Every year, Stephen Pizzello, Editor-in-Chief of American Cinematographer graciously watches films from our lineup and selects Salem Film Fest's cinematography award. Below are his comments on the nominees and winner of this year's award:
This year’s nominees for the American Cinematographer Award take viewers on tours of very disparate locations and lifestyles, from the coasts of Maine and Georgia to American rodeo rings and the mountains of the Himalayas.
The Long Coast, directed by Ian Cheney with cinematography by Michael James Murray, presents a five-part overview of Maine’s ocean ecosystem and the work of various locals whose livelihoods depend upon it — folks who harvest clams, eels, periwinkles, lobsters, kelp and bait. Murray’s artfully composed images and handsomely composed landscapes brings viewers into the heart of the region’s industry, providing an in-depth look at the processes these people employ, as well as changes in the environment they occupy. There is plenty of local flavor throughout, and the filmmakers’ scenic framing, punctuated by on-the-water and underwater perspectives, provides a naturalistic portrait of the subjects’ lifestyle.
The rodeo documentary Glitter and Dust explores a very different universe, examining the triumphs and failures of four young female bull riders testing their skills on the rodeo circuits of Arizona, Navajo Nation and Texas. Cinematographer Julia Lemke, who co-directed with Anna Koch, takes an earthy and observational approach to the imagery, allowing viewers to “walk in the boots” of these courageous girls, whose rides include exhilarating highs and agonizing lows. The risks and rewards of the lifestyle are explored in revealing interviews with both the girls and their families, set against stark, dusty vistas that reflect the grit needed to even attempt this venerable pastime. The doc’s respect for the people it profiles, and the validation they pursue in their attempts to excel at this distinctly American sport, turns the interwoven narratives into a finely detailed tapestry that salutes kinship and family traditions.
Sapelo, shot and directed by Nick Brandestini, examines the languid rhythms of life on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia, where the predominantly African-American community finds a familiar way of life changing and fading with each passing year. In revisiting the area’s roots, the documentary introduces us to a local family — Cornelia Bailey; her husband, Frank; and their three adopted sons — whose structure slowly crumbles amid the pensive landscapes that surround them. Voiceover remembrances of past times play over gorgeously melancholic traveling shots of the land, which provide a reflective backdrop to some heartbreaking moments endured by the younger members of the clan.
All of these documentaries have strong merits, but I felt that this year’s winner, The Wall of Shadows, offered both memorable imagery and the most compelling and life-affirming message. This family saga begins at an altitude of 4,000 meters in Kambachen, Nepal, where we’re introduced to the mythology of Kumbhakarna — a sacred mountain the locals are forbidden to climb. As the Hindu legend goes, Kumbhakarna was one of three brothers, a great warrior transformed into a mountain whose wrath is felt by those who attempt to scale his rocky heights.
Those who defy Kumbhakarna’s pious strength are subjected to a curse, a mythology that feeds the familial drama at the heart of The Wall of Shadows. In order to help pay for his son’s education, a Sherpa father defies his wife’s wishes and decides to break the cultural taboo by agreeing to accompany a trio of alpine climbers on their attempt to scale the mountain’s “unclimbable” East Face. Despite the fact that her husband has scaled Everest “eight or so times,” the mother is filled with dread at the prospect of offending Kumbhakarna — not only for spiritual reasons, but because attempts to climb the mountain often end in a horrendous fall to one’s death. She is also keen to allow her son to pursue a different, and less dangerous, path in life.
The resulting drama plays out against spectacular scenic backgrounds, in conditions that surely set a formidable challenge for the filmmakers: director Eliza Kubarska, cinematographer Piotr Rosołowski and second-camera/drone operator Keith Partridge. Kubarska and two of the Russian climbers featured in the documentary, Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov, also contributed to the camerawork during the more arduous passages of the chronicle.
The Wall of Shadows artfully exploits the region’s natural light, following the sun, and makes the viewer feel like a full participant in the journey. Much of the story is told through the family’s facial expressions or fraught glances, but the wider scenic vistas reveal the intimidating scope of the challenge they face; a sense of foreboding prevails as shots play out over music by the Budapest Art Orchestra. The impassive grandeur of nature lends the mountain an imposing and mystical aura, as shots of tumbling rocks and snow imbue Kumbhakarna with the feel of a living, breathing entity that is not pleased by this latest attempt at conquest. Footage of an avalanche and angry winds underscore the grave stakes, and the tension peaks when one of the Russian climbers expresses serious safety reservations about the climb, mirroring the father’s own concerns for his well-being and that of his family.
To find out how it all ends, you’ll have to watch this very compelling record of the spiritually and physically perilous journey — a supremely worthy recipient of this year’s American Cinematographer Award.
- Stephen Pizzello, Editor-in-Chief, American Cinematographer
