EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2023: ‘The New Boy’, ‘Napoleon’ and ‘Maestro’ among Main Competition line-up

With just a month to go, EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival has revealed the first three films that will be screened as part of the Main Competition this November.

Australian drama The New Boy is from Australian auteur of Aboriginal descent Warwick Thornton, who is not only the film’s writer and director but also its cinematographer. It’s a spiritual story of a young boy (Aswan Reid) is brought to a remote monastery in 1940s Australia run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett). When the young orphan becomes transfixed with the Christ’s message, the nun is faced with one of the most difficult decisions of her life.

Ridley Scott’s latest collaboration with cinematographer Dariusz Wolski ASC is Napoleon, an epic film following the rise and fall of the French military leader (Joaquin Phoenix). Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed. Camerimage is hosting the first festival screening of the project and Wolski will be introducing the film and participating in a Q&A following the screening.

Leonard Bernstein’s life is seen through the lens of writer-director Bradley Cooper and DP Matthew Libatique ASC in Maestro. Maestro shows the magnitude of Bernstein’s genius but also depicts the mosaic of his private life.

EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival takes place from 11-18 November 2023.