PRACTICE MAKES PICTURE-PERFECT

Filmography so far (project title, director, year released)  

Narrative: Quiet Life (2024), directed by Ruth Pickett (BFI London Film Festival 2024, Aesthetica Film Festival 2024, Norwich Film Festival 2024) House Party (2023), directed by William Boyd. (Official selection Encounters Film Festival 2023) Octopus (2022), directed by Ella Glendining. (Official selection BFI Flare 2022, Norwich Film Festival 2022) Losing Grace (2021), directed by Athena Mandis, produced by Aegis Film Productions. (Best Cinematography The North Film Festival 2022, Manchester Film Festival 2022).  

Commercials: UEFA, Google, Samsung, Amazon, Adidas, Santander, Lloyd’s Bank, Crisis, BBC Proms, Chelsea FC, Badoo and Renault. 

When did you discover you wanted to be a cinematographer and what inspired you to follow this career path?  

It began when I was around seven years old and I started doing theatre in school. Since then, I wanted to be an actor and work in films and theatre. That together with my love for writing and reading books was the perfect combination to know that I wanted to work telling stories even though I didn’t know how or if it was possible. Eventually I decided to study a Masters in Directing at Bournemouth University in 2013 where I realised how in love I was with the image and the power it carries.  

Where did you learn your craft?  

I’ve always loved painting and drawing, the presence of colours, the compositions you create. That somehow built the visual taste I have now. But I really started to learn the craft when I came to London in 2014 and bought a Canon 5D Mark III. I started doing small projects, filming, directing and editing them myself, getting creative to get interesting results with almost no resources and assisting in other shoots as second AC. Not being able to study cinematography in a film school always concerned me and made me question my work or knowledge but now I’m so grateful I got to experience a different route that taught me how to make the most out of a situation with limited resources.  

What are your favourite films, and what makes them stand out to you?  

The Grand Hotel Budapest (2014). Wes Anderson, DP Robert D. Yeoman ASC. I love how the cinematography and the set design transports you to a real yet fantasy world more of a fairy tale rather than the real world. The Killing of a Sacred Deer, 2017. Yorgos Lanthimos, DP Thimios Bakatatakis. For me this film is a masterclass in the use of zooms and slow dolly shots that combined with the music and the edit creates the perfect tension and uncanniness. Incendies, 2001. Dennis Villeneuve, DP André Turpin. What is not to like about this film. The use of dolly shots, close-ups, music and how the edit progresses the story jumping between the characters make the transitions between past and present so seamless.  

Who in the film world inspires you?  

Joachim Trier as a director and Ruben Impens SBC as cinematographer. Trier has demonstrated a unique style on the way he introduces his characters in his films, with a very clever use of montages and voice overs that he always masters. And Impens’ work in films such as The Eight Mountains, Raw or Titane is impeccable. I find him to be very versatile and adaptable to the stories he tells.  

What’s the most useful advice you’ve received and from whom?  

My dear friend Michael Paleodimos, who I used to 2nd for, always told me that as director of photography you don’t need to know everything. I always felt I lacked technical knowledge due to myself taught journey and that used to make me insecure. But with DPs such as Michael or Bart Sienkiewicz I got to see a very human side of cinematography and understand how to work closely with amazing people who can support you in the areas you are not experienced with.  

What advice would you give someone considering becoming a cinematographer?  

Persistence. It’s not easy and there will be many days you question your choices and skills. But it’s with time that you will realise your progression and how far you have come. It’s about the long run and about being proactive but also gentle with ourselves.  

What have been your greatest triumphs and disasters on set?  

I think every single project consists of a series of disasters and triumphs. That’s why we are so resilient right? One of those disastrous situations happened during the shoot of BFI Network Cuppa Chai shoot, where suddenly two of the key lights went off and we didn’t have time to change bulbs. Then the follow focus stopped working and doing handheld while trying to focus on the barrel of a non-rehoused Cooke Panchro lens wasn’t very smooth.  

For triumphs, every project you get to wrap and you feel you got what is needed to tell a story is a triumph. But maybe, close to my heart is the shoot of Octopus. I had to film in the sea a very touching scene without housing for the camera. It was tense trying to not get the kit get wet but it all went perfect. When we finished, a storm broke as we were covering the camera. I got soaked so I jumped back inside the water when a huge rainbow appeared and metres away a cute seal just turned up. If magic exists, it was definitely present in that moment.  

What lights your fire outside of work?  

I absolutely love cooking, plants and animals. If I have to change career I might have to open a tapas bar with tons of plants, maybe some cats jumping around and where you would have to try my delicatessen croquetas.  

What has been the biggest challenge in your career and how did you overcome it?  

When I first came to London I started working as a videographer and it was hard to do that transition from that world, that requires a totally different set of skills, into cinematography, where you get to lead a team and craft with more time and resources the image that you want to capture. It was difficult to be taken seriously and be perceived as a cinematographer without going to film school or having contacts. However, working in so many low budget projects during almost 10 years taught me so much and every project that I did took me to the next level.  

Which film would you love to have shot?  

Beautiful Beings, directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson and cinematography by Sturla Brandth. I love the balance between rawness and poetry in the lighting and camera movements, that handheld style with the more emotional approach in the close ups takes you into this journey with the young characters, staying with them all the time.  

Which productions are you most proud to have lensed and why?  

In 2018 I did Never going to beat you , feature film directed by Michael Buckman, shot over five days working with non-actors. It was intense. Shot completely in a black box studio and minimalist set, inspired by film Dogville by Lars Von Trier, we had to use lighting to differentiate seasons of the year, locations of the story, time of the day and emotions of the specific scenes. Art was minimal so lighting and performance became the two main narrative tools. It was a very rushed shoot, but I was very pleased with what we achieved and still today I think that project meant a big improvement in my approach.  

What’s the best and worst thing about your job?  

The best thing is that every day is different, from location to story, people you are working with, techniques used and then all the random crazy situations we get to experience every now and then. The worst part: the uncertainty of when the next job is going to come. When the phone doesn’t ring, you get to question if you are making the right decisions, working hard enough or meeting the right people. You need to remember the progress you’ve made and not compare yourself with others.  

How would you best describe your approach to cinematography?  

For me the most important thing is the story, understanding what we want to say before focusing on how to say it. Then after understanding the story, I like talking about the rhythm, trying to imagine or envision how the edit will play and how we want the audience to respond.  

What are your aspirations for the future?  

I’d love to work more in long form projects. Working in short form has taught me so much, but I’d love to get immersed for longer periods of time into a specific world and take your time to develop a story and its visual style. In my early career years, I had the chance to do some low budget feature films, but I feel way more ready now for what working in long form requires so I’m up for the challenge.  

What do you think are the industry’s biggest challenges?  

From conversations with producers, it seems that budgets are getting more and more constrained. The current platform model doesn’t look like it can be sustainable either. How to maintain the quality of work into a mass production approach? In combination with the new technologies and the appearance of AI, it feels like the future is a bit uncertain. I don’t know what the solution is, but I hope that whatever change that might occur includes a change of the long hours, the uncertainty and the lack of institutional support that film crews go throu