American Cinematographer - June 2014 - S7

scenes shot in the mid-day African sun were done on
KODAK VISION3 50D Color Negative Film 5203.
"I was amazed by how well the 50D holds the highlights,"
Ethiopian story earns
praise at Sundance, Berlin
On and off for eight years, director Zeresenay Mehari
worked to make Difret, his narrative feature debut, a reality.
A graduate of University of Southern California's School
of Cinematic Arts, Mehari's script depicted a bright,
14-year-old girl who is abducted into marriage, an ancient
tradition that is not uncommon in Mehari's native land of
Ethiopia. In the story, the girl fi ghts against this injustice,
shooting her would-be husband
in the struggle. A tenacious
lawyer from the city defends
the girl, who is caught between
the civil laws and old traditions.
After a couple of false starts,
he found fi nancing for the fi lm.
Angelina Jolie is among the
executive producers.
Mehari connected with
cinematographer Monika
Lenczewska, a graduate of
the American Film Institute
whose credits include multiple
lauded short fi lms, numerous
commercials, and the feature
fi lms B for Boy and Imperial
Dreams. Lenczewska was
impressed with the script, and
when Mehari mentioned he
wanted to shoot on 2-perf 35mm
fi lm, she offi cially signed on.
After scouting almost 50 locations in Ethiopia,
Lenczewska returned to Los Angeles for three weeks
of tests at Panavision, where she determined the right
combination of lenses and fi lm stocks. Her vision for the
tone was to keep it naturalistic. "The story is quite dramatic
already," she says. "It was important to me that the look
complements and underlines the characters without
overpowering the story."
About two-thirds of the shoot took place in urban
locations in and around Ethiopia's capital city, Addis
Ababa, with the remainder fi lmed in more rural locales.
The fi lmmakers considered creating a different look for
each world, but decided that the locations were naturally
distinct in character and that sharpening that distinction
photographically would have been overkill.
"Because it's a period piece, taking place in 1996, I
initially tested several sets of older lenses," she says. "I like
the look and softness of older lenses. But I ultimately found
that the PANAVISION Primos were the best fi t for the 2-perf
fi lm format along with my lighting approach, and therefore a
perfect match for what Difret required."
Lenczewska shot most exteriors on KODAK VISION3
250D Color Negative Film 5207, and interiors on KODAK
VISION3 500T Color Negative Film 5219. A few exterior
she notes. "The latitude was very helpful. One of our main
actresses has a very dark complexion, and there's a scene
where she's running through the forest. We shot it in the
middle of the day, and it was very contrasty. I was expecting
a somewhat rougher image, but it looks amazing. It was
a nice surprise, and that is the scene that everyone asks
about. To me, fi lm is the best format to shoot on, especially
for day exteriors. The texture and feel of it - I don't think
there's anything better."
Scenes were usually shot with two PANAVISION Golden
PANAFLEX GII cameras. The production also carried a
third camera, an ARRI 35mm camera set up for 3-perf,
for a few wider landscape and establishing shots. Exterior
scenes were usually lit with bounce, refl ectors, mirrors and
diffusion. Lenczewska says she
often benefi ted from cloudy
weather, which made for more
even, softer light. An overcast
sky was a very large soft source,
so the shadows were diffused
and the fall-off was very gradual.
Interior situations were
often complicated by the lack
of dependable power. For
day interiors, sunlight could
sometimes be bounced through
a window, but night interiors
occasionally brought fl icker
problems. Lenczewska did her
best to create a balance, knowing
that she could fi ne tune those
night interiors during the digital
intermediate.
"I'm old school in that I do
everything I can in front of the
camera," she says. "For the most
part, the dailies were in a very good place, thanks to our
strategy and thorough preparation."
During one weeklong stretch, the days would begin
with an hour-and-a-half drive followed by 45 minutes on
horseback. "We needed to make this journey to really
capture the beauty of the countryside," says Lenczewska.
"It was important for the movie. We couldn't have done it
without dependable fi lm cameras and a dedicated crew,
including D.J. Carroll, Frezgy Sultan and Greta Zozula. And
nothing really compares to the sturdiness of fi lm."
Difret won the Panorama Audience Award at the 2014
Berlin International Film Festival, and was nominated for
a grand jury prize at Sundance, where it took an Audience
Award in the World Cinema - Dramatic category.
"Movies like Difret are important because the stories
need to be heard," says Lenczewska. "Social issues can
be addressed through the journeys of individuals. When I
read a script and connect to it, the energy of the material
is why I'm there. Cinematography is a heavy job. You need
to love it. You need to strongly believe in the story and fully
commit to the vision of the director - and then you can go
anywhere."
Photos: Background: Tizita Hagere in Difret (Photo by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari).
Inset, this page: (l-r) Monika Lenczewska and Zeresenay Mehari prepare for a scene
in Difret.
American Cinematographer - June 2014

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