Celebrating Cinematographers at Poland’s CamerImage

Lech Kaczynski, the president of the Republic of Poland, opened the 15th annual Plus CamerImage International Festival of the Art of Cinematography this week by welcoming hundreds of moviemakers and students. It was a dream come true for Marek Zydowicz, who founded the festival in 1993 with the goal of bringing moviemakers from around the world to his native land.

Janusz Kaminski kicked off the festival with screenings of his films Hania and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Kaminski is a Polish expatriate who migrated to the U.S. as a political refugee in 1980. He subsequently earned cinematography Oscars for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan and a third nomination for Amistad.

There was also an opening day tribute to Adam Holender, ASC, another Polish expatriate who migrated to the U.S. as a political refugee in 1967. His credits include Midnight Cowboy, The Panic in Needle Park, The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Sea of Love.

Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC was also in the limelight, as recipient of the CamerImage Lifetime Achievement Award. Goldblatt was born in South Africa, raised in England and has spent most off his career in the United States. He has earned Oscar nominations for The Prince of Tides and Batman Forever, and Emmy nominations for Conspiracy, Path to War and Angels in America.

Films and cinematographers in the main competition include Across the Universe (Bruno Delbonnel, AFC); Caravaggio (Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC); Control (Martin Ruhe); The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Kaminski); Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Remi Adefarasin, BSC); I’m Not There (Ed Lachman, ASC); I Served the King of England (Jaromir Sofr); Love in the Time of Cholera (Affonso Beato, ASC, ABC); Lust, Caution (Rodrigo Prieto, ASC); The New Man (Jarkko T. Laine); Opium—Diary of a Mad Woman (Tibor Máthé); Sleuth (Haris Zambarloukos, BSC); Time to Die (Artur Reinhart); Tricks (Adam Bajerski); and Ulzhan (Tom Fährmann).

There is also a student film competition dedicated to the memory of Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, who died in October; a cinematography competition for films produced in Poland; a Federico Fellini retrospective; various workshops and seminars.

Find out the latest at http://www.pluscamerimage.pl.