FORUM ON DIVERSITY IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
A day of events at Camerimage 2016, dedicated to female Cinematographers
IF YOU CAN SEE IT … YOU CAN BE IT
Event organised by Camerimage, IMAGO, illuminatrix
Venue: MCK Orzel Cinema
A recent surge of research on female representation in cinematography has drawn attention to two issues: firstly the structural problem of unconscious bias in employment, and secondly the perception of what a DP looks like and who can be one. The positive results of this research, however, include documentaries on the subject, the formation of female cinematographers’ collectives and an overall increase in the visibility of women behind the camera. The European Federation of Cinematographers IMAGO together with Camerimage Film Festival and illuminatrix, a collective of UK female cinematographers, will organise a unique event full of encouraging examples to bring women from behind the camera out into the spotlight and show to the future generations of cinematographers – if you can see it, you too can be it.
In the beginning of 2016, IMAGO established a Gender and Diversity Committee, with the goal of making ourselves redundant one day. No cinematographer wants to be called a ‘female’ cinematographer, rather just ‘a’ Cinematographer – the goal in mind behind the upcoming action is to change the perception of how a cinematographer should look in order to reach a point where the choice of a cinematographer is not based on one’s gender, but on one’s talent and aptitude for the project. Thus, “If you can see it, you can be it”will bean event celebrating female cinematographers through positive and inspiring role models. The event features masterclasses by two inspiring and internationally successful female cinematographers but without a special focus on them being female, rather focusing on their approach to the project; a newly finisheddocumentary about female cinematographers; a panel discussion focused on practical advice on how to make it work as a female cinematographer and a social event.
Proposed Schedule: TBC
10.00 – screening of The Neon Demon, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, shot by Natasha Braier ADF.
Venue: MCK Cinema
12.00 – Master class with Natasha Braier ADF on Neon Demon.
Moderated by Claire Pijman NSC.
Venue – MCK Cinema
Sponsored by
Arri
14.30 – workshop with cinematographer and stereographer Jannicke Mikkelsen on QUEEN live in Barcelona “VR The Champions”.
A case study the film features a 4-point wire rig flying above the audience and the stage around the musicians, with 20 cameras on one rig. Her work on the project included the adaptation of the Mini Libra head for 360° filming, looking at possible solutions for VR and exploring this as a film medium.
Venue – WSG Workshop Centre
Introduced by Nina Kellgren BSC, Imago Board.
Equipment supplied by Trondheim Science Centre – Vitensenteret i Trondheim
and London Stereoscopic Company.
17.00 Screening of the Documentary “Women of Light“, dir: Julia Swain
Venue – Multiline Screening Room No. 7
19.00 – Panel discussion “What works”. Panelists and attendees to include: cinematographers Ed Lachman ASC, Nina Kellgren BSC, Maria Secco AMC, Nancy Schreiber ASC, Julia Swain, Catherine Goldschmidt and Vanessa Whyte from illuminatrix and WPA cinematographers’ agent Kirsten Tolle-Billings.
Moderated by Elen Lotman ESC, Imago Board.
Line up may change and more attendee names to be added.
Event ends with a party supported by Vantage.
Event registration details: to reserve seats for the daytime events please sign up at http://youcanbeit.eventzilla.net. There is no admission fee. It is also possible to attend if you don’t register and you don’t attend all of the events, but with signing up you can be sure to get a seat.Evening drinks will be for invited guests (festival guests, sponsors, organisations etc.)
Event details description:
MASTERCLASS and Q&A – moderated discussion with clips.
WORKSHOP – presentation and hands-on demonstration.
WHAT WORKS – Panel and discussion. An international panel of female cinematographers on what has made their careers work, sharing their top tips, and the current situation in their respective countries for female DPs. There will also be an agent talking about if and why it is harder to sell female cinematographers and there will be influential male cinematographers addressing the issue and giving their perspective on why we need to change the behind-the-camera gender bias. With contributions from invited guests in the audience.
