blitzkrieg Director Steve McQueen has withdrawn from Poland’s Camerimage film festival after festival founder and CEO Marek Żydowicz opened the 32nd edition of the cinematographic arts industry event A few days ago a controversial editorial was published about female photographers.
“After reading Marek Zydowicz’s comments about female cinematographers, I decided not to attend the premiere of my film blitzkrieg this weekend,” the filmmakers said in an exclusive statement hollywood reporter. “While he has apologized, I cannot ignore the comments that I found deeply offensive. I have the utmost respect for cinematographers of all genders, including women, and believe we must do better, demand better, and serve everyone Make space personally.
The event is set to kick off on Saturday with a screening of McQueen’s latest film, with the Oscar-winning director in attendance. The film will still be screened as an opening night film, but McQueen will no longer be in attendance. He will also receive the Outstanding Director Award as part of the opening ceremony. THR Camerimage has been contacted for comment.
blitzkrieg It follows 9-year-old George (Elliot Heffernan) in wartime London as his mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him as an evacuee to safety in the English countryside. Distraught and determined to return alone to his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, George encounters real danger as a distraught Rita attempts to find her free son. The film celebrates the resilience of women, tells their pivotal stories during World War II, and proves that mothers will go to great lengths to love their children.
Zhidovich’s article, published in the latest issue of Cinematography World magazine, is a response to a September petition by female cinematographers. Support the work of female cinematographers. But rather than working to increase representation in festival programming, as the leaders of Cannes, Berlin and Tokyo have done in recent years, Zhidovich sought to argue that including more works by female DPs would At the risk of lowering the artistic quality of the festival to some extent.
“The film industry is undergoing rapid changes that are affecting film image, content and aesthetics,” Zhidovich wrote. “One of the most important changes is the growing recognition of female photographers and directors. This evolution is crucial because it corrects a clear injustice in the development of society. However, it also raises the question: the pursuit of change Is it okay to exclude good things? Are we only going to sacrifice works and artists of outstanding artistic achievement to make room for mediocre filmmaking?
As word of Zhidovich’s stance spread among the global cinematographer community, the response to his work was almost immediate.
The British Society of Cinematographers, a craft organization founded in 1949, published a blunt letter of condemnation on its website.
“The BSC wishes to express its disapproval of your recent article in World of Cinematography,” the association wrote in an “open letter to Zhidovich.” “We are frustrated and angry at your deeply misogynistic comments and aggressive tone, which we believe are symptoms of deep-seated bias.”
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) quickly expressed support for the BSC’s letter, as did the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), the Brazilian Association of Cinematographers (ABC), the Camera Operators Association and the Women in Cinematographers Network (covering Germany) More criticism was also raised, Austria and Switzerland).
Other industry figures are expected to attend the event, including Cate Blanchett, who chairs the 2024 competition jury; general Star Hiroyuki Sanada, as well as several Oscar front-runners including Greig Fraserdune 2), Jarin Blaschke (Nosferatu) and Alice Brooks (evil), Haha Crowley (The is a barbarian), Stephen Fontaine (secret meeting), Ed Lachman (Maria), Paul Guillaume (emilia perez) and many other leaders in the field.
