AFC-related activities

Nicolaj Brüel is a Danish cinematographer who has shot a number of prestigious advertising campaigns for various sectors (automobiles, beauty products, food, etc.). He also filmed the television series “Legends of Cambria” (starring Colin Farrell) and Caradog W. James’ feature-length film The Machine, in 2013. This year, Italian director Matteo Garrone asked him to do the lighting on his new Napolitain opus Dogman. He spoke with us about audacity at Cannes this year, which he feels is an important part of creativity on set. (FR)

In addition to awarding the ExcelLens Prize this year, Angénieux has also decided to recognize the work of a young talent in cinematography. Cecile Zhang, a Chinese cinematographer and recent graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, is the recipient of the award. The AFC met her at Cannes.

Cinematographer Hélène Louvart, AFC, has filmed over fifty feature-length films during her career, and has worked with many French and foreign directors. She filmed two of the foreign feature-length films at Cannes this year: Jaime Rosales’ Petra, selected in the Directors’ Fortnight, and Alice Rohrwacher’s Lazzaro felice. This is the third time that Hélène Louvart has worked with the Italian director. In 2014, The Wonders won the Grand Prix at Cannes. The director is back this year on the Croisette with Lazzaro felice, in Official Competition. (BB)

In 2018, amidst a new and youthful selection of directors, one of Cannes’ seasoned filmmakers is back after been "persona non grata" at the Festival since 2011 as a result of his statements regarding Hitler during the press conference for Melancholia. Lars von Trier is definitely not a neo-Nazi, but his sin was to have made a particularly ill-advised attempt at Scandinavian humour. The House That Jack Built portrays a serial killer played by Mat Dillon, starring alongside Bruno Ganz and Uma Thurman. This is cinematographer Manuel Alberto Claro’s, DFF, third film in a row with the Copenhagener director. (FR)

Following the international success of It Follows, a conceptual horror-thriller portraying the lives of Detroit’s youth, David Robert Mitchell embarked on a much more ambitious project. At the center of the film is Los Angeles, like a labyrinth, and a young dilettantish fan of Nirvana. Malaise, enigmas, and suicide round off this portrait of an America that sparkles on its surface but whose darkness is reminiscent of David Lynch’s cinema. Michael Gioulakis, cinematographer of It Follows, joined ranks with the American director once again for this film, which is in Competition for the Palme d’Or.

Jean-Bernard Marlin garnered critical attention with his two short films, La Peau dure and La Fugue. He offered young cinematographer Jonathan Ricquebourg, AFC, the opportunity to film his first feature-length project, a rough-hewn film with non-professional actors. A graduate of the Ecole Louis-Lumière’s Cinema department (class of 2013), Jonathan began his career with Jean-Charles Hue on Eat Your Bones, a film selected in the Directors’ Fortnight and winner of the 2014 Prix Jean Vigo. Two years ago, he was at Cannes with Albert Serra, for The Death of Louis XIV, awarded the Prix Lumières in 2017. Once again, he is at Cannes this year for an adventure of cinema and light: Scheherazade, selected in the 57^th International Critics’ Week. (BB)

Although he is originally from Norway, Benjamin Loeb has been based in Vancouver for a number of years, and he works in North America and Europe. He has filmed a number of feature-length films sinceı2007 (Hello Destroyer, Wintermarchen), as well as several music videos, short films, and advertising videos. His work was selected in the Directors’ Fortnight with Mandy, a strange revenge film directed by Panos Cosmatos. (FR)

Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski is back after his highly-regarded film Ida, in 2013 (Oscar for Best Foreign Film) with Cold War, a love story set to a background of music and tension between East and West. His countryman and Oscar nominee Łukasz Żal, PSC, was the director of photography, again in black and white and 1.37 aspect ratio. The film is in the Official Competition for the 2018 Golden Palm at Cannes Film Festival. (FR)

For her first feature-length film as director, photographer Vanessa Filho was lucky enough to be able to convince Marion Cotillard to play the role of a young alcoholic mother who is neglectful of her seven-year-old daughter. Guillaume Schiffman, AFC, and his Easy Rig, shot this project from the eyelevel of a child. (FR)

Some cinematographers work with French directors as much as they do with foreign ones. Antoine Héberlé, AFC, is one of them. Throughout his career, which he began in 1993 with Laurence Ferreira Barbosa on Normal People are Nothing Special, he has worked with Laetitia Masson, Alain Guiraudie, Stéphane Briée, and also with Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaïdi, Palestinian director Hany Abu Assad, and Israeli directors Edgar Keret and Shira Geffen. This year, he is at Cannes for his work on his first Syrian film, My Favourite Fabric by Gaya Jiji, in selection in Un Certain Regard. (BB)

Engaged in a fierce battle against the industrialization of his beloved island, Halla, with his bow and arrows and his sticks of dynamite, could be compared to John Rambo (First Blood) in her mastery of guerrilla warfare against the system… With the exception of only one thing, however: she is an elegant chorus director from Reykjavik and her combat fatigues is his traditional Icelandic wool jumper.

Director Jia Zhangke is one of the most critically acclaimed Chinese director and the one best-loved by international audiences. He has already presented a number of films at Cannes (I Wish I Knew, A Touch of Sin, Mountains May Depart). He entrusted Eric Gautier, AFC, with the cinematography of his last feature-length film. Eric Gautier is the cinematographer of France’s greatest directors (Arnaud Desplechin, Olivier Assayas, Alain Resnais, Patrice Chéreau) and also shot Into the Wild, On the Road, and Hotel Woodstock for Ang Lee. He is accompanying Jia Zhang-ke on his walk up the red carpet at Cannes this year, where the film Ash Is Purest White is in official competition. (BB)

After having shot his last film in France, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi decided on Spain for his latest film, a family thriller that is reminiscent both of classical tragedy and westerns. A family behind closed doors in a village of the sierra outside of Madrid, set amongst grape harvests, passions, and jealousies. The great Spanish (and French-speaking) cinematographer José Luis Alcaine is opening this year’s Competition at Cannes with this authentic firework display of actors and cinematography. (FR)

The video of Ed Lachman’s (ASC) Master Class is now online.
It was organized by the AFC in partnership with the ENS Louis-Lumière, and took place on Monday, 12 February 2018 on the school’s premises.
It was hosted by Caroline Champetier, AFC, moderated by François Reumont, and the conversation in English was interpreted by Massoumeh Lahiji.

Eric Gautier, AFC, answers a question regarding the potential paradox of filming a movie about a hypothetical apparition by the Virgin Mary with a smile and a recollection about the beginning of his adventure with Xavier Giannoli: “It’s a bit of a challenge to film the mystery of faith. The love of God is like any sort of love: there is no tangible proof, just the gift of oneself. Sincerity (and lies, like in other of Giannoli’s films) is at the heart of the story. The loneliness of the two characters, Jacques (Vincent Landon) and Anna (Galatea Bellugi) is the spark that sets the story in motion.”

During its last meeting, the board of the AFC decided both to admit Director of Photography Axel Cosnefroy as an active member and to admit the MovieTech and Sigma France corporations as Associate Members.

During its December 2017 meeting, the board of the AFC decided to admit the FilmLight corporation as an Associate Member. FilmLight is specialized in the development of tools that are essential to digital image making. Nathalie Durand, AFC, who, along with Antoine Roche, AFC, was FilmLight’s sponsor, introduces FilmLight below. We bid our newest Associate Member a warm welcome.

Julie Grünebaum was admitted to AFC membership in September 2017 after being sponsored by Robert Alazraki and Yves Cape. Robert Alazraki introduces her below with a few words of welcome.