In an insightful masterclass held during the Cannes Film Festival, renowned Iranian born cinematographer Darius Khondji talked about his inspirations, his craft and what it means to an artist to have his work recognized by a company such as Angénieux. They are of course, the world-renowned brand, known for their cinema lenses.
Cinema enthusiast and genius inventor, brand founder Pierre Angénieux laid the foundations of the modern zoom lenses and ensured his company’s continued success, which experienced an incredible destiny. So it is only fitting that the company honours a master DoP during the largest film festival in the world.
Khondji first worked away from his native Iran in 1995, with David Fincher on Se7en. For him it was the beginning of a long career in Hollywood, Europe, Asia and most recently in Mexico with Alejandro González Iñarritú. Khondji regularly collaborates with a series of directors: he worked on five films for Woody Allen, three for James Gray, including his latest Cannes title Armageddon Time and two for David Fincher.
Khondji has also been the cinematographer for some of the many music videos directed by Chris Cunningham, including Frozen for Madonna, Afrika Shoxfor Leftfield and Jay-Z's Marcy Me music video directed by Joshua and Ben Safdie. He has also collaborated with French visual artist Philippe Parreno on various projects.
