American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 55

Photos by Karen Ballard, SMPSP; Jaap Buitendijk, SMPSP; Frank Masi, SMPSP;
Philippe Pavant de Ceccaty; Moune Jamet; and unknown photographers, courtesy of Helene Serra and the AC archives.

O

ver the course of his 40-year
career, Eduardo Serra, ASC,
AFC, has shot an extraordinary
range of films in many different
languages and countries, proving he is
equally at ease working alongside
American and European directors.
Through all this varied output, his
dedication to a soft, simple lighting
style that aims purely to serve the story
has won him the admiration of peers
on both sides of the Atlantic, and this
month, the ASC will honor him with
its International Award.
Born in Portugal in 1943, Serra
was first exposed to moving pictures at
age 4, when his parents started taking
him to see Disney cartoons at an
ornate Italian theater in Lisbon. As he
grew older, he watched the limited
feature films that passed the strict
Portuguese censorship of the time:
some American pictures, the British
Rank productions, and certain Italian
and French comedies. After briefly
considering a career in engineering, he
followed his primary interests in politics and film, getting involved in film
clubs at his university and writing a
weekly column for a newspaper
opposed to Salazar's dictatorship. At
age 19, he fled Portugal for Paris,
partly to avoid political persecution,
partly to avoid being drafted to fight in
the colonial war, but most importantly
to pursue a life in film. From its very
beginnings, his career would have to
be an international one.
In Paris, Serra devoured the
films he had not had access to in
Lisbon. During the first month he
arrived, in 1963, he saw more than 100
movies, virtually taking up residence at
the Cinémathèque and spending every
minute he could there for the next two
years. "I've probably seen about 95
percent of everything important made
between 1895 and 1955," he says. "My
favorite period is the end of the silent
era, from 1927 to 1929. I still think
that films like Sunrise, The Crowd, The
Wind, Lonesome and Wedding March
are unmatched achievements. I am
fascinated by the fact that they were

Opposite: A photo of ASC International Award recipient Eduardo Serra, ASC, AFC, from the
Serra family's archive. This page, top: Serra in Greece, 1965. Bottom: Serra looks out from
behind the camera.

www.theasc.com

February 2014

55



http://www.theasc.com

American Cinematographer - February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2014

Table of Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - Table of Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 8
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 9
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 10
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 11
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 12
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 13
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 14
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 15
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 16
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 18
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 19
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 21
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 22
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 23
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 24
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 25
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 26
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 27
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 28
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 29
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 30
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 31
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 32
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 36
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 42
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 43
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 44
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 45
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 46
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 47
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 48
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 49
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 50
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 51
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 52
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 54
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 56
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 57
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 58
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 59
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 60
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 61
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 62
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 63
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 64
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 65
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 66
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 67
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 68
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 69
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 70
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 71
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 72
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 73
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 74
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 75
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 76
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 77
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 78
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 79
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 80
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 81
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 82
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 83
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 84
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 85
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 86
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 87
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 88
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 89
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 90
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 91
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 92
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - February 2014 - Cover4
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