The Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography is an annual award that pays tribute to a prominent international

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. The award originated in 2013. The name comes from

Pierre Angénieux Pierre Angénieux (; 14 July 1907 in Saint-Héand – 26 June 1998) was a French engineer and optician, one of the inventors of the modern zoom lenses, and famous for introducing the Angénieux retrofocus. Biography Angénieux graduated from the É ...

, inventor of the retrofocus zoom mechanism and founder of the French manufacturer of high-end zoom lenses. It is not awarded to a film from the

but pays tribute to a prominent director of photography whose career is commended by the industry for his/her aesthetic work.

History

This award is organized by ''

Angénieux Angénieux is a French manufacturer of photographic and cinematographic lenses. The main markets are cinema, television, space travel and medicine. The company is part of the Thales Group, which represents Angénieux in 48 countries. The company ...

'', a French manufacturer of zoom lenses since 1935, official partner of the

. This award celebrates a cinematographer for his/her career, not as a

brand ambassador A brand ambassador (sometimes also called a corporate ambassador) is a person engaged by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to embod ...

. Despite his 2015 award, Roger A. Deakins acknowledged that he does not shoot with zoom lenses. The company explains this sponsorship, writing: "For more than 80 years, with their demanding aesthetics and techniques, directors of photography have secured the success of ''Angénieux'' zoom lenses. In honor, ''Angénieux'' turns the spotlight to these image professionals without whom cinema would not exist". Since 2018, the promising work of a young film professional is also highlighted during the ceremony to celebrate the future of cinematography.

Awards ceremony

The ceremony takes place within

main venue, generally during the festival's last week (month of May), with the honoree walking on the red carpet. An overview of his/her filmography is projected, then the President of ''Angénieux'' and the Director of the festival speak along with former partners who explain their experiences and the reasons of this tribute. An ''Angénieux'' zoom lens engraved with the name of the recipient is offered as the award. A masterclass was organized during the 4th edition of the event. Peter Suschitzky presented some of his lighting techniques on his major scenes, and his collaboration with

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...

List of honored cinematographers

* 2013:

Philippe Rousselot Philippe Rousselot, (born 4 September 1945) is a French cinematographer and film director best known for his wide range of work in both European and mainstream American cinema, ranging in genres from drama, to fantasy, to blockbusters. He has ...

(AFC, ASC) * 2014:

Vilmos Zsigmond Vilmos Zsigmond ASC (; June 16, 1930 – January 1, 2016) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer. His work in cinematography helped shape the look of American movies in the 1970s, making him one of the leading figures in the American New Wave ...

(HSC, ASC) * 2015: Roger A. Deakins (BSC, ASC) * 2016:

Peter Suschitzky Peter Suschitzky, A.S.C. (born 25 July 1941) is a British cinematographer and photographer. Among his most known works as director of photography are ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', ''The Empire Strikes Back,'' and ''Mars Attacks!'' and the l ...

(ASC) * 2017: Christopher Doyle (HKSC) * 2018:

Edward Lachman Edward Lachman (born March 31, 1948) is an American cinematographer and director. Lachman is mostly associated with the American independent film movement, and has served as director of photography on films by Todd Haynes (including '' Far from ...

(ASC) ** Promising cinematographer: Cecile Zhang, China *2019:

Bruno Delbonnel Bruno Delbonnel, , (born 1957) is a French cinematographer. He worked on the films ''Amélie'' (2001), ''A Very Long Engagement'' (2004), ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' (2009), ''Inside Llewyn Davis'' (2013) and '' Darkest Hour'' (2 ...

(AFC, ASC) **Promising cinematographer: Modhura Palit, Calcutta, India. *2020: No festival due to Covid-19 *2021:

Agnès Godard Agnès Godard (born 28 May 1951) is a French cinematographer. She is most famous for her long-running collaboration with filmmaker Claire Denis. For her work, she has won a César Award. Life and career Godard originally studied journalism, but ...

(AFC) **Promising cinematographer: Pamela Albarrán, Mexico

References

Cannes Film Festival {{film-award-stub