MADRIDIMAGEN ‘96
by Bob Fisher

This article originally appeared in American Cinematographer
in February 1997.

MADRIDIMAGEN ’96 was billed as “The Festival of the Art of the European Cinematographer.” Ninety-two cinematographers from 16 countries and 111 film students participated, including Juan Ruiz Anchía, ASC, AEC, and Bob Primes, ASC, representing the American Society of Cinematographers. The festival was held in Madrid, September 29 through October 5. It was hosted by AEC (Asociación Española de Autores de Fotografia Cinematográfica). It was a homecoming for Anchía who was born, raised and educated in Spain. Anchía was one of three prize recipients for feature length cinematography. His film, Lorca, will be released by Columbia Pictures in early 1997.

The other winners were Eduardo Serra, AFC, for Jude and Vladimir Smutny for Kolya. Tom Fährmann, BVK, was honored for his telefilm, The Sandman.

Primes was a member of an international jury along with Wolfgang Treu, BVK, Ronnie Taylor, BSC, Henning Kristiansen, DFF, Henning Bentsen, DFF, Frederic G. Kazcek, AAC, Michel Badour, SBC, Janos Zsombolayai, ACK, Vladimir Hollos, ASK, Hugo Colace, AAC and Jaromir Sofr, ACK. The acronyms mainly represent some of the 17 European cinematography societies belonging to IMAGO. Colace is from Argentina.

Tote Trenas, AEC, Porfirio Enríquez, AEC, and Teo Escamilla, AEC, conceived the idea of organizing a festival by and for cinematographers. They invited members of IMAGO, ASC, AMC (Mexico) and South American associations to nominate entries.

“They wanted this to be like a family affair for cinematographers,” Primes explains, “so they wouldn’t allow a film to compete unless the cinematographer was there. I liked the fact that we didn’t just ship an award to someone who wasn’t there. It wasn't about winning a prize. It was a wonderful opportunity to watch films and ask the cinematographers questions. Some of the entries were obviously made with extremely modest budgets, but we tried to not let that influence us.”

There were also workshops and seminars which delved into many aspects of technology and creative issues, from the restoration of historic films to the latest in digital image manipulation used during postproduction.

There was a memorable screening of a pristine print of Fausto, directed by Murnau in 1925-26. The restoration project was directed by Luciano Berriatua, who worked with a team from the Spanish Film Library. Berriatua discussed Murnau’s artistic motivations with the audience. The screening was followed by a seminar conducted by Kodak scientist Tulsi A. Ram, who discussed the restoration and preservation of film.

Marty Ollstein, of Tiffen, also drew a large crowd when he demonstrated how many of that company’s optical filters can now be replicated at computer workstations using the Crystal Image software developed for the Kodak Cineon image compositing system.

There were retrospectives featuring the works of Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC, and Gabriel Figueroa, AMC; a meeting of IMAGO members; a competition for film schools, won by FAMU, in Prague; and a touching ceremony where the annual Prismas AEC De Honor was presented to both Freddie Young, BSC, and Figueroa.

“Where else can cinematographers from so many different countries hear Gabriel Figueroa discuss why he composed certain shots by shooting between the legs of actors, and why he showed audience feet instead of faces in some famous scenes,” Anchía asks?

Primes presented a seminar on the future of Digital Television (DTV), in the United States. He described the three year battle that the ASC and others in the creative community have been fighting to retain the artistic integrity of their work on future TV screens.

“They were very tuned into the issues,” he says, “and urged us to continue fighting for a DTV standard which could someday serve the world. There are many moral and technical issues where we share interests and concerns. But, the best part was meeting the people and seeing films that we normally wouldn't see. It gave me a chance to see the sensibilities of cinematographers working in different cultures. I absolutely fell in love with Kolya. It’s about a man who agrees to a marriage of convenience to someone who needs a passport to get out of Russia. One day their son shows up at his door. It’s a warm and moving film, beautifully shot with long lenses and backlight. I was in tears. It was marvelous to see something that good coming out of a small country (Czech Republic).”

Primes says that the judges had different opinions about what they liked but everyone agreed the movies they selected were absolutely the best. He says they looked for daring and originality and whether the cinematography was appropriate for the story.

“The very heavy overexposure and extreme contrast and darkness that Juan used (for Lorca) isn't postcard pretty,” Primes says. “It’s gutsy and strong and 'beautiful' in how it works with the story. The camera movements are in MTV style with a lot of panning back and forth but he did it with delicacy and it fit the mood and content of the story.”

Anchía saw the festival from a different perspective, as a spectator/participant, rather than a judge. He was generally enthused by the cinematography and the European movies he saw, however he agrees with Primes that some of the better efforts probably weren’t judged because of the requirement for the cinematographer to be present.

“It was a controversial issue, but I agree that it was important for the cinematographer to be there when their films were presented,” he says. “It was more than a festival. It was a gathering of cinematographers. There is much to be gained from interacting with cinematographers from different cultures. I came home to Los Angeles feeling like part of an international community.”