The opening night started with a gala followed by a screening of Empire of Light.
The festival takes place in the birth city of Nicolaus Copernicus, Toruń. It’s not a big city, but it's visited by over 2 million tourists a year and definitely one of the most beautiful in Poland.
Throughout the years the festival has attracted not only the best cinematographers in the world but also actors and directors. The list of past guests includes (amongst many others) Denis Villeneuve, Roger Deakins, Joel Cohen, Viggo Mortensen, Oliver Stone, Edward Norton, Jessica Lange, David Lynch, and Quentin Tarantino.
Before the screening of Empire of Light, Sam Mendes received the Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for his directorial achievements. Kieślowski is one of the most well-known Polish directors with his tryptic Three Colors and his series Dekalog.
Credit: Piotr Toczyński
Mendes wasn’t the only one to receive a special award.
Another Golden Frog (that’s pretty much CAMERIMAGE’s Oscar) went to Alex Gibney, a documentary filmmaker known for his films that confront the lies of people and organizations in authority.
During the opening gala the festival creator, Marek Żydowicz, recalled how over 30 years ago the sky was red over Poland, and events like these could not exist. Unfortunately, those who ruled during that period are still in power in Russia and started the war next to the Polish East border.
The fate of Ukraine was a recurring focus of all acceptance speeches.
Gibney quoted Fiodor Dostoevsky, who said that the darker the night, the brighter the stars, stressing the importance of goodwill and the help of the West to help stop that unjust war.
Credit: Piotr Toczyński
Mendes told the story of his grandfather, who was born in Poland, but as a Polish Jew, he needed to flee the country in the 1930s. Mendes then invited the audience to watch his movie.
And so did Roger Deakins! Together with his wife, he surprised the audience with a dedicated video inviting them to watch the movie and saying how sorry they are not to be there in person this year. They promised to return to Toruń in future years.
Mendes stressed how important cinematographers are as collaborators to him. When he was making his first film, American Beauty, he really had a problem finding a good DP to work for a debuting director. Finally, Conrad Hall was suggested to him, and it was a perfect match.
Mendes recalls how on the first day of the shooting, he wasn’t familiar with set commands and asked Hall when to say "action."
So as instructed, once he heard "rolling," followed by "set," he called "action." Once the take was over, there was a surprising silence, and Hall told him, "Now you say 'cut.'"
While this is just a funny story from a director who transitioned from theater to film and took his first steps in this world, Mendes says that it depicts the relationship he has always had with his cinematographers. They were his guides on the film set and continue to be as he now works with the brilliant Deakins.
While 1917 was inspired by the story of his grandfather during WWI, Empire of Light was inspired by his childhood memories of his mother. As a kid of divorced parents, Mendes remembers how his mother struggled with mental illness. It’s a deeply personal film but also very universal. It comments on race prejudice and on how a mentally ill person can be aware that she needs help, and desperately fight against it at the same time.
But even though it sounds like a heavy film, it actually sheds a light on how cinema and music can heal wounds of the soul.
The festival has a few competitions including categories for student films, music videos, TV series, debuting directors and cinematographers, short and feature documentaries, Polish features, and the main competition.
Starting on Saturday, it will last for a full week and screen films like Elvis, Blonde, TÁR, The Banshees of Inisherin, The Whale, The Fabelmans, and many more.
For the next couple of days, we’ll share some highlights from the festival with you.
Have you ever been to CAMERIMAGE? Do you want to go? Let us know in the comments!
