Darius Khondji ASC AFC to receive Pierre Angénieux Tribute at Cannes

As an official partner of the Cannes Festival since 2013, the premium cinema lens manufacturer Angénieux hosts the “Pierre Angénieux Tribute” every year to celebrate an exceptional cinematographer’s career.

The star-studded special ceremony is opened by General Delegate Thierry Frémaux and presented by French journalist Pierre Zéni, at the Palais des Festivals. This event represents a unique opportunity to spotlight cinematographers, without whom cinema would not exist.

This year internationally renowned French-Iranian cinematographer Darius Khondji will receive the prestigious “Pierre Angénieux Tribute”.

He will be the ninth DP to receive this prestigious tribute after Philippe Rousselot AFC ASC in 2013, Vilmos Zsigmond HSC ASC in 2014, Roger A. Deakins BSC ASC in 2015, Peter Suschitzky ASC in 2016, Christopher Doyle HKSC in 2017, Edward Lachman ASC in 2018, Bruno Delbonnel AFC ASC in 2019 and Agnès Godard AFC in 2021.

Darius Khondji has shot with Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, among leading figures such as David Fincher, Bernardo Bertolucci, Alan Parker, Neil Jordan, Danny Boyle, Sydney Pollack, Michael Haneke, Wong Kar-wai, James Gray, Bong Joon-ho, Nicolas Winding Refn, Joshua and Ben Safdie, or most recently, with Alejandro González Iñarritú.

In addition to being the laureate at the tribute on Friday May 27, Darius Khondji will give an in-person cinematography Masterclass on Thursday May 26 in the morning. The class will be  moderated by journalist Jordan Mintzer (The Hollywood Reporter).

Darius Khondji, in an excerpt from a conversation with Philippe Parreno of Cinémathèque Française in 2017, said: “I am very attached to optics. It’s not always rational, more in the realm of inspiration, but it  has had an enormous importance since the beginning of my work. I am attached to the shape of the camera, its proximity to the body, to the eye”.