Since its inception the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE has always focused on distinguishing those brilliant filmmakers who stayed in the shade of actors, directors or screenwriters - the cinematographers. We have shown their exceptional skills and visual sensitivity. We have acknowledged their input in the art of cinema. Together with them we observed the upcoming digital revolution.

“Remembering the Masters" is on the one hand to accentuate the craft of all those brilliant cinematographers who passed away, and on the other to provoke a discussion about the cinematic possibilities given by the films which over the years set the standards for what we watch today. In the moment of the digital revolution, both mental and technological, it is crucial not to forget about the always-fascinating history of cinema without which such revolution wouldn't come. We therefore invite everyone to watch the work of true masters, and by this remember every lesson they wanted to teach us.

This year we will present the work of French filmmakers: cinematographer Roger Hubert and director Marcel Carné.

PARTNERS OF THE REVIEW:

ROGER HUBERT (1903 - 1964)

"Roger Hubert shot over ninety (!) films and got wide recognition as one of the essential cinematographers of one of the most important periods of French cinema - the melancholy-fueled poetic realism of the 1930s and 1940s. It was created by such directors as Marc Allégret, Marcel Carné, Julien Duvivier or Jacques Feyder.

However, Hubert's career began before that, during another important period of French cinema (then still silent) called impressionism. The artist debuted - working both as camera operator and cinematographer - with The Red Inn (1923) by the acclaimed French director Jean Epstein.

Seven years later French cinema was not silent anymore and was inclining towards the above-mentioned poetic realism. Allégret invited Hubert to collaborate with him on Fanny (1932), among many others. Carné entrusted him the cinematography for Les Visiteurs du Soir (1942) and Children of Paradise (1945). With Duvivier he made The Man of the Hour (1937), and with Feyder he did Pension Mimosas (1935).

Still from "Les Visiteurs du Soir"
Roger Hubert's name is also billed on many of the films of cinema's true magician - Abel Gance. They shot together Napoléon Bonaparte (1934) - version of the legendary Napoleon (1927) of the same director, but with the addition of sound and different editing, Lucrezia Borgia (1935) and I Accuse (1938) - a remake of the 1919 pacifist film by Gance.

During World War II and soon after it finished Hubert collaborated with such distinguished directors as Jean Delannoy and Marcel L'Herbier.

When during 1950s and 1960s French cinema - influenced by Nouvelle Vague and technological innovations like color and wide screen format - changed its style, became more modern, Hubert was able to adjust to new ways of filmmaking. He used Eastmancolor and various anamorphotic systems (Cinemascope, Dyaliscope, Franscope), while in big budgeted La Fayette (1961) by Jean Dréville he used Super Technirama 70 system, making it possible to screen via 70mm film.

Hubert did not have any problem in communicating with younger directors - brilliant film noir director Henri Verneuil and comedy veteran Gilles Grangier. However, he took great pleasure in working with the old masters - Duvivier's Holiday for Henrietta (1952) and late Marcel Carné films - Thérèse Raquin (1953) and Air of Paris (1954)".

Andrzej Bukowiecki
(partly based upon "Historical Dictionary of French Cinema"
by Dayna Oscherwitz and Mary Ellen Higgins)

MARCEL CARNE (1906 - 1996)

"The most prominent film director of the poetic realism movement - the form considered most important in European cinematography of the 1930s. Nowadays it would be hard to imagine the history of French cinematography without Marcel Carné and his movies. Although the works were strongly grounded in local realities, they abounded in universal values, perfectly transparent among all nations, irrespective of latitude, political system, progression of civilization, and culture.

Book cover of "Marcel Carné - klasyk francuskiego kina"
In Carné's works, the real world - initially fitted within the framework of poetic realism, later on naturalism - perfectly coexists with the world of fantasy, merging reality with fabulous elements. In order to depict his vision more vividly, the director drew inspiration from impressionistic and expressionistic cinema, creatively processing its key aspects. This original blend proved incredibly effective with its combination of simple plot, emotional profundity, unconventional aesthetics and tragic accents. Carné quickly managed to develop his own style, in which the carefully crafted visual aspect of the film perfectly complemented the plot with its frequently depressive elements.

In the times of spectacular blockbusters, “wanton" staging and performances, as well as computer-generated special effects, Carné's works gain additional value, like old family finery bought at a renowned jeweler's that shines in comparison with mass produced jewellery. The masterpieces never cease to amaze, inspiring subsequent generations of cinematic art enthusiasts, who are able to appreciate the films' invaluable and timeless beauty. It appears evident that the director managed to grasp the very essence of film art, creating illusions which evoke the purest form of emotions and bolster our faith in true cinema."

Krzysztof Trojanowski
Marcel Carné - klasyk francuskiego kina
Torun, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UMK, 2011
(Postscript fragments)

During Camerimage there will be a meeting with Krzysztof Trojanowski, the author of "Marcel Carné - klasyk francuskiego kina".

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We sincerely invite all Camerimage participants to join the retrospective of Roger Hubert and Marcel Carne's films. Click HERE to see which ones will be screened.

All screenings will be held in Multikino in Bydgoszcz (Marszałka Focha 48). Booking is available on-line, and cost of the ticket is 8PLN (8.50 PLN if via Multikino website). The same prices concern all films screened in Multikino. It does not concern the holders of Festival Passes.