The jury honored the elaborately constructed story of a brilliant, obsessive composer and conductor, played with gusto by multiple Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, with its Golden Frog prize at the closing gala Saturday night in Torun, Poland.
The Silver Frog and FIPRESCI prize went to cinematographer Darius Khondji’s opulent, whimsical work in “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” the surreal story of a Mexican journalist and filmmaker’s reckoning with his past, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
The closing gala audience also honored production designer Sarah Greenwood with a Golden Frog for her creative work on such films as “Atonement,” “Anna Karenina” and “Sherlock Holmes.”
The top honors capped a week of celebrating great lensing across all genres from a diverse collection of distinctive DPs, gathered in the Gothic Polish town of Torun, amid seminars on technical and societal issues facing cinematographers. Filmmakers, students and journalists braved freezing temperatures to crowd talks by directors and DPs of top new streaming series, docs and features, including “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Empire of Light” and “White Noise.”
Polish film winner “Woman on the Roof,” the story of a pensioner who tries to shake things up with a robbery, filmed by Ita Zbroniec-Zajt and directed by Anna Jadowska, won over jurors with its measured, expressive camera work.
“Kash Kash,” the German-Lebanese-Qatari account of rooftop pigeon raising in Lebanon, centered on and filmed by Jonas Schneider and directed by Lea Najjar, won the documentary feature Golden Frog, while the doc shorts Golden Frog was won by “A Mouthful of Petrol,” the British father-son racing story conveying a “unique and complicated” family relationship, shot by cinematographer Adric Watson and directed by Jess Kohl.
DP Caroline Guimbal took the cinematographer debut competition prize, broadcasting in her thanks from Belgium, for her minimalist work on the French-Belgian story of a family secret, “Love According to Dalva.” The film also took the director debut prize for Emmanuelle Nicot.
The Camerimage music video prize, recognizing some of the boldest and most provocative work in the genre each year, went to Emmit Fenn for “Light That Shines Through,” filmed by cinematographer David Okolo and directed by Conner Bell.
The fest’s series competition, traditionally a showcase for some of the richest imagery in streaming entertainment, was won by HBO’s four-episode limited series “Landscapers,” the fact-based story, starring Olivia Colman and David Thewlis, of a British couple who kept bodies buried in their yard for years, filmed by Erik Wilson and directed by Will Sharpe.
Camerimage 2022 winners
Golden Frog
“Tár”
Cinematographer: Florian Hoffmeister
Director: Todd Field
Silver Frog
“Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
Cinematographer: Darius Khondji
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Bronze Frog
“Living”
Cinematographer: Jamie D. Ramsay
Director: Oliver Hermanus
FIPRESCI prize
“Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
Cinematographer: Darius Khondji
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Polish Film
“Woman on the Roof”
Cinematographer: Ita Zbroniec-Zajt
Director: Anna Jadowska
Laszlo Kovacs Student Award – Golden Tadpole
“Magdalena”
Cinematographer: Enrico Silva
Director: Michael Lazovsky
School: American Film Institute Conservatory (AFI)
Laszlo Kovacs Student Award – Silver Tadpole
“The Creature”
Cinematographer: Ignacy Ciszewski
Director: Damian Kosowski
Łódź Film School
Laszlo Kovacs Student Award – Bronze Tadpole
“Entreterrestres”
Cinematographer: Dani Benejam
Director: Lucas Parra
Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia (ESCAC)
Documentary feature Golden Frog
“Kash Kash”
Cinematographer: Jonas Schneider
Director: Lea Najjar
Documentary shorts Golden Frog
“A Mouthful of Petrol”
Cinematographer: Adric Watson
Director: Jess Kohl
Director Debut
“Love According to Dalva”
Cinematographer: Caroline Guimbal
Director: Emmanuelle Nicot
Cinematographer Debut
“Love According to Dalva”
Cinematographer: Caroline Guimbal
Director: Emmanuelle Nicot
Music Video
Emmit Fenn “Light That Shines Through”
Cinematographer: David Okolo
Director: Conner Bell
TV Series
“Landscapers”
Cinematographer: Erik Wilson
Director: Will Sharpe
Audience Award
“Elvis”
Cinematographer: Mandy Walker
Director: Baz Luhrmann
