Cinematographers
Interviews - Cinematographers
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“There Was an Interesting Opportunity to Mix Formats”: DP Ethan Palmer on Plainclothes
The 2025 Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition feature Plainclothes, the feature debut of writer-director Carmen Emmi, mixes a paranoid, anxious police thriller with a coming out narrative. It follows a police officer, Lucas (Tom Blyth), tasked with arresting gay men whose job gets complicated when he falls for one. Plainclothes mixes lo-fi surveillance footage with a contemporary digital aesthetic. The film’s cinematographer, Ethan Palmer (Ted K, Goat) discusses mixing formats and using cinematography to highlight the protagonist’s journey. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were […]
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“These Two Worlds Couldn’t Be More Opposite”: DP Tobias Schliessler on Kiss of the Spider Woman
In Kiss of the Spider Woman, director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Gods and Monsters) of the 1985 film of the same name amid Argentina’s Dirty War. Set partially in a prison as Molina (Tonatiuh) recounts his favorite Hollywood musical to his cellmate Valentin (Diego Luna), the film blends period realism with Technicolor glamor. Tobias Schliessler, who has also worked frequently with Peter Berg, served as director of photography on the production, his seventh time working with Condon. Below, he explains how he altered his lighting, equipment, and style to contrast the film’s 1981 prison scenes with its musical sequences, which seek […]
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“Anything That Does a Good Job Everywhere Can’t Do a Great Job Anywhere”: DP Marcus Patterson on Sunfish
In Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition premiere Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), the lives of a girl learning to sail, a musician, two sisters running a bed-and-breakfast and a fisherman intersect in the eponymous Northern Michigan locale. The film, the debut feature by Sierra Falconer was shot largely on location. Below, cinematographer Marcus Patterson (Soukoon) discusses his influences for the film’s look and how he plans around budget limitations without compromising his ambitions. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the […]
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“To Evoke Those Deep Emotional Layers With Utmost Honesty”: DP Vikas Urs on Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)
When he returns to his remote hometown in western India for his father’s funeral, Anand (Bhushaan Manoj) is immediately faced with intrusive questions from relatives about his marriage status in Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears). When sparks fly between him and a local farmer, he must navigate his community’s tolerance while learning to accept his own sexuality. Cinematographer Vikas Urs discusses shooting director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s feature debut, which premieres in the festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What […]
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“I Wanted to Always be Receptive to Inspiration on the Day”: DP Conor Murphy on Oh, Hi!
Screening in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section, Oh, Hi! is director Sophie Brooks’ romantic comedy about the unraveling and attempted reconciliation of the relationship between Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman). Much of Oh, Hi! takes place in a single bedroom. Below, cinematographer Conor Murphy explains the importance of finding creative ways to shoot the same space and also recounts the challenges of the film’s showstopping long take. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led […]
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“We Often Had to Reimagine Entire Setups”: DP Adolpho Veloso on Train Dreams
Train Dreams is the story of a day laborer played by Joel Edgerton as finds love and plays a part in the transformation of the American West. The film, an adaptation of Dennis Johnson’s novella of the same name, is a selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section. Adolpho Veloso, who also worked with Bentley on 2021’s Jockey, served as the film’s DP. Below, he discusses the logistical challenges of two fire sequences and his fidelity to naturalism. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of […]
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“A One-person Crew”: DP Brittany Shyne on Seeds
In Seeds, her feature debut, Brittany Shyne explores the generational legacy of Black farmers in the American south via observational vignettes shot in stunning black and white. Acting as director, producer and cinematographer, Shyne developed authentic connections with the film’s oft-elderly subjects, and she cites the passing of several of these participants as “the most difficult days” of production. Below, Shyne elaborates on the decision to shoot solo, the visual artists she looked to for inspiration and her natural approach to lighting. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
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“Let the Weight of the Words Carry the Scene”: DP Bao Nguyen on The Stringer
Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize–winning photo The Terror of War, sometimes referred to as “Napalm Girl,” is one of the most recognizable photographs ever taken. The Stringer, directed by Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop) and playing the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premires sections, investigates the history of the photograph and contests its authorship. Nguyen also served as one of three cinematographers on the film, alongside Andrew Yuyi Truong. Below, the three of them answer discuss establishing a consistent visual language and connecting the themes of secrecy and discovery with shadow and light. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer […]
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“Claustrophobic Framing Became the Photographic Heart”: DP Ben Fordesman on The Thing with Feathers
A young father (Benedict Cumberbatch) of two boys suspects he is being stalked by a malevolent creature after the sudden death of his wife in The Thing with Feathers. The Premieres section film is the fiction feature debut of Dylan Southern, best known for a slew of music documentaries (Shut Up and the Play the Hits, Meet Me in the Bathroom). Ben Fordesman (Love Lies Bleeding, Saint Maud) served as DP on the film after working with Southern on commercials and music videos. Below, he details at length how he made the crow stalking the young father feel real and how he […]
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“I’ve Never Prepped a Movie So Many Times.”: DP Christopher Aoun, All That’s Left of You
Taking place in 1948, 1978, 1988 and 2022, All That’s Left of You traces the history of a fictional Palestinian family in flashback after a confrontation at a West Bank protest. All That’s Left of You is the third feature of director Cherien Dabris, whose Amreeka and May in the Summer played Sundance in 2009 and 2013, respectively. Christopher Aoun (Capernaum) served as the film’s cinematographer. Below, he talks about how he distinguished the film’s four timelines and the difficulties of prepping the film from scratch after the crew was forced out of the West Bank in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. See all responses to our […]
