As Camerimage, the only world’s international festival celebrating cinematography, winds down, its legacy might be the festival leader’s views on women cinematographers.
And “mediocre” is the word used by Marek Żydowicz, founder and CEO of Cameraimage, in an op ed he wrote for the November/December issue of Cinematography World suggesting, among other things, that “recognition of female cinematographers and directors” is “sacrificing works and artists with outstanding artistic achievements solely to make room for mediocre film productions.”
His piece further opines that including more women “must not come at the expense of what is truly important to the festival: evaluating artistic merit and selecting valuable films for competition.”
As the founder and CEO of Camerimage, Żydowicz holds tremendous power and influence and what is seen on the international stage and the parameters of what has “merit.” Some take issue with his narrow focus.
Żydowicz’s piece was his response to a petition created on August 1 by Women in Cinematography, a newly formed global group of female cinematographers, on Change.org requesting more inclusion of women cinematographers in the Camerimage festival.
Żydowicz believes there are so few women in cinematography because their work is just not good enough. An alternate point of view, voiced by many women and BIPOC DPs, is that exclusionary practices, based on systemic bias, stagnates the industry and the art form.
“We are disheartened and angered by your profoundly misogynistic comments and aggressive tone, which we view as symptomatic of a deep-rooted prejudice,” wrote the British Society of Cinematographers to Camerimage. “A film festival dedicated to the support and encouragement of cinematography and its practitioners deserves better.”
Żydowicz countered with a statement on the Cameraimage website, calling the situation a “misunderstanding,” saying “in fighting against exclusion, we should not unjustly exclude ourselves.”
Other cinematography groups weighed in with their own criticism of Żydowicz’s position:
- “Conflating female cinematography with mediocrity is deeply sexist and is the sad illustration of a personal misogynistic viewpoint,” the American Society of Cinematographers wrote in its November 9 letter to Camerimage.
- “Camerimage has responded to a recent petition for equity and inclusion by releasing a statement in which they declare all available works shot by women in 2023 were “mediocre,” the ICFC (International Collective of Female Cinematographers) posted on their Instagram on November 9, stating further that, “They had the audacity to further brand this assertion as a call for ‘unity,’ and to call the inclusion of diverse artistic voices a ‘fanatical revolution …’
- “Recent comments by Marek Żydowicz and Camerimage underscore the ongoing and urgent need for progress in this area,” the CSC responded with a November 10 Instagram post. “Gender inequity in cinematography remains a significant issue, and we, as a society, must address it actively.”
“Many of our members were hurt by Marek Żydowicz’s equating mediocrity with women’s work,” Kaayla Whachell, co-chair of the CSC’s diversity committee, says. “And, make no mistake, Marek Żydowicz’s attitude towards women’s work is not an outlier. It is pervasive in the industry. We see this in comments on our own Instagram post about the issue. And BIPOC cinematographers are often dismissed in the same fashion.”
Cinematography World weighed in on the firestorm created by the op ed in their publication, saying, “We do not wish to upset, cause distress, or to undervalue anyone. We hope that the content of our publication reflects the opinions of those who can help to make a positive difference. Knowledge gives power, and the opportunity to change and improve situations.”
Cate Blanchett, jury president of the main competition, was asked by The Hollywood Reporter on November 19 about Żydowicz’s remarks regarding the representation of women cinematographers in the festival lineup. She responded, “In the last few days, the British Society of Cinematographers and Women in Cinematography have responded in a very positive way about the fact that these issues have been raised yet again, sadly. As Anna Higgs, who is also on the jury with me, put it: The work is never done.”
Ironically, the one female cinematographer represented at Camerimage was Halyna Hutchins. She was accidentally shot and killed on the set of the Western film Rustby a bullet from a real gun being used as movie prop discharged by actor Alec Baldwin. In what the festival called a “tribute debut screening,” Rust was shown on November 19 to what Variety called a “polite response.”
The decision to screen Rust at Camerimage was controversial, as reported by Deadline on October 7, 2024, and many female DPs spoke out against it. Oscar-nominated Black Panther DP Rachel Morrison said, “I’m all for memorializing Halyna and her beautiful work but not by screening and thereby promoting the film that killed her.”
Normal People and His Dark Materials DP Suzie Lavelle asked Camerimage to reconsider including the film andposted: “Promoting a film that shot with unsafe practices — leading to the death of its cinematographer – reconsider please.”
According to Variety, “Hutchins’ mother, Olga Solovey — who is suing the production and Baldwin — also didn’t attend, nor did the cinematographer’s husband, Matthew Hutchins.”
In the past 18 months, the CSC has been developing a comprehensive program directed towards women cinematographers that will be rolled out in 2025. It includes consultations with female cinematographers in three regions of the country, a series of workshops, sand research into how CSC membership reflects the growth of involvement by women cinematographers.
“Removing obstacles and increasing access is a deeply embedded goal for the CSC’s work,” CEO Susan Saranchuk says. “And we are developing robust programming designed to increase participation by women in the camera department and throughout the below-the-line workforce.”
“While acknowledging we still have so much more work to do, the CSC and its diversity committee are committed in serving and increasing female membership, especially full members” Whachell says. “Thirty-seven per cent of the mentees in our Field of View Mentorship program are female-identifying members. We have a new initiative, the CSC Herc Apprenticeship program that will kick off in early 2025, where eight BIPOC or women-identifying mentees will be eligible for a four-week apprenticeship shadowing a DP on a Tier A set. We want to do a better job of speaking out for our female-identifying and BIPOC members. And we want these mentees to feel welcome in our profession.”