Camerimage: Cinematography Organizations Condemn Fest Founder’s “Sexist” Editorial, Demand Change

Poland’s Camerimage Film Festival, a much-loved industry event dedicated to the art of cinematography, has found itself engulfed in controversy days before the opening of its 32nd edition. Several leading international cinematography organizations spoke up over the weekend to criticize a controversial editorial written by the festival’s founder and CEO Marek Żydowicz. Published in the latest edition of Cinematography World magazine, the piece was written as a response to a September petition from Women in Cinematography, an international union representing female directors of photography across the globe, calling on Camerimage to better support the work of women cinematographers. But rather than commit to improving representation in the festival’s programming — as the leaders of the Cannes, Berlin and Tokyo film festivals have done in recent years — Żydowicz attempted to argue that admitting the work of more female DPs would somehow risk diminishing the event’s artistic quality. 

“The film industry is undergoing rapid changes, affecting the cinematic image, its content, and aesthetics,” Żydowicz wrote. “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. However, it also raises a question: Can the pursuit of change exclude what is good? Can we sacrifice works and artists with outstanding artistic achievements solely to make room for mediocre film production?”

The reaction to Żydowicz’s piece was almost immediate as word of his stance spread among the global cinematographer community. 

The British Society of Cinematographers, the craft organization established in 1949, published a letter on its website that was blunt in its condemnation.

“The BSC wishes to express its disapproval of your recent article in Cinematography World,” the association’s “Open Letter to Żydowicz read. “We are disheartened and angered by your profoundly misogynistic comments and aggressive tone, which we view as symptomatic of a deep-rooted prejudice.”

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) soon threw its support behind the BSC’s letter, with additional criticisms coming from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), Association of Brazilian Cinematographers (ABC), Society of Camera Operators and Women Cinematographers Network (covering Germany, Austria & Switzerland).

The controversy has cast a pall over Camerimage’s imminent next edition, which is scheduled to kick off on Saturday with a screening of Steve McQueen’s latest feature, Blitz, with the Oscar-winning director in attendance. Various other industry luminaries are expected at the event, including Cate Blanchett, who is serving as the president of the 2024 competition jury, Shogun star Hiroyuki Sanada, as well as several Oscar-frontrunner DPs, including Greig Fraser (Dune 2), Jarin Blaschke (Nosferatu), and Alice Brooks (Wicked), Lol Crawley (The Brutalist), Stéphane Fontaine (Conclave), Ed Lachman (Maria), Paul Guillaume (Emilia Perez), and many other leaders in the field. 

In a letter published on the Camerimage website after the weekend, Żydowicz fired back at the BSC and its members.

“I truly believe that the accusations made against me in the statement published on BSC website are entirely misplaced and quite offensive,” wrote Żydowicz. “If these accusations were indeed true, this festival would simply no longer exist. Respect for others has always been my priority, and it remains one for our festival as well.”

The festival head said that the group had misinterpreted his remarks and that Camerimage has been in talks with Women in Cinematography about collaborating on ways to work together to help the festival grow. 

Żydowicz added: “Together, we have crafted a Diversity and Inclusion Policy, which we were planning to publish shortly.” 

He then appended the document below his letter. 

Women in Cinematography, the organization whose petition first prompted Żydowicz’s editorial, responded with an additional letter by saying that the group’s very foundation was inspired by Camerimage’s shortcomings in supporting the work of women in the field. 

“Camerimage’s historical exclusion of all but a few women is the very reason that Women in Cinematography – a collective of filmmakers from across the globe – was formed earlier this year,” the letter reads. 

The group went on to state that recent programming at Camerimage “demonstrates how female cinematographers have been sidelined by the festival.” 

WIC also took issue with Żydowicz’s release of the Diversity and Inclusion Policy it had drafted, writing: “In outlining its defense, the festival published a new Diversity and Inclusion policy which was in fact drafted by WIC and delivered to the festival on 28th September. It remained unpublished until the recent backlash against the Cinematography World article, and was posted without acknowledgment of its origins or credit for the women who wrote it.”

The group added that it was “happy finally to read yesterday of Mr Żydowicz’s commitment to progress” and that it holds “great fondness in our hearts for the festival and want it to thrive.” 

WIC then urged the festival to make a set of commitments to bring greater transparency to the festival and its selection processes. The list includes “full transparency of the selection committees,” creation of an advisory board to oversee D&I policy, “extensive cooperation with organizations representing minorities in the film business,” along with additional changes. 

“We hope that this year’s initiatives will lay the groundwork for meaningful and lasting progress, and have faith that Camerimage will commit to these principles,” the WIC added. 

The Camerimage Film Festival takes place in the historic city of Toruń, Poland on Nov. 16-23.