American Cinematographer - February 2020 - 62

Rhythms
of

Light

International Award honoree
Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC
constructs lighting like a
"musical piece"
By Benjamin B

"I used to try to conceptualize the film," says Bruno
Delbonnel, ASC, AFC, the Society's honoree for the 2020
International Award. "But that's an error of interpretation.
It's not about a concept. It's about finding the global
emotion of the film, or finding a general approach that
translates that emotion. Light is like music, and so is a script.
You have to find the music of the movie."
Delbonnel was born into a working-class family in
Nancy, eastern France, in 1957. His father had been active in
the French Resistance and joined the army following World
War II, serving in Indochina (Vietnam). When Delbonnel
was 6, the family of five moved to a suburb outside Paris.
The young man did not speak much, and a doctor recommended he take part in a team sport. He became a passionate rugby player, playing from the age of 8 to 25. He has
retained the sport's sense of teamwork and struggle.
62

February 2020

After studying philosophy at the Sorbonne and
taking some film courses, he obtained government funding
to direct a short film. He convinced the great Henri Alekan,
AFC (another ASC International Award winner) to shoot it.
Delbonnel says that his first and only film as a director was
a failure, but he did realize he wanted to learn to do what
Alekan did. He subsequently spent a dozen years working
as a camera assistant in commercials and features before
becoming a director of photography. His fourth feature,
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie, led to international recognition
in 2001, including an Academy Award nomination.
In 2005, the cinematographer won the ASC Award
for Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement (AC Dec. '04), for
which he also received another Academy Award nomination. He has so far garnered three other Oscar nominations
- for Joe Wright's Darkest Hour (AC Jan. '18), the Coen
brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis (AC Jan. '14) and David Yates'
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - as well as two
Camerimage Frogs and one César. Last year he was the
recipient of the Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens prize, which is
presented at Cannes.
Delbonnel's innovative cinematography has
enhanced numerous other memorable features with leading directors, including Alexander Sokurov's Faust; Tim
Burton's Dark Shadows (AC June '12), Big Eyes (AC Jan. '15)
and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children; the Coens'

American Cinematographer - 100 Years



American Cinematographer - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2020

Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2020 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - February 2020 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2020 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2020 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2020 - 3
American Cinematographer - February 2020 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2020 - 5
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