About:
Natasha Braier ADF: Argentinian-born Natasha Braier studied still photography in Argentina before studying at the film school in Spain and earning her Master’s Degree in cinematography at the National Film and Television School in the UK. After shooting a handful of shorts, Braier got her first feature film break with Alexis Dos Santos’ Rotterdam winner GLUE. Since then, she’s shown versatility on her work with an impressive group of international directors, including Lynne Ramsay, Shane Meadows, Cédrich Klapisch and Claudia Llosa (on the Foreign Language Oscar nominee THE MILK OF SORROW). Most recently, she exhibited tremendous visual style on her work on David Michod’s dystopian drama THE ROVER, an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, and also Cannes Film Festival nominated Nicholas Winding Refn’s NEON DEMON.
Claire Pijman NSC studied and graduated (1986-1990) cinematography at the Dutch Film and TV Academy in Amsterdam. She considers Robby Muller her mentor and most important inspiration, since he taught her a great deal more about cinematography. For the BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, by Wim Wenders, she operated one of the cameras for Muller that led to a long-time friendship and apprenticeship with him. She also shot the feature films JERMAL (entirely shot on a Jermal fishing platform in the middle of the sea near the Indonesian island Sumatra), GOOD MORNING KARACHI and CHOTAY SHAH. Currently she is working on the feature length documentary about Robby and his work and collaborated on a grand exhibition on him in the EYE film museum in Amsterdam (from June 4th until Sep. 4th 2016), for which she made the interviews with the most important directors in Robby’s career: Wim Wenders, Lars von Trier, Jim Jarmusch and Steve McQueen, as well as editing Robby Muller’s private archive. Her film TALKING GUITARS, also featured at the IDFA and HotDocs festivals, revolves around Flip Scipio, a master guitar maker for musicians like Paul Simon, Jackson Browne and Carly Simon.
Jannicke Mikkelsen graduated Cinematography at The National Film and Television School in 2015.Immediately on leaving the NFTS she was awarded an RnD grant for developing 3D tools for the Film Industry. Blending traditional cinematography with 3D and virtual reality 360, Jannicke is at the cutting edge of entertainment exploration. She has worked as a camera operator for various TV productions series in Europe since 2008, working for EBU, RTL, RAI and NRK, shooting both fiction and factual productions including developing and shooting a 3D rig shooting sharks underwater for David Attenborough’s new series. She is on the advisory board for VR/AI development for the Trondheim Science Centre who are supplying the equipment for her VR Demo of the 3D virtual reality 360° Film of Queen’s 2016 performance, in Barcelona.
Nina Kellgren BSC is a BAFTA winning cinematographer based in London. She has worked extensively across features, documentaries and commercials and with artist filmmakers. Nina has a MA in Fine Art from the Slade. She won the Panavision Craft Award for Cinematography in 1999 and, in the same year, was elected to the BSC and on the Board of Governors from 2005-2008. Her credits include SOLOMON AND GAENOR (Oscar Nomination, FNEL, BAFTA Wales Best Photography), WONDROUS OBLIVION, YOUNG SOUL REBELS (Cannes Critics’ Award), DEEP WATER (Grierson Award), DROWNING BY BULLETS (FIPA D’OR Cannes, Amnesty International Award). Triptych series TRUE NORTH < FANTOME AFRIQUE < WESTERN UNION-SMALL BOATS with Artist/Director Isaac Julien. Since 2000, Nina has been a visiting lecturer at the NFTS. On various BAFTA jury panels and the International commissioning and mentoring panel of STEPS South Africa in 2001. She was a on the Board of Directors of Women in Film and Television, UK 2005-2006 and is currently on the Board and a Vice President of IMAGO.
