The Roads for Imago beyond Rome.

The Rome Conference in March 2010 will be regarded as a landmark event in the progress of Imago. Formed eighteen years ago in Europe to improve standards of Cinematography and forge understanding through sharing and communication, the IAGA returned to the home of Imago’s founder, Luciano Tovoli AIC, ASC. Thanks to the hard work of the AIC members, young and old, and the generosity of its many sponsors, the Cinecitta Studios hosted this highly successful conference with delegates present from twenty-eight of Imago’s thirty-eight international Societies.

Japan was represented for the first time as was New Zealand. There was a comprehensive agenda to work through but amongst the delegates there was a spirit of fellowship and determination to solve their common problems. Those who have worked so hard to make a success of the dream of Luciano must have had great pride in the realisation that those early aspirations of international understanding through friendship and contact have matured into reality.
Delegates were welcomed on behalf of Cinecitta Studios by its managing director Maurizio Sperandini and the President of the Italian Society Alessio Gelsini Torresi AIC.

In his opening address of thanks to the Studio executives for their generosity, the President of Imago, Nigel Walters BSC also thanked Dr Cristina Busch, Imago’s legal adviser, who has presented a strategy for the future progress through “The Guiding Principles of Imago’s Campaign for Cinematographers Authors Rights.” In the afternoon session Mercedes Escherer, founder of the EUXXL joined Cristina by outlining the importance to cinematographers of the Vienna Forum. This three days Forum in May is intended to provide a consensus for future progress in working conditions for the cinematographer and crew. It is also an important step forward to achieve author’s rights for Cinematographers. The conference is also designed to find solutions to the difficulties in securing EU funding to finance the many issues Imago faces, not least in education meeting the challenges posed by advances in new technology.

The Financial Report was presented by General Secretary, Louis-Philippe Capelle SBC. At the end of 2009 Imago has a balance of 7,890 Euros. The Bank account has now been moved to Brussels and the Federation will have a permanent Bank account and be legally registered in Brussels.
A resolution was presented and adopted to raise the membership fee from 15 Euros to 20 Euros from each member of each Society. It was agreed that this proposal should be referred back to receive the approval of all Imago Societies. (The BSC Board has already discussed this proposal and given its blessing on principle).
Dr Cristina Bush in her “Guiding Principles of Imago’s Campaign...” warns clearly that without proper funding the Imago campaign is doomed to failure.”

The warm welcome to the Japanese representatives, their President Kitaro Kanematsu and Koichiro Ishida, marked a dramatic step forward in the aspirations shared by all delegates. It was assisted by the translation of Mami Usui Capelle. The JSC is over 55 years old and has almost 300 members. A major activity is education where the JSC has started its own school of cinematography.
The IAGA thanked Kitaro Kanematsu and Leon Narbey representing the New Zealand Society after they has addressed delegates. All roads lead to Rome but Leon Narbey’s was the longest journey.
This warm welcome was also extended to delegates from the Israeli Association of cinematographers, the ACT who were represented by their President, Idane Or and Giora Bajech, who won the Golden Frog at Plus Camerimage in 2009 for his work on the film “Lebanon”. It was pointed out that the Israeli Society was organised on similar lines to the German Society, many members, but with only a chosen “elite” of cinematographers. In the case of the ACT this represents some fifty cinematographers.
The Israeli Society, the ACT, was voted the 38th Society to join the Federation. Next year in Tallinn, Estonia, Imago hopes for an extension to its international fellowship by Societies joining from South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, China or Singapore. The Japanese delegates made a commitment to assist this quest. The Irish are in the process of founding a Society as are the Albanians.

The Technical Committee’s main report for 2009 highlighted the 60 frame rate proposal which has been adapted universally. In the coming year the Committee will work on several topics including the important challenge of SuperDPX, the standardization of the digital negative, Rolf Haan FNF reported.

For the Hungarian Society , Elemer Ragalyi HSC and Peter Dubovitz HSC, presented ambitious plans to celebrate the twentieth Anniversary of the foundation of the HSC . They announced the intention to host a World Conference of Cinematographers later this year, probably in the last week-end of November, with a main theme of “How to remain Competitive in a New World”. Budapest is the European city of Culture in 2010 and the HSC plans to host a major film screening from each Imago Society.

The Norwegian Society through Paul-Rene Roestad FNF presented it proposals for the year. These include a DSLR Master Class with Philip Bloom on May 19th and May 20th. There will also be a repeat of the popular Inspirational Master Class of 2008. This will be held in Oslo on September 3rd, 4th and 5th and a third successful Digital Cinema Forum in Oslo is scheduled for May 8th, 9th and 10th 2011.

