French director Coralie Farget has withdrawn her latest film Article From the Polish Camerimage Film Festival following the fallout from a controversial editorial written by the festival's founder and president, Marek Šidowicz.
Fargeat posted a short statement on its X account this morning announcing the move. The director also said that the film's director, Benjamin Crowne, will not travel to the cinematography-focused festival. Kračun was scheduled to participate in question and answer sessions at the festival.
“After discovering extremely offensive and misogynistic words from the director of the Camerimage Film Festival, I have decided to withdraw The Substance from the festival (and [director of photography] “Benjamin Crason has decided not to attend,” Fargit wrote.
“‘Matter’ is about the impact these types of behaviors have on our world. We should no longer tolerate them. We send our support to everyone involved in the festival and hope this decision helps bring about much-needed change.”
In his widely criticized article entitled “Time for Solidarity,” which was published last week in Al Harf magazine The world of cinematographyŻydowicz outlined the path he believes a cinematography-focused festival can take as the broader film industry continues to change rapidly. The biggest change, Sedovich posited, was the increasing prominence of female photographers and filmmakers. However, the thesis of Żydowicz's article was fleeting It was denounced by industry professionals and unions who said it was sexist.
The parts that sparked widespread criticism online were the part where Cedovic wrote: “Can we sacrifice works and artists with only outstanding artistic achievements to make room for mediocre productions?”
“While EnergaCamerimage seeks to recognize the contributions of women to cinematography, it also aims to maintain artistic integrity,” reads another highlighted by filmmakers like Reed Morano and Fabian Wagner. Change? Yes, but let's stay decent and honest. “It is about rapid development, not a fanatical revolution that destroys the cathedrals of art and topples its sculptures and paintings.”
Żydowicz's article was immediately denounced by several industry organizations such as the British Society of Cinematographers (BSE), which said that Żydowicz's words represented “an outdated idea of male superiority in the field and equates fairer representation of the sexes with lower artistic values.” Director Steve McQueen also backed out of his scheduled appearance at the festival where he was scheduled to present his latest film Raid And receive an honorary award.
The BSC's statement quickly gained support from the American Society of Cinematographers, which republished the letter on its website. Since then, similar statements have been shared by nearly a dozen industry unions, including the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, the Camera Operators Association, and the Network of Women Cinematographers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Camerimage is scheduled to begin this weekend in Toruń, Poland with a film screening Raid. McQueen was also up to receive an honorary award at the festival. Cameraimage is scheduled to close with Universal's offering evil Remix starring Ariana Grande. Cate Blanchett will chair the competition's jury.
