A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

While the music world’s gaze fell on the BRIT Awards, held that same night (11 February), it was the camera department who enjoyed a well-deserved evening in the spotlight at the 67^th annual British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) Awards.  

“There’s only one hot ticket and that’s right here,” remarked Christopher Ross BSC, the Society’s president, as he welcomed guests to London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel – a new venue for 2023. “Who needs Harry Styles when you’ve got Mike Southon (BSC, host) in that suit?” 

The awards toasted another year of incredible talent, innovation and creativity in the industry, culminating in James Friend ASC BSC taking home the Cinematography in a Feature Film Award for his lensing of anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front.  

The 2023 BSC Award winners are:

BSC Lifetime Achievement Award – Roger Pratt BSC 
Cinematography in a Short Film – Michael Filocamo (BSC Club, Baba) and Jack Edwards (Student, Whiteboy) 
The Operators Award – Television Drama – Vince McGahon ACO Assoc BSC (Slow Horses) 
Bert Easey Technical Award – Shotdeck 
The Operators Award – Feature Film – Daniel Bishop ACO Assoc BSC SOC (All Quiet on the Western Front) 
BSC Special Achievement Award – Jost Vacano ASC BVK 
Cinematography in a Television Drama Award – Ben Wheeler (The Tourist) 
BSC ARRI John Alcott Memorial Award – Dee Edwards 
Cinematography in a Feature Film Award – James Friend ASC BSC (All Quiet on the Western Front) 

First to be honoured was industry legend Roger Pratt BSC who, in becoming only the 18^th recipient of the BSC Lifetime Achievement Award, would join an exclusive club. Pratt’s work spans 35 films, from indie features to studio blockbusters, and his most memorable work includes Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985), Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa (1986), Mike Leigh’s High Hopes (1988), and Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).  

Although they only met once, Oliver Stapleton BSC took a great deal from his encounter with Pratt, while working for a company in London’s Neal’s Yard. “They wanted me to shoot a beer commercial. I didn’t drink beer, and I had no clue how to light a glass of beer,” Stapleton told the audience.  

Fortuitously, across the Yard was the Monty Python office, where Pratt was based, so Stapleton went to see if he had any advice. Pratt worked his magic and “in about ten minutes, there was this slow-motion, sparkling beer in front of me,” said Stapleton. “I said, ‘You’ve saved my life,’ then walked out and got the shot the next day.” 

Stapleton also shared some amusing anecdotes from Pratt’s collaborators, including Chris Newman. Newman and Pratt first met on a pick-up shoot for Gilliam’s Brazil around 1984, while the DP was “crawling in the dirt” on stage in Wembley setting up a shot. “They say when you wrestle a pig, you both get dirty but only one of you enjoys it. Clearly Roger was a man who was very happy to wrestle the set-up he wanted […] He would never let the reluctant shot win, no matter how dirty he had to get, and he always enjoyed it. After all, for him, filmmaking is a joy and I try to remember that.” 

It was fitting that the night’s guest of honour was someone who knows Roger Pratt so well – filmmaker and Python, Terry Gilliam. Pratt and Gilliam met shooting Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s Bridge of Death scene across a chasm in the Scottish mountains. Gilliam had asked for a wide-angle lens to be used and they were trying to position the camera so both sides of the bridge would be in shot. “I was about to give up when this young camera assistant reached down and offered us this very wide-angle lens. ‘This’ll do the job,’ he said. […] We put the lens on and it did the job – we got the shot.” 

What Gilliam didn’t know was how that lens arrived. Pratt had scrambled down the mountain, forded a river and up the opposite slope back to the camera truck, where he’d found an extra wide-angle lens, before running back up the mountain to deliver it to Gilliam. It marked the beginning of a decades-long collaboration and dear friendship.  

In 2010 Pratt was diagnosed with young onset familial Alzheimer’s disease, a very rare genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease that causes dementia in people at a much younger age than normal – as early as in their 30s. Pratt’s daughter, May Phillips, took to the stage on behalf of her father to accept the award. “I know Dad [is] so happy to receive this award in particular, from his peers,” she said. “[He’s] a great guy, a true collaborator, little to no ego, and a real love of film. Always laughing and joking, and with a twinkle in his eye that’s still there.” 

From an industry veteran to up-and-coming talent, recognised by the BSC Short Film Competition, sponsored by ARRI. Michael Filocamo triumphed in the BSC Club category for Baba, while Jack Edwards won the Student category for Whiteboy. Filocamo and Edwards have each won a one-week camera rental package from ARRI to boost their filmmaking career and we look forward to seeing what they work on next. 

Camera operators on some of the biggest shows of the year were nominated for the Operators Award – Television Drama, presented by the ACO, BSC and GBCT. The nominees were Joe Russell ACO, John Piggott ACO, Aga Szeliga Assoc ACO, and Tanya Marar ACO for House of the Dragon; Edward Clark ACO and Nigel Clarkson for SAS Rogue Heroes; Vince McGahon ACO Assoc BSC for Slow Horses; Jim McConkey SOC for The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel; and Fabrizio Sciarra ACO Assoc BSC SOC for Wednesday. 

It was Vince McGahon, A-camera operator, who was victorious for his work on the “Bad Tradecraft” episode of the Apple TV+ series. In a recorded message, McGahon thanked DP Danny Cohen BSC and his camera team, adding: “Slow Horses is one of those great jobs – a great cast and a great crew. […] We’re about to start shooting series four pretty much with the same people we started out with on series one.” 

