Toruń, Poland, became a top destination for cinematographers and cinephiles once again this November when Camerimage rolled out its red carpets. After last year’s hybrid event, ARRI was thrilled to be able to support and attend in person at this one-of-a-kind international film festival, dedicated to the art of cinematography. Many festival nominees and winners relied on ARRI equipment for their films that were screened over the course of the event, and we are honored to be a part of these brilliant endevors.
The Jordanki Festival Center in Torún Poland, home to the marketplace and various events and seminars.
Congratulations from ARRI to all the 2021 Camerimage Frog nominees and winners! In the main competition, The Golden Frog—the festival’s top prize—went to Robbie Ryan BSC, ISC, for “C'mon C'mon” shot with ARRI ALEXA Mini. This film, directed by Mike Mills, also won the Audience Award at the festival. While Bruno Delbonnel AFC, ASC, was awarded the Silver Frog for lensing “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” directed by Joel Cohen and captured in Super 35 with the ALEXA XT and Ultra Primes, Bronze Frog winner Greig Fraser ASC, ACS, chose to shoot Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” in large format with ALEXA LF and ALEXA Mini LF.
DP Greig Fraser (l.) and director Denis Villeneuve accepting their awards for “Dune.”
Other frog contenders included: “Animals,” directed by Nabil Ben Yadir and captured by Frank van den Eeden NSC, SBC with an ALEXA Mini. “Belfast,” directed by Kenneth Branagh with Haris Zambarloukos BSC as cinematographer using the ALEXA Mini LF. The Ridley Scott film “The Last Duel” was shot by Dariusz Wolski ASC on the ALEXA LF, and for Liesl Tommy’s “Respect, ” DP Kramer Morgenthau ASC chose the ALEXA LF.
Throughout the company‘s history, ARRI has attached great importance to supporting future filmmakers worldwide. Therefore, we would like to highlight the “Debut” winners from Camerimage 2021. French director Julia Ducournau took home the Directors’ Debuts Competition prize for her film “Titane.” This past summer, Ducournau won the top prize at Cannes, the Palme d’Or, for “Titane” becoming only the second woman in the 74 editions of the festival to ever win the Palme d’Or. Her cinematographer Ruben Impens chose to shoot this feature film, with the ALEXA Mini LF camera. DP Yuming Ke from China won the Cinematographers’ Debuts Competition for his work on “Bipolar.” He chose to work with ALEXA Mini with Master Anamorphics, WCU‑4, ARRI ND Filter, as well as ARRI’s M-Series, L- Series, and SkyPanel lights. Our congratulations go out to all the young filmmakers who made this year’s Camerimage so special.
DP Jost Vacano ASC, BVK was honored at the award ceremony with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Yet another memorable moment came as an old friend of ARRI, Jost Vacano ASC, BVK, was honored at the award ceremony by festival director, Marek Żydowicz, with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Vacano’s overe includes well-recognized films such as “The NeverEnding Story” (1984), “RoboCop” (1987), “Total Recall” (1990), and “Starship Troopers” (1997) but perhaps his most iconic work was with “Das Boot” (1981), one of the most important titles in German cinema history. Vacano initially used an ARRIFLEX 35 IIC camera on a handheld rig inside the cramped submarine set, but the rigid viewfinder made low-angle work almost impossible. After discussing this issue with ARRI engineers, the ARRIFLEX 35 IIIC, a single-mount, pivoting-viewfinder camera was born. Vacano’s extraordinary cinematography created a unique, claustrophobic atmosphere for the film and won him an Oscar© nomination and the Bavarian Film Award for Best Cinematography.
The ARRI booth at Camerimage 2021.
At the Jordanki Festival Center, festival attendees had the chance to visit the ARRI booth and see ARRI and ARRI Rental’s latest camera and lighting products. Highlights included the ALEXA Mini LF and ALEXA LF cameras, the new Hi‑5 hand unit, ARRI Signature Prime and ARRI Signature Zoom lenses, and the ARRI Orbiter. ARRI Rental’s new ALFA and Moviecam lenses are also featured along with the ALEXA XT B+W camera. ARRI Rental’s 65 mm analog film camera system—the ARRIFLEX 765—received its own room behind the booth and was a visitor magnet throughout the event.
Cinematographer Laurence Sher ASC with the ARRIFLEX 765.
ARRI hosted the ARRI Big Screen Experience, featuring an expert panel discussion on the topics of mixed reality and virtual production Special guests Nik Summerer, cinematographer on the Netflix productions “1899” and “Dark” and DP and director Robert Payton joined ARRI’s Stephan Schenk, general manager Global Sales & Solutions, and his colleague David Bermbach, head of global technology at ARRI Rental, for an insightful exchange.
ARRI’s Big Screen Experience panel discussion with DP Nik Summerer, DP/director Robert Payton, along with David Bermbach and Stephan Schenk, both ARRI.
ARRI Rental also hosted a special 90-minute seminar about the history and operation of the ARRIFLEX 765. DP, camera operator, and ARRI Rental technician Sascha Mieke, led the session which was well attended.
ARRI Rental’s “Meet the ARRIFLEX 765” seminar was a well-attended event.
ARRI would like to thank EnergaCAMERIMAGE for making this one-of-a-kind event possible again this year. It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to reconnect with friends and customers in person to have the chance to meet new generations of ARRI fans.
We hope to see everyone again next year!
Opening Image: Just a few of the Camerimage 2021 winners (from left to right) director Zuzanna Plisz, DP Kacper Fertacz , DP Max Bugajak, director Denis Villeneuve, DP Greig Fraser, DP Jost Vacano, director Colin Tilley, and DP Jacob Friedrich Maria Kohl. Photo: Krzysztof Wesołowski
