At the first edition of the AFC Awards for excellence in cinematography, held on Wednesday February 7, 2024, as part of the 24^th Micro Salon, Yves Cape, AFC, took the prize for Best Cinematography in a feature film, with Michel Franco’s Sundown. In this lengthy interview, published in two parts, Caroline Champetier, AFC, asks Yves Cape about his loyal (six films to date) and original collaboration with Mexican director Michel Franco.

With Black Tea, the Franco-Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako (awarded a César in 2015 for his film Timbuktu) tells a story that is both romantic and dreamlike, exploring the encounter between African and East Asian cultures. The main character is a young woman who refused to say “I do” to her future husband at the last minute. She leaves straight for China to live a very different life than the one promised to her in Abidjan. Aymerick Pilarski, AFC, is the cinematographer who crafted the images for this filmic tale that spans Africa and Taiwan, and he was able to offer the director a significant asset in his knowledge of Mandarin, the language in which the film is almost entirely performed. The film is in the running for the Golden Bear. (FR)

Fred Grivois’ "Machine", co-written with Thomas Bidegain and Valentine Monteil, is a bit of a baroque concept. An intimate mixture of the kung-fu movie (with its codes and combat scenes) and a pure social drama, this series shows us a fugitive ex-solider who returns to her ancestors’ small town to escape the GIGN police forces that are hunting her down… When she gets a job as a temporary factory worker, she meets a charismatic Marxist foreman — and former heroin addict — who is facing a takeover by a large Korean firm. Played by Margot Brancilhon and Joey Starr, the project takes on an unexpected plot and visual journey under the guidance of Martin Roux, AFC. He shares with us his experience on this 6 48-minute episode series (soon to be broadcast on Arte) whose two first episodes were presented in the official competition at Series Mania*. (FR)

Here’s a full list of On Film winners at Cannes 2024! It was a great showing for film. Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best First Film (Camera d’or) along with four winners in Critics’ Week and the winner of the inaugural Audience Award in Directors’ Fortnight.

Lucie Baudinaud, AFC, long-time collaborator of Emilie Noblet, photographed her latest feature film, Bis Repetita. She talks to Panavision France about her shooting choices for the film.

With the newly developed P+S Technik SPM-Camera Mount, you can mount the Cooke SP3 Lenses on Arri Alexa Mini, Amira, Mini LF and Alexa 35 cameras.

Shooting on Kodak film, French DP Hélène Louvart AFC blended 35mm and 16mm camera formats and aspect ratios to fuse reality with fantasy for Alice Rohrwacher’s acclaimed La Chimera.

Visitors to this year’s NAB should not miss a visit to the Bebob stand (Central Hall, Bavarian Pavilion, C6732). The Munich-based battery manufacturer is bringing various new products to Las Vegas and will also be providing an insight into many product launches in the near future. The overriding themes will be performance, flexibility, quality and sustainability – both in terms of powering the latest cameras and ultra-modern lights.

FilmLight, best known for its grading system Baselight, today announced the introduction of Nara. Nara, which will be exhibited at various partner booths at NAB 2024, provides media professionals, including post-production facilities and VFX houses, instant access to media from anywhere in the world – streaming and indexing to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and review processes.

Across his 30-year career, French cinematographer Jean-Marc Selva, AFC, has seized the ever-increasing opportunities to work on international features. Delve into his work on the Hindi-language action film Lakadbaggha as he shares the fun and thrills of finding his feet in the world of Indian cinema.

Imago invites you to its premiere Art and Technology online talk: "Arri Alexa 35" with Evgenia Alexandrova, AFC, Alejandro Mejía (Jano), AMC, Art Adams, director of photography and trainer for the Arri Academy, and Alfonso Parra, AEC, ADFC, moderator.

We learnt of the death of John Bailey, ASC, just as the 31^st annual Toruń Camerimage festival was about to begin. The most European of American cinematographers died on 10^th November, in Los Angeles, at the age of 81. Two weeks later, on 27^th 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.