Centre for Moving Image Research launches international cinematography festival

Issue date: 28 August 2015

Preparations are well underway for the inaugural 'Bristol International Festival of Cinematography', operated and sponsored by UWE Bristol's Centre for Moving Image Research (CMIR).

The Festival, which will run from 15-18 September 2015, will see some of the biggest and brightest names in the world of cinematography, conduct seminars, give presentations and participate in open discussions on subjects ranging from high-tech issues, to women in cinematography, and early-careers advice.

Currently situated within the Encounters Short & Animation Film Festival, the festival aims to celebrate the unique role of the cinematographer in the filmmaking process. By bringing Oscar and BAFTA recognised cinematographers to Bristol to discuss the methods used during the creation of their renowned films, the festival seeks to highlight and introduce the practice of cinematography to the public and practitioners alike.

Amongst the industry leading cinematographers attending are Roberto Schaefer, who shot Quantum of Solace, Stuart Dryburgh, Oscar nominated for his work on The Piano, Nic Knowland, who shot Berberian Sound Studio, and Geoff Boyle, who shot episodes of Wallander and founded the Cinematography Mailing List. Roberto and Geoff are both visiting professors with the CMIR.

A panel event lead by Professor Terry Flaxton, Director of CMIR on the current state of the art will get the festival underway on Tuesday 15 September at the Watershed, with the remaining festival events taking place at the Arnolfini. On Friday 18 September, in the evening, Terry will also lead the cinematographers to pick their ten best movies of all time.

On Wednesday 16 September, Stuart Dryburgh will conduct a public lighting masterclass in the morning and discuss highlights from his career with CMIR affiliate, and Curator of the Watershed film programme, Mark Cosgrove, in the evening. On the same day, Roberto Schaefer and costume designer Caroline Eseline-Schaefer will discuss their collaboration on Lee Daniels' drama The Paperboy, starring Nicole Kidman and John Cusak, with Schaefer teaching a public lighting masterclass on Friday 18 September.

Geoff Boyle and Nic Knowland will conduct their lighting masterclasses on Thursday 17 September, as well as giving presentations across the festival on high-frame-rate cinematography, postproduction workflows, low-budget lighting, and working with film and the photochemical process.

Terry Flaxton, Director of the CMIr at UWE Bristol, says, “Exciting artistic and cultural developments are happening in Bristol: we hope to see our new International Festival of Cinematography establish itself as one of the most important festivals to celebrate the art of cinematography in the world.

“I hope that one day soon, people who have studied cinematography at UWE, from BA, through MA, all the way to PhD, will get the reputation for having become alumni of an industry facing academic research centre within a forward thinking University. There are almost no competitors worldwide that can keep up with us if we keep pursuing the strategy we've articulated in academic papers, industry testing and applied research. The first 'Bristol International Cinematography Festival', is just a further example of this.”

For more information on the festival or to purchase tickets, please visit the festival homepage.