EMIFF announces Erik Messerschmidt ASC as first award honouree of 2023

Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival (EMIFF), Mallorca’s premier annual event for international filmmakers, will this year celebrate the work of Oscar-winning DOP Erik Messerschmidt ASC, by honouring him with the prestigious Cinematography Icon Award, which will be presented at the festival’s Opening Night Gala on October 18th, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

The festival’s Cinematography Focus, a new sidebar programme introduced last year, welcomes Directors of Photography from across the world to participate in panels, networking events, and screenings. As guest of honour this year, Messerschmidt will participate in events within the sidebar and the festival will screen his Oscar winning MANK, showcasing just some of his extensive body of work. 

Having lensed two of the most talked about films at this year’s Venice film festival – Ferrari, directed by Michael Mann and The Killer by David Fincher, Messerschmidt also recently wrapped Sinking Spring, for director Ridley Scott and Apple TV+. 

Previously, he shot Fincher’s passion project Mank, chronicling the screenwriter Herman 

Mankiewicz’s turbulent journey to write Citizen Kane alongside Orson Welles. Messerschmidt’s meticulous and striking black-and-white recreation of the period’s aesthetic earned him the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, an ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography in a Feature Film, a BSC Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Release, a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Cinematography, as well as Best Cinematography award nominations from multiple film critics bodies.  

Other credits include Devotion for director J.D. Dillard; several episodes of the HBO Max original series Raised by Wolves from producer Ridley Scott; and the first and second seasons of Fincher’s Emmy-nominated hit thriller series, Mindhunter for Netflix. 

This year, EMIFF welcomes ARRI as a new official sponsor for the 2nd annual Cinematography Focus. Renowned cinematographers from around the globe will once again share their expertise in world-class panels and masterclasses, ensuring an unparalleled educational experience for aspiring filmmakers and enthusiasts alike. This focus is proudly supported by media partners British Cinematographer, Camera & Light, and by production company and equipment rental facility Palma Pictures – a new sponsor for 2023.  

The festival this year also welcomes editor-in-chief of American Cinematographer magazine, Stephen Pizzello as an official Jury member in the Best International Feature Film Category, together with award winning producer Nurhan Sekerci-Porst.  

Previous award honourees and guests of the festival have included Asif Kapadia, Marjane Satrapi, Lone Scherfig, Ruben Östlund, Wim Wenders, Danny Devito, Mads Mikkelsen, Melissa Leo, Angela Molina and Ana de Armas – and to launch last year’s Cinematography Focus, Ed Lachman, John Boorman and Larry Sher.  

The full EMIFF screening programme for 2023 will be announced via a press conference in Mallorca in early October, with Opening and Closing Night films, additional festival Honourees, centrepiece feature films and EMIFF’s panels and industry discussion events, to be unveiled in the coming weeks. 

EMIFF has been proudly supported by the Fundació Mallorca Turisme.