With the Cannes Film Festival well on the way and anticipation building up on who would win the Palme D’Or for the year, at least one person has already been honoured for his body of work as pioneering cinematographer.
Christopher Doyle is this year’s recipient of the prestigious Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography award that serves to recognise the works of iconic directors of photography. Past recipients include Philippe Rousselot (2013), Vilmos Zsigmond (2014), Roger A. Deakins (2015) and Peter Suschitzky (2016). These names may seem foreign to some of us but their works have left an indelible mark in cinema. Rousselot’s work can be seen in movies like A River Runs Through It and some of Tim Burton’s best movies. Zsigmond is famous for his work in The Deer Hunter and Close Encounters of The Third Kind. Roger A. Deakins is known for his brilliant cinematography in Shawshank Redemption and movies by The Coen Brothers including No Country For Old Men. Suschitzsky has had cult status as the man behind the camera in The Empire Strikes Back.
Doyle himself has seen the kind of recognition accorded mostly to film directors, no less because he has made a name for himself in Asia. In a recent interview with The Peak, done in time for the release of Saw Teong Hin’s You Mean The World To Me and shot by Doyle, the cinematographer displayed an impetuous, uninhibited side but his tempestuous nature belies the focus and eye that has lent a signature sumptuous colour palate and languorous, camera style to most of Wong Kar Wai’s films, influencing the way mainstream movies now shoot. A hint of his character can be detected in the frenetic camera work of Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express. The list of accolades he has gained as a result of his pioneering work is endless—Cannes being the zenith.
How did you come to love film–who or what inspired you?
Christopher Doyle (CD): I don’t love film. I love books. But I make films—how come I like swimming or dancing—I think it’s an aspect of life that suits you and somehow I happen to make films and I like to move, carry the camera…I like the intimacy of film. I’m always the closest to the actor. I like the challenge that you have to think on your feet. It’s not a career, it’s a way of living. What inspires me? Beer. Women. The sea. Colours. I think space especially, is very much a character. As a filmmaker, hopefully we give you the space—most films try and show you what’s happening. I think the films I prefer to make hopefully suggest something outside the frame, something more that gives you the space to make it your own.
Why Asia?
CD: Asia is part of my personality and the way I live. What matters to me is Asia. It started through language. I came to study Chinese—I didn’t even know where Hong Kong was! Language got me involved in theatre, dance and eventually film.
What drives you to make the next film?
CD: The last film drives me to make the next film. It’s a journey—what you’ve done before either excites you or disappoints you, suggests something that wasn’t there before.
Watch the videos on Christopher Doyle here. For more on Christopher Doyle and Saw Teong Hin’s movie You Mean The World To Me,Â
