Adam Sikora Recognized by Variety
On January 29, Variety magazine published its list of ’10 Cinematographers to Watch in 2013′. One of the ten recognized lensers is Polish cinematographer Adam Sikora.
Adam Sikora in Top 10
“From Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia and South America, Variety‘s crop of rising lensers is a typically international lot with atypically special gifts,” as is stated in the press release on the Variety website.
Cooperation with Lech Majewski
Variety writer Iain Blair states that it’s no surprise that Adam Sikora wanted to be a painter before focusing on the moving image. Blair notes the role that studies at the National Film School in Łódź played in Sikora’s life, and about his big break and defining moment for his style of cinematography that came with working on Lech Majewski’s Wojaczek (1999). Two other projects played a significant role in Sikora’s filmography, both by Majewski and both focusing on painters: Angelus in 2001 and Młyn i krzyż (The Mill and the Cross) in 2010. The latter film was co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.
Cztery noce z Anną (Four Nights with Anna) and Essential Killing
Variety also mentions Adam Sikora’s cooperation with director Jerzy Skolimowski on his latest two projects. “Jerzy’s a great director and Essential Killing was another important film for me — but very difficult,” Sikora told Variety. “We shot one part in Poland, one part in Israel, which doubled for Afghanistan, and one part in Norway, which was freezing. And moving between all the locations wasn’t easy.” For his work on Essential Killing, a film co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Adam Sikora was nominated for the European Film Awards in 2011.
Ve stinu (In the Shadow)
In his article, Iain Blair also mentions Sikora’s latest projects, including the Polish-Czech-Slovakian co-production Ve stinu (English title: In the Shadow; Polish title: W cieniu), directed by David Ondříček. To quote the article: “‘We went for a very ’50s film language and look,’ says Sikora, who referenced ‘Hitchcock and noir’ for his evocative, drab palette.”
Adam Sikora’s work on In the Shadow was recognized by the Association of Czech Film Critics and brought him the Czech award for Best Cinematography.
“Images Are Not Just About Beauty”
Variety‘s profile on Sikora also describes the d.p. greatest inspirations and his favourite tools. Iain Blair also mentions Adam Sikora’s latest project – Miłość w Mieście Ogrodów (Love in a Garden City), which is to be shot later this summer in Poland. “For me, images are not just about beauty, but also about meaning,” sums up Sikora in a quote at the end of Blair’s article.
Ten Cinematographers to Watch
The remaining nine photographers on Variety’s list of ‘Ten Cinematographers to Watch’ are:
- Nicolas Bolduc – War Witch cinematographer;
- Natasha Braier – XXY and The Milk of Sorrow cinematographer;
- Inti Briones – The Loneliest Planet cinematographer;
- Eigil Bryld – House of Cards series cinematographer;
- Chung-hoon Chung – Oldboy cinematographer;
- Oscar Faura – The Orphanage and Julia’s Eyes cinematographer;
- Jakob Ihre – Oslo, August 31st cinematographer;
- Mattias Montero – Faro cinematographer;
- Linus Sandgren – Promised Land cinematographer
Source: www.variety.com.
Marta Sikorska
Translated by Karolina Kołtun