Passing of Cinematographer Jean Penzer

1 June 2021 - Updated : 3/03 Contre-Champ AFC n°320

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We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of cinematographer Jean Penzer, AFC, ASC, in Paris on 21 May 2021, at the age of 93. Trained at the Vaugirard school just after the War, he served as an assistant and worked on short films before beginning his career as a cinematographer in 1959, thanks to Philippe de Broca (Les Jeux de l’amour), with whom he worked on several different occasions, whilst also working with Alex Joffé, Philippe Labro, Bertrand Blier, Chantal Akerman, Jacques Demy, and others. He was a honorary member of the AFC from 2007, and he had received the César award for Best Cinematography in 1986 for On ne meurt que deux fois, by Jacques Deray.

Jean Penzer belonged to that transitional generation between the “classicists” and the New Wave, and his work was nourished by both approaches, which he used to contribute to so-called mass market films and auteur films alike, with the same rigour and the same concern for creating the right climate without ever pushing aestheticism beyond what was strictly necessary. His approach was relatively similar to that of Ghislain Cloquet, three years his senior, and we will remember the icy sharp universe of Buffet froid (Bertrand Blier, 1979) and the austerity and minimalist lighting on Rendez-vous d’Anna (Chantal Ackerman, 1978). We will soon write a longer text about his career in order to pay the tribute to him that he deserves.