Shotdeck, the filmmakers’ research tool containing the largest library of fully searchable, high-definition film images in the world, was this year’s recipient of the Bert Easey Technical Award, sponsored by PKE Lighting.  

Shotdeck’s founder, Lawrence Sher ASC, sent a pre-recorded message from the set of Joker sequel Folie à Deux. “I really wanted to celebrate the images that we create as cinematographers. I wanted [to build] a place which was a celebration of the moving image, one frame at a time, and that’s really what Shotdeck is at its heart.” 

The Operators Award – Feature Film saw competition from All Quiet on the Western Front’s Daniel Bishop ACO Assoc BSC SOC; The Banshees of Inisherin’s Des Whelan ACO Assoc BSC; The Batman’s Jason Ewart ACO; The Northman Chris Plevin ACO Assoc BSC; and Top Gun: Maverick’s John T. Connor SOC.  

Daniel Bishop triumphed for his work on the German-language Netflix drama, which involved an intense shooting process which he described as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It felt like the entire crew put their heart and soul into it. […] Filming war, filming soldiers and being in the trenches, and living so closely to the actors/soldiers… I think there’s still a little bit of me on the battlefield, and I think James (Friend ASC BSC, cinematographer) would say the same.”  

Touchingly, Bishop thanked his wife, Amy, for her support. “I’d like to talk about the fact that we have prolonged absences in our lives from family so this is for you, Amy.” Bishop also paid tribute to the career and influence of industry stalwart Deanne “Dee” Edwards in his speech, who passed away in late 2022.  

This year’s Special Achievement Award, sponsored by CVP, recognised Jost Vacano ASC BVK, whose oeuvre includes hugely successful war film Das Boot. As outlined by award presenter Nigel Walters BSC, Vacano is a fierce supporter of cinematographers’ rights and believed that he should have been better remunerated for his creative efforts which contributed to the success of Das Boot according to EU copyright law. After a decade-long fight culminating in 2016, he was awarded €475,000 in compensation and a 2.25% share of all future Das Boot earnings. 

In his speech, Vacano noted how when artists sell a painting, they receive a percentage of the sale, but this was not the case for cinematographers. He shared how he began his “second life” alongside his busy career, fighting for cinematographers to be recognised as artists, and his landmark lawsuit has paved the way for others in the industry to be fairly paid.  

Previous winner of the Best Cinematography in a Television Drama Award, Erik Alexander Wilson BSC, returned to present the same award to another deserving DP – this time, The Tourist’s Ben Wheeler BSC. Wheeler, who was surprised but delighted by his win, echoed Daniel Bishop’s comments about absence and family support. “This was a tough shoot,” he remarked. “I was away for four months from my family – a really tough decision in the middle of a global pandemic. But it’s the sacrifices that our families make that allow us to chase these dreams.”   

Wheeler fought off tough competition from Adriano Goldman ASC BSC ABC (Andor); Fabian Wagner ASC BSC (House of the Dragon); Florian Hoffmeister BSC (Pachinko); and Danny Cohen BSC (Slow Horses). Pixipixel was the category’s sponsor.  

One of the evening’s most touching moments came during the presentation of the BSC ARRI John Alcott Memorial Award. This year’s award was to the much-missed Deanne “Dee” Edwards (1955-2022), a champion of the craft who leaves behind an indelible legacy.  

Two of Edwards’ friends and colleagues, Mike Eley BSC and Oona Menges, shared their fond memories with the audience, which included Edwards’ brother, sister-in-law and niece. “Her fierce dedication in preserving the highest standards of the camera department will never be forgotten,” noted Eley. 

“Dee was such a force of nature that it’s hard to adjust to the reality that she’s not with us anymore,” Menges remarked. “She was forthright, fierce and eye-wateringly blunt, but honest and loyal – we loved her.”  

The ceremony culminated with the winner of the coveted Cinematography in a Feature Film Award revealed, sponsored by Cinelab. Up for the gong were: James Friend ASC BSC for All Quiet on the Western Front; Ben Davis BSC for The Banshees of Inisherin; Greig Fraser ASC ACS for The Batman; Mandy Walker AM ASC ACS for Elvis; and Florian Hoffmeister BSC for TÁR.  

Friend, whose lensing of All Quiet has also earned him an Academy Award nomination, noted upon collecting his award that he was “a very proud graduate of the Dee Edwards school”. Thanking his crew and supporters such as ARRI for helping him realise the film, he also followed Bishop and Wheeler in recognising his family’s efforts.  

“My daughter was born a year before this picture,” he said, “She woke up in the morning, saw my face, then I went out to Prague for a very long period of time. My wife was recording this video where Daniel (Bishop) and I were coming out of the elevator, and when we walked out she didn’t recognise me. It was one of the most heart-breaking experiences of my life and it opened up my world, to be honest. To our families […]!”  

And so another night dedicated to cinematographic success drew to a close. Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees, and thanks to the BSC’s Audra Marshall, Helen Maclean, Frances Russell, Duncan Bruce, and everyone else involved for putting on such a fabulous night. Thanks must also go to the stellar compere Mike Southon, who announced he was sadly stepping down from hosting duties at the awards.