Ed Lachman ASC is an American cinematographer and director. Lachman is mostly associated with the American independent film movement, and has served as Director of Photography on films by Todd Haynes (including FAR FROM HEAVEN, which earned Lachman an Academy Award nomination and a Silver Frog at Camerimage), Ulrich Seidl, Wim Wenders, Steven Soderbergh and Paul Schrader. His other work includes Werner Herzog's LA SOUFRÈRE0, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, Sofia Coppola's directorial debut, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, Robert Altman's last picture A PRARIE HOME COMPANION, and Todd Solondz's LIFE DURING WARTIME. In 2002, Lachman co-directed the controversial KEN PARK with Larry Clark. In 2013, Lachman produced a series of videos in collaboration with French electronic duo Daft Punk, for the duo's album Random Access Memories. Lachman has been nominated for Oscar, BAFTA, ASC Award, Primetime Emmy etc. and has won four times in Camerimage festival. Most recently Lachman won the Golden Frog for Todd Haynes’ CAROL in 2015.
Maria Secco AMC is an Ariel Award-winning cinematographer from Uruguay currently based in Mexico. She has shot I PROMISE YOU ANARCHY, GASOLINA, MARIMBAS FROM HELL, TANTA AGUA, CLUB SANDWICH, and LA JAULA DE ORO, for which she won the highest cinematography award from Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematograficas.
WPA partner Kristen Tolle-Billings. After deciding to not pursue a career in law, Kristen Billings began working with below-the-line talent in commercials and music videos, initially with Walter Partos and then Bill Dispoto. She followed with Paul Hook’s Production Department at ICM, gaining an understanding of commercial production in both the US and abroad. In 2008 she took over Paradigm's Commercial & Music Video division in their Physical Production department before leaving to help to start The Caleel Agency, which later became Worldwide Production Agency/WPA. Kristen loves developing talent and watching the transition from short form to long form. She enjoys working closely with her clients to determine the next best step. 2016 marked a big year of celebration with the birth of Kristen's second son, being named Partner at WPA, and having four of her clients recognized in Variety’s annual “Up Next” honors. Paula Huidobro’s feature Tallulah was acquired by Netflix before premiering at Sundance. Bjorn Charpentier wrapped his first major film, High Wire Act with Brad Anderson, and Nicole Whitaker lensed Amazon original series, Patriot. The last quarter of 2016 saw the release of Alex Disenhof’s first TV show, The Exorcist, the release of Larkin Seiple’s first movie, Bleed For This, David Procter.
Catherine Goldschmidt is an internationally experienced cinematographer, shooting narrative, documentary and commercial work. Her feature credits include NORTHEAST (Tribeca Film), ELBOW GREASE starring Burt Reynolds (Sarasota Film Festival), WISHIN’ AND HOPIN’ starring Molly Ringwald (Lifetime), and this year’s NO LIGHT AND NO LAND ANYWHERE (Special Jury Award, LA Film Festival.) Most recently, she just wrapped shooting Todd Berger’s latest feature for Lakeshore Entertainment. In the documentary world, she frequently collaborates with Morgan Neville, notably shooting additional photography on the Academy Award-winning feature documentary 20 FEET FROM STARDOM. She has shot original series for Netflix, Amazon and on the 2-time Emmy Award winner for Cinematography and Visual Design A CRIME TO REMEMBER. Catherine is a member of the International Cinematographer’s Guild and has an MFA in Cinematography from the American Film Institute. She is also a founding member of illuminatrix, a collective of female cinematographers.
Vanessa Whyte is a British cinematographer who shot the 2016 BAFTA-winning short film OPERATOR. After graduated from The National Film & Television School, she started in behind-the-scenes documentaries (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, PROMETHEUS), and now shoots drama, documentary and commercial projects. Her drama credits include 2nd Unit DoP on feature film Get Santa and TV dramas BROADCHURCH (Season 3) and FORTITUDE (Season 1). Her documentary work has been screened on Sky Arts and BBC, as well as the feature DEXYS: NOWHERE IS HOME by BAFTA award-winning director Kieran Evans. Vanessa has shot commercials for brands such as Coca-Cola, KFC and Panasonic among others. She also collaborates on theatre productions (Danny Boyle's OPENING CEREMONY LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS, Nick Hytner's GREAT BRITAIN at the National Theatre) and animations. Vanessa also collaborated with Panalux to develop a new kit of slim-line LED panels, known as the NessLED. She is a founding member of the UK female cinematographers’ collective, illuminatrix.
