Up-and-coming cinematographers were toasted at the 17th annual Emerging Cinematographers Awards earlier this week, where they had the opportunity to show their prize-winning shorts before a large audience that included some notable directors of photography. There were eight winners and two honorable mentions.
The event was sponsored by the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600, and was held in the theater of the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood. “It thrills me – each year the entries keep getting better and better,” ICG national president Steven Poster, A.S.C said.
The honorees were just as excited. “This experience has been phenomenal to be able to interact with cinematographers who have made it through the trenches, built a career in the movies and made many films that are influential to us,” said Rob Givens, who received an honorable mention for The Ride, about a taxi driver on Christmas Eve. “For them to call out our work for its quality is quite a big deal.”
This year there were almost 100 entries. The competition is judged by a panel of ICG members from around the country. DP Jim Matlosz, chairman of the guild’s ECA committee since 2008, noted that he and the other judges had the challenging task of viewing all the films.
Various camera formats were employed. On King of Norway, VanNessa Manlunas primarily shot with the Arriflex SR3 on 16mm film, but also used a digital camera for some underwater sequences in an impressionistic short about a daughter’s sense of loss for her father.
Manlunas was the only female winner in what remains a highly male-dominated profession. But she said she did not feel being a woman cinematographer was an impediment. There were mainly women on her camera crew, she noted, and only a few men. “It was unintentional but it worked out well. Everyone was happy,” she said.
The other seven winners:
- Eduardo Fierro, Eleven: Twelve
- Guy Skinner, Your Father’s Daughter
- Kyle Klutz, Vessel
- Mike Berlucchi, 140 Drams
- T.J. Williams, Jr., The Return
- Michael Alden Lloyd,The Secret Number
- Camrin Petramale, Memoirs of a Parapsychologist
And, the second honorable mention: Andrew Shulkind, South Down Orchard
There will be a screening of the 10 ECA shorts in New York Oct. 20 at the School of Visual Arts.
For the second year, Canon USA was the Impresario Sponsor for the event.
As part of the ECA weekend celebration, a luncheon was held at the clubhouse of the American Society of Cinematographers Sept. 27 where four special awards were handed out to individuals cited for their contributions to the advancement of cinematography.
The Canon Award for the advancement of digital technology in film and television was presented to Mark Weingartner. Kristopher Tapley received the Technicolor “William A. Fraker” Award for outstanding journalistic contributions to the art and craft of cinematography. Julio Macat, ASC got the Kodak Mentorship Award and the Nat Tiffen Award for outstanding educational contributions to the art and craft of cinematography was presented to Dr. Corey Carbonara.
