ARTISTRY IN ABUNDANCE

The great and the good of the film and TV world gathered at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel for a glittering night of cinematic celebration as the talent of connoisseurs of screen craft was recognised at the BSC’s annual awards ceremony.  

Being the first event of the year to tie in with the Society’s 75^th anniversary celebrations, it was only fitting that the 68^th BSC Awards started in style with a reel honouring the incredible calibre of work produced by BSC members since the society’s formation. 

Stepping into the role of the host with the most for the first part of the evening’s proceedings was Oliver Stapleton BSC, complete with all his trademark wit and wisdom. BSC President Christopher Ross sadly was absent from the awards as he was “filming in remote, far flung corners of the globe”, something he highlighted – in a welcome speech read out by Stapleton – as “one of the great privileges of our craft” but which can also make attending such celebratory gatherings tricky at times.  

“After a very troubled year with labour disputes derailing an industry in its most productive period, it’s joyous to be brought together again in cinematic communion,” said Stapleton. “Thanks must go to each of you for this celebration of the cinematographic form – your support of the craft and of each other is what makes our community special. There’s a little bit of each of us in tonight’s nominees and awards recipients so celebrate yourselves alongside them.” 

The room paused for an important moment of reflection to remember the filmmakers, colleagues, and peers we had sadly lost in the past year – Ken Westbury BSC; Wally Byatt Assoc. BSC ACO; Colin Corby Assoc. BSC; Gordon Hayman Assoc. BSC ACO; and John Bailey ASC. 

Moving on to honour the innovation and dedication in the industry, the first award went to a “power house of the UK industry who has dedicated his working life to expanding the creative potential of camera movement and the safety and skill of its practitioners” – Dennis Fraser MBE, former key grip, MD of grip rental company Chapman UK, and honorary friend of the BSC. Accepting the award on the eve of his retirement, Fraser dedicated it to “all the grips that service you guys and look after you [cinematographers]. I’ve had a wonderful life and this is such a surprise.” 

Stuart Harris BSC was then presented with his certificate for full honorary membership by National Film and Television School alumna Annika Summerson BSC after Stapleton highlighted that “as well as being a great cinematographer, Stuart has also educated, mentored and inspired a whole generation of cinematographers with his work at the National Film & Television School, many of whom are in the room tonight.” 

Harris delivered a heartfelt speech remembering those who inspired him and shaped his filmmaking career before sharing why teaching held such a special place in his heart. “It’s tough to explain the feeling one gets when you see the careers of one’s students take off… I’m proud of each and every one of them. I needed to give back to this wonderful industry that gave me so much.” 

After guests enjoyed dinner and discussion with friends old and new, the event’s new master of ceremonies, Tristan Oliver BSC, hosted the second part of the evening, taking up the reins from Mike Southon BSC who held the role for the last five years. 

Chemical Wedding was the worthy recipient of the BSC Bert Easey Technical Award, recognising how the filmmaking world has been aided by the Artemis Pro and Helios Pro apps created by company founders, Toby Evetts, Simon Reeves, and Nic Sadler. “Our goal has been to try to establish tools to allow cinematographers to try to maintain themselves as the primary authors of the moving image – a role that’s been quite eroded over the last few years in the digital age. So it’s humbling that the filmmakers I admire the most find Artemis useful,” said Sadler in a recorded acceptance speech. 

Up and coming cinematographic talent was praised next as Jack Edwards and Ronnie McQuillan – the winners of BSC Short Film Competition, sponsored by ARRI – were presented with their prizes. Read about their award-winning work in the January/February issue of British Cinematographer. 

Camera operator Rodrigo Gutierrez ACO Assoc. BSC then took on the important role of presenting a special award inspired by the late Dee Edwards who was part of the GBCT for four decades, championing the work of camera crews in the UK. Introduced last year for the unsung heroes in the industry, the Dee Edwards Award recognises national and international talent and camera operators working on smaller films which have limited distribution in the UK. This year’s award recipient was Matthew Cree for his work as A camera operator on coming-of-age Canadian film Brother. 

The jury felt Cree’s operating and Guy Godfree’s cinematography, “consistently supported the narrative in a sympathetic and yet unsentimental manner, with confident composition and in depth, precise developing shots”. Further details about the Dee Edwards Award can be found on the GBCT website. 

More masterful operators were applauded with the revelation of the Operators Award for TV Drama winners. James Layton ACO Assoc. BSC and Justin Hawkins scooped the prize for their skilful work on Apple TV+ show Silo Episode 1 (“Freedom Day”), beating off stiff competition from nominees Edward Clark ACO (Black Mirror); Vincent McGahon ACO Assoc. BSC and James Harrison (Slow Horses); Matt Fisher ACO and Laura Dinnett Assoc. ACO (The Buccaneers); and Michael Carstensen ACO and Zoe Goodwin-Stuart ACO GBCT (The Witcher). 

Dreaming big 

Stapleton proudly presented the BSC Special Achievement Award (sponsored by Universal Production Services) to First Steps Cinematography – an important industry initiative founded by Fabian Wagner ASC BSC, camera operator Agnieszka ‘Aga’ Szeliga ACO, and focus puller Mitch Payne. The framework has allowed countless young and diverse filmmakers to begin their journey in film and television by placing mentees within camera teams where they can learn and observe the roles in the camera department.  

