The Territory takes viewers deep inside the Brazilian Amazon, allowing them to bear witness to the ongoing conflict that has pitted Indigenous inhabitants against settlers looking to capitalize on the land. The film captures a pair of young leaders and their mentor, who defend the land with their lives, as well as settlers hoping to establish their own homestead, including those who engage in clear-cutting on their own. Director-cinematographer Alex Pritz explains how the film’s visual style distinguishes the different perspectives, his collaboration with an Indigenous cinematographer, and how his crew unexpectedly found themselves recording a settler burning down the […]

With Summering, James Ponsoldt wanted to make a film that his young daughter would appreciate, and the result is a coming-of-age story about four girls planning one final weekend of fun before middle school. They unexpectedly make a discovery in the nearby woods that they keep to themselves, and from there imagination and reality collide in magical realist fashion. Below, cinematographer Greta Zozula explains how she managed the narrative’s tension between magic and realism and how the crew managed to make difficult scenes work with limited time. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? […]

With The Cathedral, an unseen narrator relates the life of Jesse Damrosh, beginning with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage and highlighting other hallmarks of middle-class American existence. D’Ambrose lingers not on the big life events, however, but the more quotidian and quieter moments and objects that leave indelible marks on one’s memory. Cinematographer Barton Cortright explains why natural light was the correct approach for the film, and how he amplified the natural look to avoid a shallow depth of field. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes […]

In Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s Utama, an ailing man tries to persuade his elderly Quechuan grandparents weathering a drought on the Bolivian Altiplano to move away from their lifelong home and join him in the city. Shot on location, the film portrays the daily routines and relaxed pace of life as well as the climate threat residents of the Bolivian highlands face. Below, cinematographer Barbara Alvarez recounts how the climate created difficulties in production and how she captured the tension between the harshness and the beauty of the location. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of […]

Sophie Hyde’s Good Luck to You, Leo Grande takes place largely in a hotel room, where a retired schoolteacher determined to finally have good sex meets with a sex worker several times over the course of six weeks. Cinematographer Bryan Mason discusses how he varied the film’s style as the two get to know each other and the difficulties associated with shooting a film about sex that takes place largely during the daytime. 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? […]

Based on her own cinematic talk, Nina Menkes’ Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power uses interviews, footage of her talk, and clips from over 175 films to help illustrate how sexual assault and employment discrimination are inscribed in the visual language of cinema. Below, cinematographer Shana Hagan discusses the challenges in adequately capturing the talk on camera, the importance of color grading, and the joys of working with so many women on set. 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? Hagan: I was introduced […]

Calendar Girls takes its name from its subject, a Florida dance troupe consisting of women over 60 who perform at animal rescue center benefits, church fundraisers and local parades with unbounded and contagious enthusiasm. Below, Love Martinsen and Maria Loohufvud discuss how their intent in capturing the troupe informed their approach and how they managed to make the film on a shoestring budget. 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? Loohufvid & Martinsen: This film is all about DIY. […]

In July 2014, during the Donbas War, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over the Donetsk region of Ukraine, a pair of expectant parents living in the disputed Donetsk region of Ukraine by pro-Russian rebels. This is the backdrop for Maryna Er Gorbach’s Klondike, which follows a pair of expectant parents to find their hopes of raising a child in relative piece dashed by the differing loyalties of her brother and his friends. Cinematographer Sviatoslav Bulakovskyi explained how he scouted locations during a COVID lockdown and how his experience taught him to always prepare for the unexpected. Filmmaker: How and […]

With All That Breathes, Shaunak San sought to position humans as a part of the natural world, akin to rather than separate from the birds overhead. The documentary follows a pair of brothers who care for the black kites that fall out of the Delhi skies due to pollution and features cinematography by Ben Bernhard, who has worked extensively with Victor Kossakovsky (Gunda). Below, Bernhard reveals the challenges of tethering images of the natural world to urban living and how he composed shots that place nature and mankind on a level playing field. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind […]

We Met in Virtual Reality is a documentary shot, as the name suggests, within virtual reality. Director Joe Hunting trains his camera on a range of activities, including pool games, dances and educational classes to tell the stories of a number of couples who met in VR during the COVID-19 lockdown. Hunting, who directed, edited, and shot the film, spoke about his challenges and goals as cinematographer. 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? Hunting: I was a self […]