American Cinematographer - February 2021 - 74

ACROSS THE GLOBE

My Country, Cao shot in Xinjiang province,
where he and director Chen Kaige sought " to
express the relationship between people and
the environment, " Cao says. " We used a lot of
wide-angle lenses to show the state of these
two young men in this vast, desolate land. "
Having shot some of China's highest-grossing films to date, Cao has created a visual
language that has helped define how mass
audiences consume cinema in the country. " I
think it's great that more and more people in
the nation are seeing the films and feel moved
by them, " he says. " I hope it means that we're
sharing a sensibility - a mutual affinity for
this kind of visual experience. "
The cinematographer's latest feature, the
historical war drama The Eight Hundred, which
details the defense of Sihang Warehouse, part
of the Battle of Shanghai, presents a crystalized
version of this method. The equally intimate
and expansive war epic - directed by Guan Hu
and shot in Shanghai on Arri's Alexa 65 with
custom-tuned Prime 65 lenses - was envisioned as " a cinematic poem, " Cao says. Some
scenes were lit in the dark Sihang Warehouse,
where most of the plot unfolds, in an attempt
to " capture light in the darkest night. " In many
cases, Cao operated the camera himself - a
method that perhaps allows him to be closer
emotionally to the world he is capturing.
Characterized by sharp and dense textures,
74 / FEBRUARY 2021

a hyper-immersive approach to composition,
meticulously designed color schemes, and a
stylized blend of natural and artificial lighting, the visual style of the production gives
the viewer a heightened, inherently cinematic
sense of reality. " To me, films are all like different kinds of dreams, " Cao says. " As a cinematographer, the images you create should be
striking, but a sense of reality must still exist.
If the viewer thinks that a single scene is not
real, then they will think the entire film is false.
But when the whole film has a certain sense of
reality, then the viewer can feel like they are in
a dream.
" Even though we're a country with strong
film censorship, the fact that a film can still
resonate so strongly with the Chinese audience is inspiring; it's difficult to accomplish, "
the cinematographer says. As the country continues to grow at a rapid pace and announces
its presence on the world stage, Cao feels that
the visual language should also become more
global. " China looks to integrate into the world
as a whole - it doesn't intend to just exist as
this separate entity in the East. I think my visual style represents this way of thinking as well. "

Mexico
Global Outlook
By Tara Jenkins

Carlos R. Diazmuñoz, president of the Mexican
Society of Cinematographers (AMC), feels confident about the direction of the Mexican film
industry heading into 2021. " One thing about
the culture in Mexico is that we are definitely
go-getters. We're very optimistic, so production
is slowly picking up, " he says, including commercial and television work such as the Netflix
series Selena, which completed production in
Tijuana in late 2020 after being shut down earlier in the year due to Covid-19.
While the industry is making strides to return to normal, Diazmuñoz notes that this
is also a time of change for the Mexican motion-picture industry. " The Mexican tax incentives for filming are going through some
alterations, " he explains. " There is talk of fusing
the current incentives that are available. One
positive aspect of the pandemic is that there are

a lot of non-union groups uniting through the
Mexican movement [during] this crisis to look
out for their labor rights.
" Most importantly, " he adds, " Mexican viewers are supporting the Mexican cinema. Our
outlook on cinema is different; it's global. Our
culture is very rich, and we are almost native
artists thanks to our upbringing. As children,
many of us took field trips that exposed us
to world-renowned artists and our country's
vast pre-Hispanic culture. Mexico is a country
enhanced by and full of influences from other
countries, not only through colonization, but
through the many foreigners who decide on
their own to live here. It's a country full of color
not only through our arts and crafts, but also
our culinary variations, which have been influenced by our amazing pre-Hispanic background and also European styles of cuisine. "
This global outlook, he says, is also prominent within the AMC. " Our cinematographers
are recognized worldwide, and that is not only
thanks to the established big names. We have
women [AMC members] who are extraordinary
and reside all over the world. We are open to
global culture and are not closed in. We have a
lot of up-and-coming filmmakers we are very
proud to have in the AMC. "
He adds that it's not just prominent Mexican cinematographers who have " captivated
the world with Hollywood blockbusters " - Diazmuñoz also mentions the rise of directors
such as Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro,
Michel Franco, Alejandro G. Iñarritu and Carlos Reygadas. " Since the previous golden era
of filmmaking - and now, with the new era of
films and television series - we are believing
more and more in our capabilities as filmmakers, and the general public also believes in us
more than ever. This kind of cultural recognition provides deep motivation that tells us anything is possible when you are determined to
share unique stories - whether those stories
are filled with family values, mishap or mysticism. Our culture has always been family-oriented and extremely close, so seeing Mexican
artists and filmmakers recognized throughout
the world can also nurture a culture of future
filmmakers - and demonstrate the support

Photo by Pablo Grillo, courtesy of Carlos Diazmuñoz, AMC.

AMC President Carlos R. Diazmuñoz with
director Jennifer Sharp while shooting
Una Great Movie.

" We are open to global culture and are not closed
in. We have a lot of up-and-coming filmmakers we
are very proud to have in the AMC. "

American Cinematographer - February 2021

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