By Darek Kuźma. Belgian cinematographer Ruben Impens SBC followed his recent winning-streak with Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s mesmerising, Italian-language drama, The Eight Mountains. Although Impens enjoyed the greatest international recognition of his career, with Julia Ducournau’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Titane (2021), he has been shooting compelling films for...
By Oliver Webb. Adapted from Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s stylised, theatre-esquefilm The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant (1972, DP Michael Ballhaus ASC), Peter Von Kant marks director François Ozon’s second adaptation from the renowned German filmmaker’s canon, after his stage-to-screen rendering of Fassbinder’s play Tropfen Auf Heiße Steine into...
By Darek Kuźma. In the Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Titane, Belgian cinematographer Ruben Impens SBC once again collaborated with director Julia Ducournau to push the boundaries of cinematic experience and make what some have called the most shocking film of 2021, with its freaky and unrelenting bombardment of sex, violence, lurid...
By Oliver Webb. After the sudden death of his father, a handyman sets out to recover his missing hammer on a journey of self-discovery during a warm summer at the family-owned nudist campsite. Patrick (Kevin Janssens), a 38-year-old with a bowl haircut and learning difficulties, lives at home with his...
For Fiona Braillon, who trained as a Director of Photography at the “Institut des Arts de Diffusion in Brussels” (IAD), Belgium was more than just a diversion, but rather fertile ground for long-term working companionship. She gave us her view of this journey that has taken her all over the...
DOP Maxime Lahousse and our SBC members Seppe Van Grieken, Christophe Nuyens, Dries Delputte and Frank van den Eeden were invited by the Flemish Film Podcast for a “Round Table”. They talk about their profession as DOP, the SBC, having success working abroad, maintaining a work-life balance and much more.It is available via the RSS feed in podcast apps, via the website of...
Cinematographer Olivier Auverlau sbc teamed up with director Ivan Mora to shoot the film “Yellow glasses” on location in Ecuador. The film recently won best cinematography awards at the Orlando film festival and the Kunturñawi film Festival. Olivier Auverlau: “Yellow Glasses” tells the story of a 30-year-old woman who, after...
With Serre-moi fort, his eighth feature film, Mathieu Amalric returns to the Croisette for the third time, where he won best director in 2010 for Tournée. Christophe Beaucarne, AFC, SBC, the faithful DP to many directors, has worked on almost all Amalric’s feature films. He has created a discreet and minimalistic lighting for this melodrama...
With her 2nd film, French director Julia Ducournau had to top the sensation she made at the 2016 Festival with Grave. She did indeed, with Titane, an even more radical work in which the main character’s trajectory borrows as much from the horror genre as from romance. Ruben Impens SBC, who was also the...
Always surprising and prolific, Belgian cinema sends this year to the Critics’ Week a very nice portrait of a young woman played by Adèle Exarchopoulos. Rien à foutre (which was called Carpe Diem when it was filmed so as not to scare people!) is also a dive into the ruthless...
Fiona Braillon began her career in cinematography together with Rachel Lang, a young Belgian director. After graduating from the IAD (Institute of Broadcasting Arts) in 2010, Fiona Braillon signed in 2016 the cinematography of Rachel Lang’s first feature film, Baden Baden, then, four years later, that of My Legionnaire. This...
Virginie Surdej, SBC, Belgian Cinematographer, won the Magritte for Best Image for Une famille syrienne, by Philippe Van Leeuw, AFC. Amine Messadi, TSC, Tunisian cinematographer, signed the pictures of Sortilège, the feature film by Tunisian Alaeddine Slim, presented at the Directors’ Fortnight in 2019. After working together on Razzia and...
The final selection of the 2021 Cannes International Film Festival has been announced and features an impressive number of films cinematographed by Belgian Directors of Photography. The cinematographic “Belgitude” has truly claimed its place on the international film stage. We are proud to present the 12 members of the Belgian Society of Cinematographers (SBC) who participate in...
The Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco (Después de Lucia, Les Filles d’Avril, Chronic …) portrays in his new film a popular revolt in the heart of the Mexican capital and its repercussions on society. Preferring a progressive narration from a single starting point (a big wedding party in high society), we...
A few months ago Hichame Alaouié received his third Magritte for best cinematography for his collaboration with Oliver Masset-Depasse on Duelles (2018). Further recent credits in his career include the film Convoi Exceptionnel by Bertrand Blier (2019), of a few episodes of the series Le bureau des Légendes (2015-2017), Faut...
Seppe Van Grieken SBC in conversation with Andrij Parekh ASC on shooting the HBO series Succession. Topics include making the show look real, how to get coverage and shooting on film.
The lives of ten strangers intertwine when they join a weight-loss camp and are faced not only with the battle against their bodies, but also their minds – and each other. With a dead mother, a dark secret and lots of unresolved resentment, camp guru Bart has his own demons...
Guidelines for save film productions in Belgium.
Students from the various Belgian film schools conducted live Q&As with SBC members on their work and style. picture by Didier Frateur sbc
Seppe Van Grieken had an online conversation with SBC members Jo Willems, Bjorn Charpentier, Virginie Surdej and Ruben Impens on their work and films.
Industry has opened doors for Belgian cinematographers on the world stage, and an increasing number are now filming international movies and TV series. But what sparks this growing interest in Belgian talent, and do they bring a distinctly Belgian flavour? We asked members of the Belgian Society of Cinematographers (SBC)...
Christophe Nuyens SBC is currently shooting a series produced through Gaumont in Paris. Jon Fauer: You’re shooting in Full Frame with Technovision Classic 1.5x Anamorphics and ARRI ALEXA LF and Mini LF? Christophe Nuyens SBC: We have the Technovision Classic 40, 50, 75, 100 and 135 mm Prime and the...
Osmosis is a French-language Netflix original series about a dystopian dating app. Jean-François Hensgens AFC SBC was the cinematographer. Osmosis began streaming in March 2019. Jon Fauer: What cameras did you work with on Osmosis? Jean-François Hensgens AFC SBC: We used two RED MON- STRO 8K VV cameras, covering the entire area of the...
A little while ago I had the honour to spend a few hours talking to one of Belgian’s finest cinematographers. Back home for a short time from an extended pre-production period on Disney’s Cruella, I met Nicolas Karakatsanis in his home in Brussels. We spoke about the Belgian film industry, the...