Every year at the Cannes Festival the “Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography” award is given to a director of photography whose work has marked cinema. In 2013 the award was given to Philippe Rousselot, Vilmos Zsigmond got it in 2014 and Roger A. Deakins in 2015, followed by Peter Suschitzky the year after that.

This year, which marks seventy for the Cannes Festival, cinematographer Christopher Doyle was honored with this award, celebrating a life in service of cinema.

The Australian-born, Hong Kong-based Doyle is known for having lensed films like, “In the mood for love” (2000) and “The Limits of Control” (2009). And while Doyle is well-known for his collabs with Wong Kar-wai he’s also worked with filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, Jon Favreau and M. Night Shyamalan.

In your opinion, what does a director need to do to facilitate a good working relationship with the DP?

Christopher Doyle: Drink together (from an interview in Moviemaker magazine)

A ceremony was held on Friday, May 26th, 2017 in the Bunuel theater inside the Palais des Festivals. The event was co-hosted by Juliette Binoche and Olivier Assayas, among others.

The ceremony in Cannes

Still from “In the mood for love”