Poland's Film Festival, Camerimage founder, Marek Zydowicz is under fire after saying more female cinematographers could lead to "mediocre" films.
The latest edition of Cinematography World Magazine featured an article written by Zydowicz. The article was in response to a September petition from Women in Cinematography, an international union representing female directors of photography across the world.
The union called on Camerimage to support the work of women cinematographers. However, instead of commenting on the bettering female representation in the festival, Zydowicz in an op-ed titled, Time for Solidarity said,
"The film industry is undergoing rapid changes affecting the cinematic image, it's content, and aesthetics. One of the most significant changes is the growing recognition of female cinematographers and directors. This evolution is crucial as it rectifies the obvious injustice present in societal development."
He added:
"However, it also raises a question. Can the pursuit of change excluse what is good? Can we sacrifice works and artists with outstanding artistic achievements solely to make room for mediocre film production."
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), and the Canadian Society of Cinematographers were quick to slam Marek after his comments.
Coralie Fargeat pulls The Substance from Camerimage after Marek Zydowicz's comments
Marek Zydowicz's comments on female cinematographers were met with raised eyebrows with many cinematographers refusing to attend his film festival.
French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat pulled her latest feature film, The Substance from the festival and posted a short statement on X on November 16 to announce the news.
"After disvovering the highly misogynistic and offensive words of the director of the Camerimage Film Festival, I have decided to pull "The Substance' from the festival (and (the director of photography) Benjamin Kracun has decided not to attend.)
British filmmaker Steve McQueen also announced that he would not be attending a screening of his feature film Blitz at the festival. In a statement to Deadline, McQueen said,
"Having read Marek Zydowicz's op-ed concerning female cinematographers, I have decided not to attend the opening night presentation of my film Blitz this weeked."
Trending
McQueen was also set to receive an honorary award at the festival. After his comments were met with disapproval from cinematographers worldwide, Marek issued an apology on the Camerimage website where he mentioned that it was "never my intention undermine the achievements of any filmmakers, whose work I deeply appreciate and respect." He "apologized for the misunderstanding" and assured that Camerimage would "prevent kind of ambiguity from occurring in our communications in the future."
Reply
