Phedon Papamichael, ASC
Biography

Phedon Papamichael, ASC was born in Greece. He made his first trip to the United States at the age of four when his father was the art director on John Cassavetes film Faces. He lived in Munich from the age of six through his studies at an art academy in Germany. During his teens and early 20s, Papamichael experimented with a Super 8 camera, but mainly focused on still photography. Cassavetes saw his still pictures and told him to come to New York “to shoot his next picture.” Papamichael moved to New York when he was about 20. He did freelance still photography for European publications, and shot a series of short films for friends. After a year, he moved to Los Angeles and supported himself by shooting medical films for $100 a week. By 1988, Papamichael was shooting one ultra-low budget film after another for Roger Corman.

He worked as a gaffer on one film, and a director on another, and gradually began getting pictures with somewhat bigger budgets. Papamichael became a member of the Guild in 1995 when he shot Unstrung Heroes, a Disney movie directed by Diane Keaton. 

Papamichael is still in the dawn of his career, but he has already compiled an impressive and eclectic list of narrative credits ranging from the TV mini-series for Wild Palms to the features Phenomenon, Patch Adams, The Million Dollar Hotel, Moonlight Mile, Sideways, The Weatherman, Walk the Line, and the upcoming Pursuit of Happyness.