Adrien Lallau’s mobile, location-based cinematography keeps Congo Boy close to the physical pressures of everyday life in Bangui. Handheld observation and shaped musical sequences appear to turn movement, light and proximity into extensions of Robert’s struggle for agency.
– by Lorenz – Watch on YouTube
Filmed at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv, NAZA is a haunting documentary exposing the machinery behind Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Through testimonies from Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel, the film reveals disturbing realities of modern warfare. Its restrained cinematography, deep shadows and powerful use of silence transform investigative journalism into an unsettling cinematic experience.
– by Lorenz – Watch on YouTube
Cinematographer Ralph Kaechele looks back on the shoot for the German-Austrian miniseries *Hundertdreizehn* (produced for ARD) — a drama centering on the various lives intertwined by a serious accident. While he continued to use the ALEXA Mini LF for the dramatic scenes, the night-time exterior shots—filmed on a dark, roughly 800-meter stretch of highway—called for the ALEXA 35 in ES (Enhanced Sensitivity) mode. This resulted in clear images featuring rich colors and highly detailed flames. Kaechele also discusses why ARRI Rental’s ALFA anamorphic lenses were so well-suited to a story told through faces, how he used SkyPanel X fixtures to simulate the glow of the fire behind the wrecked vehicles, how he matched LogC3 and LogC4 during the grading process, and much more.
– by Jürg – Watch on YouTube
Claude Schmitz’s The Other Laurens (2023) follows a weary private detective drawn into the mystery surrounding his twin brother’s death. Its combination of family ghosts and noir intrigue provides an intriguing setting for cinematographer Florian Berutti’s unusual choice of equipment. Berutti shot the film on an Ikonoskop A-Cam DII, paired with a Cooke 10–30mm T1.6 zoom and LOMO Super Speed lenses—a distinctive package for a feature selected for Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. The camera and lens selection alone makes this a particularly interesting film for anyone curious about alternative approaches to digital cinematography. What interests me most is the creative confidence behind this equipment choice. An unconventional camera and older lenses can still form a compelling visual language when they serve a coherent idea. The Other Laurens offers a fascinating starting point for thinking about how the tools we choose shape the worlds we put on screen.
– by Lorenz – Watch on YouTube
A fascinating and highly insightful Kodak article on the cinematography of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shares remarkable technical details about shooting entirely on 65mm IMAX film, including specially developed camera housings, lenses, lighting techniques and photochemical color grading. A particularly interesting read for cinematographers and film enthusiasts.
– by Lorenz – Visit Link
A Sad and Beautiful World lets Beirut’s changing social fabric reshape the image itself. Joe Saade’s cinematography moves from crowded, fluid compositions towards colder colours, emptier spaces and static wides, turning the gradual loss of visual energy into part of the narrative.
– by Lorenz – Watch on YouTube
**Ivan’s Childhood** (1962) is an astonishingly mature debut, already revealing many elements of Tarkovsky’s later visual language. Vadim Yusov’s black-and-white cinematography is especially remarkable: deep contrasts, expressive wide-angle compositions and fluid camera movements create a world that feels both physically real and dreamlike. Reflections, water, trees and faces become recurring visual motifs, while the camera often seems to follow memory rather than conventional narrative logic. The film moves confidently between the harsh reality of war and Ivan’s fragile inner world. More than sixty years later, its imagery still feels bold, modern and deeply cinematic.
– by Lorenz – Watch on YouTube
Winner of the 2023 Cannes Grand Prix award and an Academy Award for Best International Feature, The Zone of Interest is loosely based on a novel by Martin Amis. It follows a German family living in occupied Poland during WWII. Hedwig is the mother of five children and carries on with her life, blissfully unaware of the horrors of the nearby Auschwitz concentration camp. Her husband is Rudolf Höss, the camp commandant, who is deeply involved in the horrors of “the final solution.” Director Jonathan Glazer began development of the film in 2014 and conducted extensive research before the shoot began in 2021. The film was shot with an observational style using ten Sony VENICE cameras. Oscar-nominated and ASC award-winning Polish cinematographer Łukasz Żal, PSC, together with DiT Krzysztof Włodarczyk, take us behind the scenes of this emotionally charged film.
– by Lorenz – Visit Link
Julie Dash’s *Daughters of the Dust* (1991) is a poetic and visually exceptional portrait of the Peazant family, part of the Gullah Geechee community living on the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina. Set in 1902, the film explores migration, ancestral memory, spirituality and the difficult tension between preserving cultural traditions and beginning a new life elsewhere. Rather than following a conventional linear narrative, it unfolds through memories, gestures, dreams and voices from different generations. The luminous 35mm cinematography was created by Arthur Jafa, who later became internationally recognised as an artist and filmmaker. His carefully composed, rhythmic images transform landscapes, faces, fabrics and movement into a powerful visual language shaped by Black history, beauty and collective memory.
– by Lorenz – Read more – Watch on YouTube
Cameraman Jordan Pulmano reports on his experiences with the EOS C400 during a three-part TV campaign for Ontario International Airport.
– by Jürg – Watch on YouTube
