CamerImage 25th Anniversary Celebrated at ASC Clubhouse
On February 9, the American Society of Cinematographers welcomed the organizers of the CamerImage International Film Festival — held annually in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and a popular destination for filmmakers from around the world — to the the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood for a special dinner celebrating their 25th anniversary.
CamerImage is the preeminent film festival dedicated to showcasing the art and craft of cinematography.
The Clubhouse festivities coincided with the 7th annual CamerImage Winners Show — a special screening of the festival’s 2016 honorees — that took place at the American Film Institute on February 10 – 13. The series included Golden Frog winner Lion, with cinematographer Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS taking part in the program.
During the Clubhouse event, honorary ASC member and CameraImage director Marek Zydowicz thanked the ASC for its many years of friendship and support.
With deep appreciation, the CamerImage team later sent the ASC the following message:
Dear Friends,
Throughout the years, the Camerimage Winners Show has become an important part of our endeavors to discover, establish and promote new talents of the world of film, as well as admire and endorse the great projects of the masters of cinema. The beginnings were quite modest, a little unclear even, but the effort paid in more respects that we could initially think of. It would not be possible if it were not for our friends and supporters. Now in its seventh year and with a reputation of its own, the event is what we envisioned it to be in the first place — both a screening platform through which we can present our winners and important pictures from the festival and a place of open and unadulterated discussion about the past, the present, and the future of cinema, the passion we all share. Talking about films, art and culture is always better and brighter among similarly enthused people.
During this year’s three-day Camerimage Winners Show we watched together “intimate epics” of Garth Davis’s Lion and Jan P. Matuszyński’s The Last Family variety, marveled at the amazing debuts of cinematographer Juliette Van Dormael and director Tobias Nölle, and were moved by Ernesto Pardo and Tatiana Huezo’s Tempestad and other brilliant documentaries that put what is happening all over the world in a slightly different perspective. We were also honored to bring you one of the last recorded images of the late master Andrzej Wajda in My Inspirations in which we took part as Tumult Foundation. And watch with you two beautiful, creative music videos that adopted the language of film and made something unique out of it. And three fantastic student etudes — do not ever forget about students, or generally passionate people, who bleed their hearts out to take us for unforgettable journeys. Theirs will be the cinema of the foreseeable future.
That we find much of the inspiration and strength and passion for the upcoming months of hard work in Los Angeles should be obvious, but still it is important to emphasize it. Through all of the group and individual discussions that could serve for screenplays of at least a couple of art-house and commercial films. Through inviting you to become a little bit more acquainted with Polish culture and cuisine and thus creating a beautiful bridges of understanding. Through simply being there, in Los Angeles, at the very center of the everyday fervor of the industry that never sleeps. We still cannot get over how fast those three days have passed…
But then again, what is better than celebrating cinema among people similarly devoted to its making, promoting and watching, and crazy enough to share this love?
Camerimage Gang
