BSC Awards winners revealed: Robbie Ryan BSC ISC wins Feature award for Poor Things

Robbie Ryan BSC ISC has won the Best Cinematography In A Feature Film Award for his photography of the film Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures).

Four of the last five recipients of this award have gone on to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, including last year’s winner, James Friend ASC BSC for All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix). Ryan commented when accepting the award: “I want to pay tribute to Yorgos, he is an incredible artist and I learn something from him with each film. I also want to thank CineLab for their amazing work – all five of the nominees this year were shot on film, something we should all be celebrating”. Read about Ryan’s lensing of Poor Things in the cover story feature from the November/December issue of British Cinematographer.

In the Television Drama category, Jody Lee Lipes ASC was named the winner for his work on the Amazon Prime show Dead Ringers (Episode 1). This is the first wins for both Jody Lee Lipes and Robbie Ryan.

The Operators Award, presented by the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), Association of Camera Operators (ACO) and Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT) named Ossie McLean ACO SOC the winner for his operating on the film Saltburn (Warner Bros./Amazon MGM) and in the Television category James Layton ACO and Justin Hawkins were victorious for their work on the Apple TV+ show Silo (Episode 1).

The evening was marked with much celebration with Anthony Richmond ASC BSC receiving the BSC’s highest honour – their Lifetime Achievement Award. Richmond’s 50-year career has seen him shoot cinema classics such as Don’t Look Now (1973) and The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) to rock n’ roll music videos including the material used in Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back (2022). Mr Richmond was unable to attend the ceremony but his sons, George Richmond BSC and Operator Jonathan “Chunky” Richmond were on hand to accept the award in his stead.

The British Society of Cinematographer’s also awarded two cinematographers for their work in the short films, Jack Edwards and Ronnie McQuillan. Stuart Harris was invited as an Honorary Full Member in respect to his body of work, principally in the field of Commercials, and his commitment to education. Harris is currently Co-Head of Cinematography at the National Film and Television School. Angus Hudson BSC was awarded the BSC ARRI John Alcott Award for his services to the Society and the Cinematography community as a whole.

The BSC bestowed a Special Award on First Steps Cinematography – an education programme set up by Fabian Wagner ASC BSC and supported by Aga Szeliga ACO and Mitch Payne. The scheme works to place mentees on film sets so they can learn their way around the camera department. Some of the first mentees on the scheme were on stage to accept the award alongside Fabian, Aga and Mitch.

The Bert Easey Technical Achievement Award was awarded to Chemical Wedding. Chemical Wedding’s development of the Artemis and Helios Apps have helped change the way Cinematographers approach filmmaking.

The awards were held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London and hosted by Tristian Oliver BSC and Oliver Stapleton BSC. The BSC wishes to thank all of the sponsors who have helped make the evening happen.

Look out for a full event report of the BSC Awards in the March/April issue of British Cinematographer.