The Netherlands are publishing a book of interviews with world renowned cinematographers such as Christian Berger AAC , Roger Deakins BSC ASC and (a great friend of Imago) Bruno Delbonnel AFC ASC. Finance for the project is already in place and it is intended to distribute copies to each member of each Imago Society. This proposal was presented by Hermann Verschuur and Bart van Broekhoeven of the NSC and unanimously accepted by the delegates.

The Vice president of Imago, Ivan Tonev BAC delivered a report on how the Imago Model Contract had been translated into Bulgarian and implemented successfully in his country. This a direct repost to those who doubted the value of the Contract originally.

Marek Jicha ACK from the Czech Republic introduced a new International Festival of Cinematography in Ostrava to be held between the 27th September and October 3rd. Imago intends to seek further clarification and possibly send an observer this year if invited

Ron Johanson introduced a discussion on virtual Cinematography. Delegates agreed how important it was that Imago has a definite standpoint on this contentious issue, especially following the Oscar Award to Avatar. Rolf Haan FNF proposed that the Imago Technical Committee examine the issue in collaboration with the Australians.

The distressing plight of Plus Camerimage was debated, after an introduction by the President of the PSC Andrzej Jaroszewicz. A resolution was drafted and later passed unanimously. It can be read on this web site.
 

Also Guillermo Navarro’s proposal for Film Heritage, which was suggested as a project worth supporting to Imago by Thierry Perronnet of Kodak, was unanimously supported.Also separate item on Web site.

Imago would like to express its appreciation to the AIC, their sponsors outlined below, and Mr Roberto Jarratt and Diana Apostol of Panalight, for all their support and dedication in making this IAGA such a success. Imago also appreciated the appearance of Vittorio Storaro at the Technicolor Laboratory in Rome. He never fails to entertain and inform. De Luxe and Technicolor pulled out all the stops by providing two memorable evening gatherings.
Thank you to Arri Italia, Cartocci F.111, Cartoni, Ciak Italia, Cinecitta, Cinetech Italiana SRL, DeLuxe, Eurolab, Fuji Film, Ianiro, Iride SRL K5600, Kodak, Lite Panels, Panalight, Piumaworld Srl, Rosco Laboratories and Technicolor. Imago is also grateful the support of the Provincia di Roma.

A warm welcome return to the Imago Board was accorded Luciano Tovoli ASC AIC. Richard Andry AFC replaces Robert Alazraki AFC who has resigned due to work pressures after many years of faithful service to Imago.
Apart from these two new members the Board was re-elected and subsequently new Committees have been appointed as listed separately.
At invitation from Meelis Veeremets ESC to hold the IAGA in Tallinn, Estonia was extended for the second time to Imago. The Conference pledged financial and logistical support for one of its smallest Societies to ensure the success of the proposal. Australia and France are in the line to host in subsequent years.
Conferences can often be marked by small gestures in private from one delegate to another. The Danish delegation returned to their homeland to seek ways at assist the Ukrainians improve their facilities and standards. By such criteria success can also be judged.
Nigel Walters BSC
Imago President.

The IMAGO Board: (Two year period)
Nigel Walters BSC President:
Ivan Tonev BAC Vice President
Louis-Philippe Capelle SBC General Secretary
Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC Board Member
Richard Andry AFC Board Member
Paul-Rene Roestad FNF Board Member.

Imago Technical Committee: (Three Years)
Kommer Kleijn SBC
John Christian Rosenlund FNF
Joe Dunton BSC
Hakan Holmberg FNF
Philippe Ros AFC (to be agreed by AFC)
Rolf Coulanges BVK
Bastiaan Houtkooper NSC (to be agreed by NSC)

Master Class Committee: (Three Years)
Astrid Heubrandtner AAC
Ines Carvalho AIP
Jan Weincke DFF
Hermann Verschuur NSC
Birgit Gudjonsdottir BVK
Rolf Coulanges BVK
Elemer Ragalyi HSC
Ron Johanson ACS
 

Authorship Committee : (Three Years)
Luciano Tovoli AIC
Tony Forsberg FSF
Marek Jicha ACK
Porfirio Enriques AEC
Kurt Brazda AAC

Working Conditions Committee : (Three Years).
Tony Costa AIP
Andreas Fischer-Hansen DFF
Rolv Haan FNF
Timo Heinanen FSC
Moritz Gielsemann AAC
Meelis Veeremets ESC
Or Idan ACT .

Election Committee (Three Years):
Kurt Brazda AAC
Jan Weincke DFF

Public Relations Committee
Tony Costa AIP

Cover Picture - IMAGO Board-
Left to Right ; Nigel Walters BSC President, Luciano Tovoli ASC AIC, Louis-Philippe Capelle SBC General Secretary, Ivan Tonev BAC VicePresident, Richard Andry AFC,  Paul-Rene Roestad FNF