Julia Swain is a cinematographer based out of Southern California, who holds an MFA in Cinematography from UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television. During her graduate study, Julia shot countless narrative films, including the feature KILLING ANIMALS by James Franco, which was awarded multiple awards such as the Women in Film Foundation/ Loreen Arbus Fellowship in Cinematography. The SEE YOU SOON (Michael Brun) music video Julia shot made MTV’s #1 top new video summer of 2015. She directed and shot a feature documentary highlighting some of the top female cinematographers, WOMEN OF LIGHT, which is set to premiere late 2016 and is showcased during Camerimage festival as a part of the Gender and Diversity event.
Nancy Schreiber ASC TBC was the fourth woman ever to be voted into membership of the American Society of Cinematographers. She has won awards worldwide including at Sundance (NOVEMBER and shared it for MY AMERICAN… OR HONK IF YOU LOVE BUDDHA), the Independent Spirit Awards (CHAIN ON DESIRE) and has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy (CELLULOID CLOSET). She has shot multiple features including THE NINES, MOTHERHOOD and IT’S A DISASTER. Schreiber has shot over 100 commercials and music videos for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel and Van Morrison and also works in documentary (METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER, PARADISE LOST 2 and 3, WOODY ALLEN, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO…). Schreiber has won a Kodak Vision Award at the Women in Film Crystal Awards and received a 2011 Athena Award in New York City. She has served on the Sundance Dramatic Jury, Los Angeles Film Festival Jury, as well as the AFI Film Festival Jury. She frequently teaches at American Film Institute, the New York and Los Angeles Film Schools. Schreiber has served on the Board of Governors of the American Society Of Cinematographers, the Women In Film Foundation Board, and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences.
Elen Lotman ESC graduated summa cum laude from Baltic Film and Media School with BA in cinematography and has shot numerous documentaries, shorts and feature films. For various documentary projects she has travelled to Japan, Tibet, China, Thailand, India, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Finland and Russian Arctic. Recognitions for her work include 2012 Award for Best Cinematography in Black Nights Film Festival Tridens Herring programme for feature film DEMONS; special jury award on Anapa Kinoshok Film Festival for short fiction RAMPCRAMP and official selection IDFA for full-length documentary OLGA, TO MY FRIENDS. Since 2005 Elen has been teaching cinematography in Baltic Film and Media School, in 2013 she became the head of Film Department and since 2015 Head of Arts Study Area. Her PhD research focuses on aspects of human perception, empathy towards film characters and cinematography. She is a President of Estonian Society of Cinematographers ESC and Member of the Board of IMAGO, European Federation of Cinematographers.
IMAGO is the European Federation of Cinematographers, a collaborative, global umbrella for the world’s cinematographic societies. IMAGO has 50 national Cinematographers Societies and more than 4 000 professional cinematographers as members, from all corners of the world. IMAGO is not a union, but a federation that works to inform and promote the importance and relevance of cinematography to the general public, film colleagues and the cultural-political environments. In 2016 IMAGO established a taskforce from Board Members Nina Kellgren BSC and Elen Lotman ESC who are together heading an IMAGO committee that will increase focus on the necessity to address gender equality and equal opportunities for female cinematographers. 50% of our population is represented by less than 10% amongst cinematographers, and this needs to be addressed.
THE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF THE ART OF CINEMATOGRAPHY CAMERIMAGE is a festival dedicated to the celebration of cinematography and recognition of its creators, cinematographers. At the end of November every year, Camerimage brings together professional cinematographers, students and other people associated with the film industry. The Camerimage festival spans over a course of one week, with multiple events at one time.
illuminatrix is a collective of female cinematographers based in the UK and working internationally. Each of the members has over five years of professional industry experience working as a Director of Photography. illuminatrix is an eclectic group of unique talents whose work stretches across narrative, documentary and commercial genres.
