Camerimage 2024 Wrap-Up Rewind

Photos by Stephen Pizzello

Michał Dymek won the Golden Frog at the 2024 EnergaCAMERIMAGE closing-night awards-presentation ceremony — held on Saturday, Nov. 23, in Torun, Poland — for his striking work on the Danish crime drama The Girl with the Needle. Director Magnus von Horn also received special mention.

Based on a 1921 crime, Needle presents a dark, unsparing world captured in unerring detail in Dymek's black-and-white cinematography. The film is Denmark's selection for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards.

Lol Crawley, BSC won the Silver Frog for his VistaVision camerawork on director Brady Corbet's The Brutalist. Crowley interrupted his acceptance speech to joke, "Don't worry, I have a 15-minute intermission built into this." He also mentioned a 14-year-old fan of The Brutalist who told him that he wanted to shoot his next short in VistaVision.

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The Bronze Frog went to Paul Guilhaume, AFC for Jacques Audiard's groundbreaking musical drama Emilia Pérez.

“I’m challenging myself, and I challenge you all, to turn these conversations into action. Challenge the producers, the studio heads, and the streaming executives to take the same risks as they do with male cinematographers.”
— Cate Blanchett, jury president

The awards — judged by actor-producer Cate Blanchett; producer Anna Higgs, costume designer Sandy Powell; Anthony Dod Mantle, ASC, DFF, BSC; Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC; Łukasz Żal, PSC; and director-cinematographer Jolanta Dylewska — were the culmination of this year's festival, the 32nd edition, which was marked by full crowds and bitter weather. Screenings were packed with enthusiastic movie lovers, many of whom got the opportunity to meet and talk with their cinematic heroes.

Panels and seminars covered a wide range of topics, from dealing with specific lights and lenses to the ins-and-outs of finding an agent. Many screenings had Q&A sessions with the filmmakers.

Early in the evening, Nathan Crowley received a career award for production design. He recalled the help he received from design veteran Norman Garwood. With Insomnia, Crowley began "a two-decade-long filmmaking investigation" with Christopher Nolan. And, to his surprise, Crowley most recently began working on musicals, citing his Wicked collaboration with cinematographer Alice Brooks, ASC.

The festival gave a special award to editor William Goldenberg, who spoke movingly of his friendship with his mentor and Steven Spielberg’ frequent editor Michael Kahn.

Goldenberg talked about working with directors including Michael Mann, Kathryn Bigelow and Paul Greengrass, as well as with ASC cinematographers Roger Deakins, John Toll, Rodrigo Prieto and Emmanuel Lubezki. He added that after working with Salvatore Totino, ASC on the 2016 drama Concussion, he persuaded the DP to shoot Unstoppable, Goldenberg's feature directorial debut.

Blanchett, president of the fest’s competition jury, was a distinctive presence throughout the event. She attended a Q&A session regarding the much-honored 2015 period drama Carol
with collaborators Ed Lachman, ASC and costume designer Sandy Powell, as part the panel “Widening the Lens: Inclusion and Excellence in Our Industry”, and entertained a thrilled crowd in a moderated talk at the Jordanki Theater.

"What a privilege this has been to be here at this extraordinary festival," Blanchett said to the audience on closing night. Referring to the much-talked-about topic of inclusivity, she added, "There is a formidable network here. I'm challenging myself, and I challenge you all, to turn these conversations into action. Challenge the producers, the studio heads, and the streaming executives to take the same risks as they do with male cinematographers.”

She argued that every innovative film shown at the festival was a risk, and that among those risks is the risk of failure. "But we all know as artists we don't learn from success, we learn from failure," she added. "To say that you can't take a risk on a woman DP is just insanity. And, as a woman, you have the right to fail, and you have the right to be risked on." Blanchett's words were interrupted frequently by bursts of applause.

This year's ceremonies were filled with surprises, like the suggestion that next year's festival might last two weeks instead of one. Or the trio of Mexican mariachi musicians who serenaded Prieto on his birthday. (He even danced and sang with the band.)

The emotional high point of the evening was the prolonged standing ovation for Ed Lachman, this year’s recipient of the fest’s Lifetime Achievement Award. A montage of clips showcased the breadth of his work. Directors Pablo Larraín (for whom the DP shot the films El Conde and Maria) and Todd Haynes (a longtime collaborator for whom Larchman shot featured including Far from Heaven, Carol, Wonderstruck and, most recently, Dark Waters) both sent celebratory videos, the latter declaring Lachman "indefatigable… You are a visionary, you are an artist, and you are a soulmate to me."

“This has been my spiritual, cultural, and cinematic home for 22 years.”
— Ed Lachman, ASC

Before handing Lachman his award, Blanchett said, "I had the privilege to be in your frame two times [in Carol and the miniseries Mildred Pierce]. You elevate my work. Your work as an artist is undeniable. Some can light a space, but Ed, your light comes from within."

"This has been my spiritual, cultural, and cinematic home for 22 years," Lachman said of Camerimage. He cited some of the artists he worked with in his career, including such greats as Sven Nykvist, ASC, FSF; Robby Müller, NSF, BVK; Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC and photographer/filmmaker Robert Frank. He also singled out his daughter Bella in the audience, adding that he hoped she would bring her art to the festival one day.

Festival CEO Marek Żydowicz brought Camerimage to a close with brief remarks thanking sponsors, staff, and the many volunteers who make the event possible. He then brought them, the winners, and all the jury members on stage for the traditional group photo.

The complete list of winners follows:

EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2024 Awards

Golden Frog EnergaCamerimage 2024 Main Competition went to Michał Dymek for The Girl with the Needle, with a special mention to director Magnus von Horn

Silver Frog EnergaCamerimage 2024 Main Competition went to Lol Crawley, BSC for The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet

Bronze Frog EnergaCamerimage 2024 Main Competition went to Paul Guilhaume, AFC for Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard

Jury of the International Federations of Film Critics Award for Best Film went to The Devil's Bath, cinematography by Martin Gschlacht, AAC, directed by Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala

Golden Frog in the Cinematographers' Debuts Competition went to Todd Martin for Tatami, directed by Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv

Golden Frog in the Directors' Debuts Competition went to Sandhya Suri for Santosh, shot by Lennert Hillege, NSC

Grand Prix Documentary Features Competition - Golden Frog went to cinematographer Elizabeth Lo for Mistress Dispeller, directed by Elizabeth Lo

Grand Prix Documentary Shorts Competition - Golden Frog went to cinematographer J. Daniel Zúñiga for Shotplayer, directed by Sam Shainberg

Grand Prix Music Videos Competition - Taylor Swift - Fortnight (Feat. Post Malone) directed by Taylor Swift. Golden Frog went to Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC.

Grand Prix TV Series Competition - Golden Frog went to cinematographer Robert Elswit, ASC for Ripley: A Hard Man to Find, directed by Steven Zaillian

Grand Prix Polish Films Competition - Golden Frog went to Piotr Sobociński Jr, PSC for Scarborn, directed by Paweł Maślona

The Golden Tadpole Award went to cinematographer Tin Brendel from Łódź Film School for Orchid, directed by Tin Brendel.

The Silver Tadpole Award went to cinematographer Daniel Le Hai from Krzystof Kieslowski Film School for I am Not Here, directed by Daniel Le Hai.

The Bronze Tadpole Award went to cinematographer Lisa Jilg from Filmakademie Baden-Wittenberg for Titans, directed by JANNIK WEIßE.

Nagroda Publiczności „Totalizator Filmowy” EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2024

Tatami
zdj. Todd Martin, reż. Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv.