Cinematographers
Interviews - Cinematographers
-
“I Wanted to Experience Intimacy With the People I Was Filming”: DP Jessica Beshir on Faya Dayi
Jessica Beshir’s feature debut Faya Dayi is all about khat, a plant native to Ethiopia harvested and known for its euphoric properties when chewed. On another level, the film is about khat’s cultural significance as a major cash crop, analyzing its role both economically, socially, and generationally. Beshir tells us why she decided to take on the role of DP for her own film. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Beshir: I started filming Faya Dayi as a very […]
-
“It Was Important Always to Keep the Spirit of Dance”: DP Naiti Gámez on Ailey
Jamila Wignot’s Ailey explores the life of seminal choreographer Alvin Ailey in poetic manner. With a heartbeat as studied as Ailey’s jazz-dance that made him famous. DP Naiti Gámez tells us about the magic of capturing dance on film, and the ephemerality of shooting with no possibility of retakes. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Gámez: I’m not entirely sure, actually. I don’t remember. ;) Filmmaker: What were your artistic goals on this film, and how did you realize […]
-
“It’s a Balance of Preserving Your Strength”: DP Sean Havey on Homeroom
Homeroom, the final entry in Peter Nicks’ Oakland trilogy, couldn’t have come at a more bizarre time. Amid the early days of the pandemic and movements to defund the police, Oakland High School’s class of 2020 prepares to graduate into an unforgiving world fighting for justice. DP Sean Havey details filming long school board meetings and the intimacy of camerawork. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Havey: I was the associate producer, assistant editor, second camera unit […]
-
“I Wanted to Create a Kind of Subtle, Candy-Coated Pop Aesthetic”: DP Daryl Wein on How it Ends
Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones’ How it Ends takes place on the eve of the Earth’s destruction. Followed by her younger self (Cailee Spaeny), Liza (played by Lister-Jones) tries to make it to a party despite the fact that her car has been stolen. Acting as co-DP (as well as co-editor and co-writer), Wein shares how he got close to the material as a consequence of the pandemic. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Wein: I chose to […]
-
“The Girls Ride Big Muscular Bikes and Look Tough as Nails”: DP Sam Levy on Mayday
Karen Cinnore’s Mayday is a new kind of action movie, devilishly blurring several genre conventions to produce a feminist war film. After getting swept up in a storm, Ana (Grace Van Patten) is whisked away to another world where she meets Marsha (Mia Goth), the leader of a platoon of female warriors trapped in an endless war. DP Sam Levy tells us of the inclement weather of Croatia and how they filmed Mayday‘s several motorcycle scenes. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired […]
-
“Dreams Are Never Bound or Restricted by Austere Conditions”: DP Mahmoud Bashir on Captains of Zaatari
In his feature debut, Captains of Zaatari, Ali El Arabi turns his eye on the teenagers living in the world’s largest Syrian refugee camp. Unafraid to dream despite their bleak surroundings, Fawzi and Mahmoud hope to escape Zaatari and enter the world of professional soccer. DP Mahmoud Bashir discusses becoming friends with the boys at the center of the film and the importance of natural lighting. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Bashir: I did shoot more than […]
-
“Simulating the Flight of the Butterfly”: Alejandro Mejia on Son of Monarchs
Alexis Gambis’ Son of Monarchs moves between New York City and Michoacán, Mexico as biologist Mendel (Tenoch Mejía) returns to his hometown to attend his grandmother’s funeral. Michoacán is where Mendel first became obsessed with monarch butterflies, which he would later devote his life to studying, but is also where his and his older brother Simon’s parents died in a flood. DP Alejandro Mejia details how he bound the film’s two central locations through camerawork. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? Mejia: I entered this project because the director had talked to me […]
-
“Reverse the Imagery That We Normally Are Presented Within Adult Film”: DP Sophie Winqvist Loggins on Pleasure
Ninja Thyberg’s Pleasure is an unforgiving exploration of the adult entertainment industry in Los Angeles. After arriving to California from Sweden, young Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel) has many expectations of what working in porn will be like. Pleasure pulls no punches in showing just how brutal of a world it can be. DP Sophie Winqvist Loggins discusses the importance of color in the movie, whether it be in lighting or how natural Bella’s skin looks. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for […]
-
“Softness to Achieve an Ethereal Image”: DP André Chemetoff on The World to Come
Director Mona Fastvold’s second feature film The World to Come is an adaptation of a Jim Shepard short story of the same name. The film follows Abigail (Katherine Waterston), a well-read 19th century wife living in upstate New York who has grown frustrated with the humdrum of provincial life. She soon begins a love affair with her new neighbor Tallie (Vanessa Kirby). Cinematographer André Chemetoff discusses the unique challenge of portraying winter scenes in summer, ballerinas, and achieving ethereality on film. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes […]
-
“The Overall Emotional Responsibility of the Film Was a Daunting Task at Times”: DP Adam Crosby on Violation
Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s domestic horror debut Violation follows Miriam (played by Sims-Fewer), a fraught woman on the verge of divorce, returns home to visit her sister and her husband at their lake home. The trip takes a dark turn when Dylan assaults Miriam, sending her on a violent arc of revenge. DP Adam Crosby tells us how he captured the film’s lurid takes and how they fostered an environment to explore sensitive topics. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired […]
