“I am not sexist,” says Camerimage festival director as packed-out event gets underway | News

It is business as usual at EnergaCamerimage, the international cinematography festival that opened in Poland on Saturday (November 16). The packed-out opening ceremony did not directly address the ongoing industry backlash to remarks made by the festival director on the eve of the event about female cinematographers.

The festival is now heading in to a week of screenings, masterclasses and a buzzy equipment market.

But it had been a arduous build-up to the 32nd edition of the festival following the publication of an op-ed in Cinematography World, by event founder and director and CEO Marek Żydowicz, which the British Society of Cinematographers, among other industry bodies, has described as ”misogynistic” and “aggressive” in tone.

It led to Steve McQueen and his DoP Yorick Le Saux, due in the host city of Toruń to support the festival’s opening screening Blitz, pulling out of the event and their scheduled post-screening Q&A. A further high-profile withdrawal on the eve of the event followed as The Substance director Coralie Fargeat and French cinematographer Benjamin Kračun pulled their film and scheduled appearance.

Blitz did play out to a packed auditorium after an opening ceremony during which Żydowicz made no direct mention of the controversy.

Instead, Żydowicz focused on why he founded Camerimage over 30 years ago: “To help restore dignity to the artists of the film industry who are overlooked, or who are treated simply as technicians whenever we celebrate film.”

Speaking to an auditorium packed with local Polish politicians, international industry guests and the media in the festival’s main venue CKK Jordanki, Żydowicz noted we are living in an age surrounded by images that lie and misinform before going on to herald cinematographers as the remedy. “It is they who create what we see,” he said, speaking through an interpreter. 

The biggest round of applause of the evening went to Cate Blanchett, president of the festival’s main competition jury, when she was briefly introduced.

Blanchett had issued a joint statement with her fellow jurors including cinematographers Anthony Dod Mantle, Rodrigo Prieto, Lukasz Zal and Jolanta Dylewska, and UK producer Anna Higgs and UK costume designer Sandy Powell, on the eve of the festival to say they would not be pulling out of their duties and were committed to being part of any gender representation debate.

One of Blanchett’s most recent collaborators, Alfonso Cuarón, is a tardy addition to the festival. The Mexican filmmaker will discuss his Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, starring Blanchett, at a public event.

The ceremony opened with a video message from world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramović, who accepted a Camerimage plaudit for artistic achievement but was not able to attend in person for health reasons. “I’m very happy that so many women – great, creative women – are taking part in this important festival this year,” she said in her message. 

Also soaking up opening-night applause was Shogun star Hiroyuki Sanada. He came to the stage to accept Camerimage’s inaugural award for best performance in a TV series. The veteran screen star accepted the trophy on behalf of his fellow actors and the show’s Emmy-winning crew.

“I am not sexist” 

Talking to Screen at the opening-night party after the screening of Blitz, Żydowicz said he hoped people would talk about the brilliance of the work at Camerimage and stop talking about him. “I am not sexist, I am not a misogynist, I love this festival and cinematography, look at the panels, look at the work we are doing and are continuing to do,” he said.

Industry attendees at the party were hopeful the debate his remarks have sparked and the airy the controversy has shone on the lack of female cinematographers could facilitate bring some structural change.

UK producer and filmmaker Natasha Markou, a regular Camerimage attendee, said she looks forward to next year’s edition which she hopes will lean into gender equality across the programme. “It’s good to have the opportunity to change things and better represent women working in the industry,” Markou said.

One female cinematographer from Ukraine, who had travelled to the festival from London where she had fled to following the Russian invasion, told Screen how arduous it is for female camera operators and cinematographers to secure jobs behind the lens, adding that in some parts of eastern Europe the gender bias is embedded and misogyny is on the rise.

As the first full day unfolded, the screenings and events were packed and all the talk turned to the merits of the films and filmmaking. Sunday evening also saw the grand opening of Manifesto, a work by German artist Julian Rosefeldt, at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń. A 13-screen video installation features Blanchett in the lead role, and offers a powerful and funny look at the most significant artistic and philosophical manifestos of the 20th century.