“Cinematographers are given the rock-star treatment at Camerimage, the festival dedicated to celebrating the art and craft of lensers. Situated in Lodz, Poland — a mixture of 19th-century elegance and drab, Communist-era architecture — Camerimage cherry-picks from some of the best cinematographic statements of the year in its competitive feature lineup while boasting wall-to-wall panels, press conferences and master classes presided over by world-class d.p.s and helmers. The event’s intimacy allows attendees to mix with talent in a highly accessible atmosphere where there are no velvet ropes and VIP lounges.”

?Variety” (September 2007)

The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography PLUS CAMERIMAGE

is the greatest and most recognized festival dedicated to the art of cinematography and its creators – cinematographers. It is held annually in Lodz, the second biggest city in Poland, the capital of the Polish cinema. PLUS CAMERIMAGE contributes to the growth of cinematographers’ prestige. The unconventional format of the Festival, which awards films according to their visual, aesthetic and technical values, has turned out to be an alternative for traditional film festivals. As all our guests emphasize – PLUS CAMERIMAGE is unique. The Festival proves to be a great forum not only for presentation but also for further development of international moviemaking. PLUS CAMERIMAGE helps young filmmakers and integrates the community of those already recognized, allowing them to explore new artistic areas.

Apart from the Main Competition, the Festival also contains other events such as Student Etudes Competition, Documentary Films Competition “Image of the World – World in Images” held under patronage of Discovery Networks Central Europe, Music Videos Competition, Plus Camerimage Market, Plus Camerimage Forum, Polish Films Competition under the patronage of Plus network operator, special screenings and premieres, various reviews, retrospectives, meetings and also accompanying events such as art exhibitions and music performances.

Many professional filmmakers and film school students from around the world are attracted to the festival by the numerous seminars and workshops organized in the Festival Centre and in professional film studio of the OPUS FILM company, led by the greatest modern cinematographers, directors and other filmmakers. Various presentations of modern film equipment and of the latest production and postproduction technologies (both, traditional and digital) are also an inherent and a very attractive aspect of the Festival. They have been organized with co-operation of companies such as Arri, Kodak, Panavision, Sachtler, Technicolor, K5600, Panasonic, Lightcraft, Zeiss and Sony. All this provides an opportunity for global forum where cinematographers can discuss issues and share their knowledge, experience and ideas.

PLUS CAMERIMAGE is an extraordinary event where art and technology meet creating a unique and unforgettable atmosphere.

For many years already we are inviting world acclaimed directors, actors, editors and set designers to take part in our event. Within last few years we had a pleasure to host such great artists as: Charlize Theron, Julia Ormond, Irene Jacob, Diane Kruger, Willem Dafoe, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Isabelle Huppert, David Lynch, Oliver Stone, Ang Lee, Roman Pola?ski, Alan Parker, Mike Newell, John Schlesinger, Peter Weir, Roland Joffe, Andrei Konchalovski, Jiri Menzel, James Ivory, Norman Jewison, Carlos Saura, Joel Coen, Neil Jordan, Istvan Szabo, Tom Tykwer, Emir Kusturica, Volker Schlondorff, Wim Wenders, Dante Ferretti, Lilly Kilvert, Tom Rolf, Jim Clark or Michael Tronick. Each year we grant the Lifetime Achievement Award to the outstanding cinematographer and within the 16 years of the Festival this annual award went to: Billy Fraker, Vilmos Zsigmond, Sven Nykvist, Vittorio Storaro, Giuseppe Rotunno, Laszlo Kovacs, Billy Williams, Owen Roizman, Freddie Francis, Witold Soboci?ski, Haskell Wexler, Conrad Hall, David Watkin, Tonino Delli Colli, Robby Muller, Stephen Goldblatt, Pierre Lhomme and this year the Award will be granted to Dante Spinotti. Of course, we hosted hundreds of cinematographers, just to mention a few: Laszlo Kovacs, Vilmos Zsigmond, Anthony Dod Mantle, Chris Menges, Ellen Kuras, Christopher Doyle, Alex Thomson, Barry Ackroyd, Daniel Pearl, Edward Lachman, Robert Elswit, Janusz Kami?ski, Declan Quinn, Oliver Stapleton, Roger Deakins, Rodrigo Prieto, Dante Spinotti, Phil Meheux, John Bailey, John De Borman, Donald McAlpine, Cesar Charlone, Affonso Beato and many others.