A Personal, Slightly Chaotic, Entirely Honest Report from CAMERIMAGE 2025
There are two types of people in this world:
1. Those who think Camerimage is a calm, reflective cinematography festival.
2. Those who have actually BEEN to Camerimage.
For us DoPs, Camerimage is the annual ritual where we briefly emerge from whatever shoot we just wrapped… only to immediately return to total darkness and spend 10 hours a day in cinemas watching films until any sense of “morning” or “evening” simply stops existing.
It’s also the one week where you inevitably bump into colleagues you haven’t seen in years, usually while balancing a coffee, a schedule, and your last remaining serotonin molecule. Every encounter is a chaotic mix of “I’ve missed you!” and “We should definitely work together!” layered over the quiet voice in your head whispering:
“Please don’t make me network right now.”
And yet, despite the chaos, this year felt genuinely special. Something aligned. I actually had time, or maybe just the right energy, to reconnect with people, sink into the program, and really enjoy the experience instead of sprinting through it. Films, seminars, unexpected conversations… everything felt richer than usual.
Things I Brought Home (Fragments of the week that will stay with me for a long, long time)
1. David Lynch casually blessing my existence
Yes, David Lynch.
Appearing before screenings like a surreal cinema-bingo host, pulling a number and somehow setting the tone for the whole day. It was bizarrely charming.Like getting a tiny cosmic wink.
2. Robby Ryan talking VistaVision like it’s casual small talk
Listening to Robby Ryan discuss shooting Bugonia in VistaVision was one of those moments where you feel deeply inspired and slightly unworthy in the best possible way. Inside I was thinking:
“Please adopt me.” Outside I maintained an expression of calm professional interest.
3. Crying at Hamnet
Complete emotional collapse. Cinematography, storytelling, everything hit exactly where it hurts.
A solid, beautiful cry. 10/10.
4. Ballad of a Small Player & my Coral lens pilgrimage
James Friend’s seminar on lighting Ballad of a Small Player was a standout — thoughtful, clear, generous. He talked about the Coral lenses and, like a predictable creature, I marched straight back to the Market afterward to look at them again.
5. Kasper Tuxen on Sentimental Value
This talk was pure joy. Kasper Tuxen spoke about the collaboration with the production designer Jørgen Stangebye Larsen. The conversation made me love the film even more. It’s still my favourite of the entire year.
6. Mandy Walker: proof of how powerful it is when women run the show
Mandy Walker’s reflections on Mulan, the process, challenges, and victories, were powerful and energising. One of those talks that leaves you sitting up straighter, feeling both inspired and fiercely proud.
My FSF Crew Experience
I know the FSF crew was around, I really do. We were technically at the same festival. But Camerimage has this ability to rearrange space, time, and human trajectories.
Every time I tried to find them, I got pulled into another screening, another seminar, another hallway conversation. So yes, we were all there… just never in the same square meter.
What I Brought Back Home
By the end of the week, I returned home buzzing with ideas, inspiration, and renewed energy.
Camerimage reminded me why I’m doing this and left me full of inspiration for the year ahead.
Same time next year?
Absolutely.
Camilla Topuntoli
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Lisabi Fridell mötte Adam Nilsson på en filminspelning i en känsla av kreativitet och inspiration. Sjutton år senare samtalar de om att hitta tillbaka till den där skapande platsen, i en tid som räds “komplicerade” filmfotografer och vill undvika det skeva.
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Camerimage 2025 – Reflections by Lars Pettersson
The 33rd International Camerimage Film Festival took place between the 15th and 22nd of November in the picturesque little medieval city of Torun, birthplace of famed astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and one of Poland’s national treasures. The film schools of Lodz and Warsaw must also surely be counted among Poland’s proudest cultural heritage. And we’ll get to them in a little while.
This year’s festival differs from those of recent years, in that there is no life achievement award given to a famous director of photography. Instead, the festival coordinators have decided to make this edition a tribute to, and a celebration of the work of, Director David Lynch.
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My key takeaway from Camerimage concerns AI
At Camerimage this year, a recurring theme for the seminars was AI. For me, the key takeaway came from a passionate speech by former ASC president Michael Goi. It was a call-to-arms of sorts, not against AI, but to engage with AI.
Michael argued that there is a window of opportunity, where cinematographers and filmmakers can engage in dialogue with the developers, and influence the technological advancement. It is of utmost importance that we do engage with the developers of these tools. If we don’t, they might develop in a trajectory that could damage visual storytelling.
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ODCC 2025
The ninth edition of the Oslo Digital Cinema Conference (or simply the ODCC for short) focused on the extremely timely and highly relevant topic of Artificial Intelligence and the impact it may have on the motion picture business. Held at the Norwegian Film Institute in Oslo during the weekend between the 21st and 23rd of November, the Conference gathered about 120 participants who were treated to no fewer than a whopping 21 presentations by international experts in the field. The ODCC is a collaboration between the Norwegian Society of Cinematographers FNF, the Norwegian Film Institute, IMAGO, Nordisk Film & TV Fond as well as the Swedish (FSF) and Danish (DFF) Societies of Cinematographers.
ODCC’s own Commander-in-Chief, Paul René Roestad FNF, has arranged this event biannually since 2006, although with a regrettable but necessary four year hiatus in the early 2020s because of the pandemic.
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