, (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu), Ernesto Giolitti tiens cette fois-ci la caméra et signe les images du premier long métrage de Yassine Qnia, De bas étage. Une chronique à la fois sociale et intime de la vie d’un petit délinquant mise à mal par son nouveau rôle de père. (FR)

Selected for the Marseilles FID Festival, the documentary directed by Caroline Champetier on Bruno Nuytten was screened on 5 July. Director and cinematographer Caroline Champetier, AFC, discusses this sensitive portrait of a legendary cinematographer who brutally decided to end his career after twelve continuous years of work on some of the greatest French films of the 1980s. (FR)

Glynn Speeckaert shares his time between feature-length French-language and English-language films, but he also shoots many advertisements all over the world. Amongst his best-known films are his collaboration with Xavier Giannoli (A l’origine and soon-to-be-released, Marguerite), Koen Mortier (Ex drummer) and Guillaume Galienne on the comedy that won the 2014 César award for best film (Me, Myself, and Mum). His name will soon be on the film posters of Fred Grivois’ Through the Air, starring Reda Kateb and Ludivine Sagnier, as well as Moonwalkers, the first feature-length film of advertisement director Antoine Bardou Jacquet. (FR)

Deep in the Romanian countryside, 10-year-old Philip sets off on foot with his dad to buy a pair of brand new football boots in town. Although he is separated from his dad fairly quickly, he carries on with his journey and meets many strange people during this day unlike any other. With this one of a kind film, Romanian filmmaker Paul Negoescu has created a very positive, postmodern fairy tale, with a unity of time that gives rise to a slow progression in cinematography. Romanian director of photography Ana Drăghici, RSC, is lensing it, attending Manaki 2026 in official competition for the 300 Camera award. (FR)

La 41^e édition du Festival International du Film Francophone (FIFF) se tiendra à Namur (Belgique) du 30 septembre au 4 octobre 2026. Le FIFF de Namur transforme la capitale wallonne en rendez-vous incontournable du cinéma francophone. Le Festival présente des longs et courts métrages de fiction, d’animation et documentaires issus des quatre coins de la Francophonie. Douze des films programmés ont été photographiés par des membres de l’AFC.

With A Good Soldier, director Stéphane Brizé reunites with his favourite actor, Vincent Lindon, and a working environment he had previously explored in his famous trilogy (The Measure of a Man, At War, Another world).
With a streamlined narrative structure, the film centres on Carla (Alba Rohrwacher), a lively young divorced mother who has just landed a senior management position at Amali. She struggles to find time for her private life and the shared custody of her ten years old son. For whom she harbours great ambitions. Filmed almost exclusively on the company’s premises, the film is sometimes quite funny, offering in particular a very sharp portrayal of power dynamics within such a big company .
Antoine Héberlé, AFC, is the cinematographer for this film, runing for main competition at the 2026 Venice Film Festival. (FR)

The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will take place from Thursday, September 10, to Sunday, September 20, 2026. Celebrating the Canadian and world cinema in North America, the festival—despite its increasingly commercial and promotional nature—nevertheless attracts a large audience of cinephiles. Across all sections, twelve selected films were shot by members of the AFC.

La 51^e édition du Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) se tiendra du jeudi 10 au dimanche 20 septembre 2026. Vitrine du cinéma canadien et du cinéma mondial en Amérique du Nord, bien que devenu commercial et promotionnel, le festival attire néanmoins un large public de cinéphiles. Toutes sections confondues, douze films sélectionnés ont été photographiés par des membres de l’AFC.

Le Festival du Film Francophone à Angoulême (FFA), dont la 19^e édition se déroulera du 24 au 29 août 2026, défend un cinéma francophone populaire et subtil. Le FFA proposera douze programmes – dont deux compétitifs (courts et longs métrages) – parmi lesquels on dénombre vingt-sept films photographiés par des membres de l’AFC.

Un long métrage servi par Panavision sort en août.

Nos équipes TSF seront présentes pendant toute la durée du Festival pour vous rencontrer et échanger autour des projets en cours et à venir.

The 79th Locarno Film Festival will take place from 5 to 15 August 2026. Among the festival’s eleven sections, there are – barring any errors or omissions – seven AFC members who have directed the photography of one of the selected films.

La 79^e édition du festival de Locarno se tiendra du 5 au 15 août 2026. Parmi les onze sections que propose le festival, on dénombre, sauf erreur ou omission, sept membres de l’AFC ayant signé les images de l’un des films sélectionnés.

Le Festival international d’image de film Camerimage, dont la 34^e édition aura lieu à Toruń (Pologne) du 7 au 14 novembre 2026, a annoncé l’ouverture de la procédure de sélection des films. Les directeurs de la photographie – à leurs débuts ou non –, réalisateurs, producteurs, distributeurs, étudiants d’écoles de cinéma et d’art, sont invités à proposer au festival leurs films de fiction ou documentaires – courts ou longs –, vidéos musicales ou séries TV, dans une des neuf catégories proposées par Camerimage.

Since the opening of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, we have published 67 written or video interviews and texts, 36 in French and 31 in English, in which directors of photography—including 13 AFC members—talk about their work on a film selected in one of the selections and sections. Here are the links to read, reread, and watch each of them in English.

À l’issue de la phase de sélection, le groupe Transpa et La Maison du Film ont dévoilé, le 17 mai à Cannes, les cinq projets finalistes de la 3ᵉ édition du concours "Mon Film dans un Camion", qui s’adresse aux réalisateurs et réalisatrices souhaitant proposer leur premier long métrage.

Présidé par Carla Simón, le Jury des courts métrages et de La Cinef a décerné les prix de La Cinef lors d’une cérémonie, Salle Buñuel, suivie de la projection des films primés. Aldrig nok (Jamais assez), réalisé par Julius Lagoutte Larsen et photographié par Victoria Liotier (La Fémis), a reçu le Troisième Prix ex-æquo.

Pour son quotidien N°9 du jeudi 21 mai, l’hebdomadaire Le Film français, dans ses pages "Les déjeuners du Film français à la Plage des Palmes", s’est entretenu avec la directrice de la photographie japonaise Akiko Ashizawa, JSC, lauréate de l’Hommage Pierre Angénieux 2026.