Cannes 2017: DP Christopher Doyle Receives The Pierre Angenieux ExcelLens In Cinematography Award

By: Marjorie Galas

Before the 70^th Cannes Film Festival announced the winners of this year’s festival, a special tribute was made to groundbreaking cinematographer Christopher Doyle.  As luminaries and celebrities alike gathered at the Bunuel Theatre in the Palais des Festivals on Friday, May 26, 2017, Doyle was feted with the festival’s presentation of the Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography tribute.

Doyle is known for blending realism and surrealism in his work, often mixing filming styles, such as slow motion, motion blur and unique rhythms as well as camera and film formats to achieve unique effects.  His trademark style is to avoid trademark styles.  Although an Oscar nomination has eluded him to date, he’s earned countless accolades the world over for his cinematography, including the Technical Grand Prize at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for “In the Mood for Love” as well as two Camerimage nominations: in 2002 for “Rabbit-Proof Fence” and 2003 for “Hero.” Other notable titles Doyle has lensed include “Paranoid Park”, “Fallen Angles”, “2048”, “Port of Call”, “Happy Together” and “Chungking Express” to name a few.

Marking its fifth annual celebration, the Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography award pays tribute to a director of photography whose work has impacted the history of world cinema.  Past recipients of the award include Philippe Rousselot (2013), Vilmos Zsigmond (2014), Roger A. Deakins (2015) and Peter Suschitzky (2016).  Sponsored by renown camera lens company  Angenieux, this year’s trophy was an Angénieux Optimo 15-40 zoom lens that was specially engraved with Doyle's name, year and award name to mark the momentous occasion.

Joining Thierry Fremaux, Director of Cannes Film Festival on stage to present Doyle with the award were Juliette Binoche, Jenny Suen, Olivier Assayas and Frédéric Auburtin.  Also in attendance were Ed Lachman, cinematographer ; Raphaël Keller, Director for innovation, video and technical industries at the Centre National du Cinema (CNC) ; Richard Andry vice-president of AFC (Association of French Cinematographers) ; Yang Dan senior vice president of Weying (online ticketing platform on Wechat) and San Mu President of Movie View (Chinese movie magazine and PR company) supports of the tribute ; and Pierre Andurand, president of Thales Angénieux and Suzel Pietri (Orbis Media) who originally created the Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography Award.  Doyle emotionally stepped forward to claim his prize.

“With this award, Angénieux has passed on to me their excellence, now it's my responsibility to be excellent in return,” said Doyle.

Before the event concluded, Doyle was also presented a Chinese calligraphy scroll written by Yang Dan (senior vice president of Weying).  The markings, an extract of the Confucian Analects, represented the phrase “a man of quality should be like the wind”. This sentence is also a reference to Doyle’s Chinese name: Du Ke Feng (like the wind).