AFC-related activities

During one of its last meetings, the Board of Directors of the AFC decided to welcome director of photography Laurent Barès to the AFC as our newest active member. Yves Cape, AFC, SBC, has written the customary introduction.
We all bid Laurent a warm welcome.

The expertise of France’s technical industries and technicians working in the film, audiovisual and animation industries is world class and one of our country’s key assets. Every year the ’Paris Images Trade Show’ is a highlight of the events calendar aimed at showcasing this dynamic industry - a creator of many highly skilled jobs - to industry professionals from all over the world. The event is an initiative by seven well-known organisations, all of which share the same ambition to promote French technical talents: the AFC, the Ile de France Film Commission, the IDIFF, L’Industrie du rêve, the CST, the FICAM and Film France.

3 directors, 22 cinematographers, 20 industry partners and representatives attended the events hosted by Cameflex-AFC at the Amiens International Film Festival between 11-15 November 2013.

Eight films were in competition this year, and two received an award. First prize went to Harmony Lessons by Emir Baigazin (Kazakhstan) for a very strong first movie portraying a secretive and awkward adolescent from a poor, hardscrabble, rural background who is confronted with bullying and violence from both the little chieftains and the semi-military authority structure of his middle school.

The 33^rd Amiens International Film Festival, in partnership with the AFC, has for the second year in a row hosted "Caméflex Amiens", an event dedicated to cinematographers, from 11-15 November 2013. Denis Lenoir, AFC, ASC, was honoured with a retrospective on nine of his films and a Master Class. Fabien Gaffez, Festival’s Artistic Director, speaks about Denis Lenoir’s work.

The “Inspiration Cinematographers Forum” was held in Vienna (Austria) from 18-20 October 2013. Imago’s Master Class Committee invited me to Vienna to be the moderator of one of the Master Classes in the 2013 “Inspiration” session.

During its last meeting before the summer, the Board of Directors of the AFC decided to admit Director of Photography Sébastien Buchmann to the ranks of its active members. Having begun his career in the mid 90s, he has since frequented the likes of Céline Bozon, Nathalie Durand, and Eric Gautier, amongst others, and has had a parallel career as a cameraman on short, medium, and feature-length films. We bid him a warm welcome.

Sébastien and I have repeatedly crossed paths over the last dozen or so years. We both relayed working on movies by young directors like Jean-Charles Fitoussi, Antoine Fumat, Sandrine Rinaldi, and Claire Doyon. Then finally we even shared work a few films where shooting was spread out over a couple of seasons, such as Horezon, by Pascal Bodet, or The Queen of Hearts, by Valérie Donzelli.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity of working with Sébastien at the beginning of my career as a director of photography. It was a great luxury to have him as my assistant. Serious in his approach to the job but while always displaying a great sense of humour, he is always a pleasure to have on the team.

During one of its last meeting, the Board of Directors of the AFC decided to induct director of photography Kika Noëlie Ungaro, AIC, as the newest active member of our association. Michel Abramowicz, one of her two AFC sponsors, introduces her below. We all wish to Kika the warmest welcome.

Following our General Assembly’s meeting on 30 March 2013, a Board Meeting was held on 25 April in order to elect the administrators of the association:
Matthieu Poirot-Delpech, Michel Abramowicz et Rémy Chevrin have been re-elected to the Presidency of the AFC.

Imago’s Annual General Assembly (IAGA), 2013 edition, was hosted by our Belgian friends of the SBC on 15-16 February. It kept its promises and allowed us to travel from Brussels to Mons with the help of the Bureau d’Accueil de Tournage Cinéma (Movie Shooting Welcome Office) of the Province of Hainaut.

On the day of the César Awards, Aurélie Filippetti, the Minister for Culture and Communication, honored French achievements and technological innovations in the 7^th Art. The Minister paid a visit to the Micro Salon organized by the Association française des directeurs de la photographie cinématographique (AFC).

During one of its last meetings, the AFC’s Board of Directors decided to offer Franck Montagné, post-production director, consultant and trainer, membership in the AFC as a consulting member. Franck willingly accepted our offer and we are very happy to extend a warm welcome to him. Philippe Ros, AFC, has written the customary introduction.

After a visit of Barco (digital cinema projectors manufacturer) on Friday March the 9^th, the last meeting of Imago Technical Committee took place on Saturday March 10^th at Studio l’Equipe Brussels. Kommer Kleijn, SBC, Chairman of the committe, reports.

The setting seems unchanging. A long hallway in a Parisian building at one end of which stands a photocopier. This hallway leads to a few offices on either side. This is generally where we come into contact with the team preparing the film.

During its last meeting, the Board of Directors of the AFC decided to induct Director of Photography David Ungaro as the newest member of our association. Rémy Chevrin, one of his sponsors, has written the following introduction, but we all wish him the warmest welcome as the AFC’s newest member.

Once again, the curtain fell on the Micro Salon with acclaim for its success. We know that if the event is held again in the future, there are many things that could be improved. But, the presentations made by our associate member partners on their know-how were a success, whether they took place at their booth, during a workshop, or at a screening.