Wagner, Szeliga, Payne, First Steps trainee Sharad Patel (who worked on Venom 3) and one of First Steps’ first trainees Natalie Brown took to the stage to accept the award. “We are so proud to accept this award for all the people who have been fighting for diversity, equality, and inclusion in our industry. First Steps is about supporting and enabling people to become the best they can be and that for us should not be a financial or time consuming burden. It should be a shared responsibility for all of us. It’s not about meeting a quota, it’s about caring for the future of this industry. It’s not an obligation but an opportunity for all of us,” Wagner said. “We all have dreams. Ava DuVernay said this wonderful thing, ‘If your dream only includes you, it’s too small.’” 

The next award recipient – Jody Lee Lipes ASC – was in the middle of a shoot in Atlanta, so could not attend the ceremony to accept the prize for Cinematography in a TV Drama (sponsored by Pixipixel) for his work on Dead Ringers (“One”). Among those Lipes thanked in a recorded message was one of the series’ directors, Sean Durkin: “He hired me to shoot the first movie I ever shot, so I’ll always be indebted to him and I love working with him.” Nominees in the category were Stuart Howell BSC (A Small Light); Joel Devlin BSC (Bodies); Dan Atherton (Great Expectations); and Cathal Watters ASC ISC (Foundation). 

When revealing Angus Hudson BSC as the recipient of the BSC ARRI John Alcott Memorial Award, Kate Reid BSC highlighted his impact on the cinematographic community: “For many young cinematographers [he] has been the approachable face of the society… He has selflessly supported many on their journey to becoming cinematographers, working at the highest level of their craft. His gentle and honest guidance has allowed many younger DPs to prosper and become members and more still to aspire towards this future goal… In creating the New Membership Committee he has gifted the society with the tools to ensure its goals will stay alive, relevant and vibrant for many years to come.” 

The Feature Operators Award – presented by the BSC, ACO and GBCT – was handed out by Rob Hardy ASC BSC to Ossie McLean ACO SOC for his incredible operating on Saltburn. Congratulations to all of the talented nominees in the category: Scott Sakamoto SOC and Steven Matzinger SOC (Killers of the Flower Moon); Jonathan ‘Chunky’ Richmond (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One); Daniel Bishop ACO SOC Assoc. BSC (Tár); and Pete Robertson ACO SOC Assoc. BSC, Pete Batten ACO and Zoe Goodwin-Stuart ACO GBCT (Wonka).  

Mike Eley BSC then took to the stage to announce the much-anticipated recipient of the BSC Feature Award (sponsored by Cinelab). When Robbie Ryan BSC ISC’s lensing of Poor Things took the top prize, the cinematographer drew attention to the dominance of productions shot on film in the category. “Did anybody notice that all the nominees were shot on film? Celluloid forever!” he exclaimed before dedicating the award to Poor Things director and frequent collaborator, Yorgos Lanthimos. “He’s a master cinematographer. I’m just catching up with him every day and he’s a mad genius who I’m very lucky to work with and he makes great films. Thanks to Cinelab as well who did a great job. And thanks to all the other nominees – what great films they were, and all shot on film.” 

Ryan was nominated alongside fellow masters of the craft Hoyte van Hoytema ASC FSF NSC (Oppenheimer); Linus Sandgren ASC FSF (Saltburn); Rodrigo Prieto ASC AMC (Killers of the Flower Moon); and Matthew Libatique ASC LPS (Maestro). 

Another movie maestro’s work was celebrated as Phil Méheux BSC presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Anthony Richmond ASC BSC.  

“I shot my first feature when I was 25 years old and I’ve worked with some amazing directors… I’ve really had a very wonderful career,” Richmond said in a video message. “Now I teach cinematography at the New York Film Academy and I see that as a way of giving back. And by that I mean I could never have had the career I had without the help of Freddie Young [OBE BSC], Nicolas Roeg [CBE BSC] and John Wilcox [BSC] and a masterclass in filmmaking watching David Lean direct Doctor Zhivago when I was a clapper boy. So I consider myself to be very lucky.” 

Richmond’s sons George Richmond BSC and camera operator Jonathan ‘Chunky’ Richmond were on hand to collect the award, with George informing the audience his father “still insists on working and even at the age of 81 he couldn’t desert his students at the New York Film Academy, even for this.  

“Over 90 credits as a cinematographer, a career spanning six decades and a member of the BSC, ASC and the Academy, and the winner of a BAFTA aged 32 which in those days was unheard of. He was lucky to work with some of the greats throughout his career… He gave me a break into his camera department as a clapper loader but he never really made it as easy as that sounds now. He was pretty tough both with me and my brother Chunky and we were expected to work twice as hard as everybody else on the floor. He made it clear to us that for us to succeed in the camera department it would take dedication and lots of hard work.” 

The awards ceremony portion of the evening drew to a close with an auction for a special 75^th anniversary viewing glass – available in brass and silver – with proceeds going to the Mark Milsome Foundation. The commemorative viewing glass – known by many as a panglass – was engineered to the highest standard by UK company Arkane who specialise in crafting high-end grip and camera equipment. Designed for cinematographers, gaffers, and collectors and featuring Tiffen optics, the item will be limited to 250 pieces. The winning bidders on the night were Martin Smith and Carolina Schmidtholstein, raising £2,188 for the Mark Milsome Foundation. 

As always, the event would not be possible without a dedicated team of individuals including the BSC’s Audra Marshall and Helen Maclean whose passion for the society and the talented craftspeople at its core once again resulted in a spectacular awards ceremony to remember.