By Lars Petterson FSF
Danish cinematographer Andreas Fischer-Hansen DFF has passed away. He was 83 years old.
Andreas was a legendary figure in the international community of cinematographers and from 2003 to 2008 he was the president of IMAGO, the international Federation of Cinematographers. In 2009 he was appointed Honorary Member of IMAGO. For decades Andreas was a highly appreciated presence at cinematographic events all over Europe.
Andreas Fischer-Hansen was born 1941 in Copenhagen, and after studying Philosophy at the University of Copenhagen and a few years as assistant to a commercial stills photographer, he graduated in 1971 from the National Film School of Denmark, majoring in cinematography.
During a long and illustrious career, Fischer-Hansen worked as cinematographer on feature films and documentaries and also as Head of Department of Cinematography at The National Film School of Denmark as well as at the Baltic Film and Media School, Tallinn University, Estonia.
Andreas Fischer-Hansen´s extraordinary work to get IMAGO´s finances under control, after the Book project which resulted in a substantial deficit in 2003, most likely rescued IMAGO from dissolution. During Fischer-Hansen´s presidential period, IMAGO were set on a path of stability and expansion. The IMAGO Committee system was established, the first congress on Authorship rights were held in Huelva in collaboration with AEC, the IMAGO Oslo Digital Cinema Conference were established, and a declaration on working rights were launched in Lodz during Camerimage, and also, a Standard Model Contract for cinematographers were presented. His humour, warmth and thoughtfulness made him an ideal leader, one who’s quiet confidence helped others in finding common ground, understanding and a way forward together.
I met Andreas many times at various cinematographic events over the past decade, and one always had a pleasant time in his company. He had an ability to make you feel at ease and that you were among friends. He was treated with deference by those who knew him, and you almost had an impression of an elder statesman when he was around. And yet he always found time to sit and have a quiet chat with you, freely sharing his humour and knowledge of film.
As an example of his quiet mastery, in 2019 I had the pleasure of watching Andreas hold a Masterclass with Dan Laustsen ASC DFF at the brilliant IMAGO event ”Inspiration”, held in Vienna Austria. There were several other great Masterclasses during this event, which spanned over three days, and you could tell that the Moderators and DoPs involved had sweated blood in preparing those presentations. Peculiarly enough though, one had the impression that Andreas and Dan hadn’t gone beyond having a beer together the night before to prepare this.
And yet their Masterclass was brilliant, enlightening and inspiring. One felt like a privileged eavesdropper, listening in on a private conversation between two old friends.
I couldn’t say an unkind word about Andreas even if my life depended on it. It is almost too sad to comprehend that he has now been taken from us.
He leaves behind a great void, which unfortunately will remain just that. Empty.
