Camerimage Plagued by Controversy After Festival Director Says Greater Representation of Female Cinematographers Could Lead to Mediocrity
UPDATED As Camerimage, a leading cinematography festival, gets ready to open on Friday, Women in Cinematography, a body that presses for better representation for women DPs, has called for significant changes to the festival, which will this year host the world premiere of “Rust.”
The demands are a response to a heated dispute over a column by Marek ?ydowicz, the festival director, in Cinematography World magazine, that provoked allegations of misogyny.
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In the column, ?ydowicz seemed to suggest that the selection in the program of more female cinematographers and directors could lead to the inclusion of “mediocre film productions” at the expense of “works and artists with outstanding artistic achievements.”
He posed the question: “Should we reject what is esteemed and valuable just to ‘make space’ for the necessity of social change?” He went on to argue: “Whilst festivals like Cannes, Berlin or Venice are criticized for their selections due to succumbing to or promoting [political or ideological trends], Camerimage remains committed to artistic values as the foremost criterion for qualifying and promoting film art.”
His column triggered an angry response from the British Society of Cinematographers, which wrote in an open letter to ?ydowicz: “We are disheartened and angered by your profoundly misogynistic comments and aggressive tone, which we view as symptomatic of a deep-rooted prejudice. A film festival dedicated to the support and encouragement of cinematography and its practitioners deserves better.”
In the days following, the American Society of Cinematographers posted a response, saying it “wholly supports the BSC’s sentiments expressed in their open letter to Camerimage.” Leaders of the International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) sent a letter to Camerimage’s organizer, saying that it “joins our filmmaking family across the globe in expressing our disappointment over Marek ?ydowicz’s statement.”
In a response to the BSC letter, ?ydowicz, in turn, stated that the accusations are “entirely misplaced and quite offensive.” He added: “Respect for others has always been my priority, and it remains one for our festival as well.”
He continued: “We have always strived to showcase only the best of contemporary cinema, regardless of who creates it. And that is how my statement should be understood, there is nothing more to it, it has nothing to do with lack of respect for women.”
He concluded by suggesting the BSC letter was “grounded in misunderstanding,” and stating that Camerimage has worked with Women in Cinematography to craft a diversity and inclusion policy, which was posted on the festival website.
Women in Cinematography responded with a list of acclaimed films with female cinematographers that had been omitted from the competition, such as “Mudbound” and “The Power of the Dog,” while it said “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” was entirely excluded from the festival. The organization asked: “Can Camerimage claim to be first and foremost about artistic merit when it overlooks these brilliant and lauded achievements?” It stated that only 3.1% of films selected for the main competition have been photographed by women in 30 years.
“Mudbound,” lensed by Rachel Morrison, wasn’t included in competition and “relegated to a special screening,” just like “The Power of the Dog,” which scored Ari Wegner an Academy Award nom.
As stated by Women in Cinematography, “there have been repeated failed attempts by several organizations to persuade Camerimage to implement broader inclusion initiatives beyond the occasional diversity panel,” even before the backlash.
As a result of “the dismaying lack of representation” in the 2021 edition of the festival, the IMAGO D&I committee, in conjunction with the Digital Orchard Foundation, submitted a list of proposals to Camerimage that could broaden the selection process that repeatedly sees female and minority cinematographers sidelined.
While “none of these initiatives were implemented by Camerimage,” Women in Cinematography’s petition on change.org was delivered to the fest in September.
“We reject this campaign being used by Mr ?ydowicz as a demonstration of the festival’s commitment to diversity or to shield Camerimage Festival from rightful criticism, as was attempted in his Nov. 9 response to the BSC’s open letter. These events only came about as a result of our activism and public and international pressure.”
“In outlining its defense, the festival published a new Diversity and Inclusion policy which was in fact drafted by WIC and delivered to the festival on 28th September. It remained unpublished until the recent backlash against the Cinematography World article, and was posted without acknowledgement of its origins or credit for the women who wrote it.”
On Instagram, Reed Morano admitted she was “surprised and sad” by ?ydowicz’s comments.
“Looking back, I would say the majority of the ‘mediocrity’ they selected was ‘shockingly’ actually not shot by a woman! […] And I also cannot forget the ‘mediocre’ work that I had to watch, with my jaw on the floor. It saddens me that the message from my friends at Camerimage – simply by their qualifying art by gender and female work in the same sentence as mediocrity – is that it appears they have an old-fashioned way of thinking that even they cannot admit to. And that is this: A man deserves to be in competition as a cinematographer more than a woman.”
Here’s a link to the petition.
Women in Cinematography called on the festival to implement a number of changes, as follows:
● Full transparency of the selection committees; publish names and photographs;
● Creation of a meaningful selection policy to ensure fair representation in competitions;
● Creation of an advisory board to oversee and implement the original D&I policy;
● Extensive cooperation with organizations representing minorities in the film business;
● Training management teams, selection committees and juries about unconscious bias and how to use inclusive language and behaviors;
● Revise the competition categories to diversify those eligible to submit. For instance, introduce a mid-range feature competition so that it is not a choice between a debut feature or big budget, where minority groups have historically been excluded. Also, open the TV competition to include later episodes and not restrict submissions to the pilot.
● Engage scouts to actively seek excellent work from underrepresented groups.
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