PIERRE ANGÉNIEUX TRIBUTE to SANTOSH SIVAN and ANGÉNIEUX SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENT to KADRI KOOP (Estonia)

From left to right : Jawed Ashraf, Preity Zinta, Santosh Sivan, Emmanuel Sprauel, Mélanie Laurent, Kadri Koop, Dominique Rouchon & Suzel Pietri. Copyright: Pauline Maillet

The Pierre Angénieux ceremony, an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival since 2013, was opened by Thierry Frémaux, Delegate General of the Cannes Film Festival and presented by French journalist Charlotte Lipinska. This year was dedicating it to Indian cinematographer Santosh Sivan (A.S.C*, I.S.C*), who also gave a masterclass on May 23,  in the presence of the Ambassador of India, Jawed Ashraf.

The honorary godmother of this exceptional evening was the French actress and director Mélanie Laurent.

Indian actress Preity Zinta, who shot several times under his lens, and Emmanuel Sprauel, President of the Angénieux brand, presented the Angénieux trophy to Santosh Sivan - a set of Optimo Prime lenses (24mm, 32mm, 50mm, the 75mm, and the 100mm) specially engraved with his name - which will allow him to display his extraordinary creativity in new ways. Angénieux is delighted that a new set of Angénieux Optimo Primes is going to India, a country we celebrate for its cinematic excellence.

“Santosh Santosh has known Angénieux well for a long time. He will use our new Optimo Primes in a very next movie. In each lens, there is a special combination enshrined in each optical heart of Angénieux, which is the result of a personalized design, resulting from the experience of the Angénieux teams, recognizable by the unique perception of the image it produces and bears the Angénieux brand”. Emmanuel Sprauel

On stage : Santosh Sivan, Preity Zinta, Emmanuel Sprauel. Copyright: Pauline Maillet

“His cinema is very real, very raw. Being an actor in front of the camera with Santosh is an absolute pleasure because you know you can trust him, you know it is going to be wow. One thing about Santosh is whatever tough it might be, he is always smiling, he always makes it easy. I’m so proud of you Santosh, we are so proud of you… Congratulations ! “  Preity Zinta

Additionally to the Tribute, Angénieux continues to highlight the work of a young operator during this ceremony, for the 6th year since 2018.

For her part, Kadri Koop received the Angénieux Special Encouragement - a special endowment offering her the possibility of using the best of Angénieux technology for the images of her forthcoming projects. Kadri Koop received her endowment from the hands of Mélanie Laurent, French actress and director, and from Dominique Rouchon, Managing Director, Angénieux International Sales-Marketing & Communication.

“I dedicate this 11th edition of the Pierre Angénieux tribute to all the workers in the cinema industry who lost their jobs during the Hollywood strikes. My deep thoughts go to our dear customers who should have been with us tonight, who lost their companies as a consequence of the strikes. There will be better times. We have to look in front of us and we have to encourage the young generation to continue to embrace a career in the cinema industry” 

Dominique Rouchon

 Angénieux Special Encouragement 2024 Kadri Koop (in the middle) with Mélanie Laurent (left- and Dominique Rouchon (right). Copyright: Pauline Maillet

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“I am particularly happy and proud to present the Angénieux Special Encouragement this evening to a young woman, in a field that is still very predominantly male oriented. Things are changing, but not fast enough and in 2024 there are still too few female cinematographers. Yet one of the key positions on a film set. Here as elsewhere, we need all sensibilities, all nuances, all talents.” Mélanie Laurent

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“ There aren’t enough words to express how honored and thankful I am. Thank you Angénieux, thank you my new Angénieux family. I will forever cherish this week in Cannes.” Kadri Koop

Note that Kadri Koop was originally noticed for her works by Amnon Band, CEO of Band Pro Film & Digital Inc (Angénieux Americas) and his teams.

The ceremony was marked by a montage of sumptuous clips from films lit by Santosh Sivan, including Dil Se, Asoka, Meenaxi, Fiza, among others.

The ceremony concluded with a particularly moving moment with the screening of video testimonials from personalities who crossed paths with Santosh Sivan and who wished to congratulate their friend. Among them, Steven Poster, former President of the famous American Society of Cinematographers (A.S.C.), Mani Ratnam, the director he has worked with the most (Thalapathi, Roja, Iruvar and Dil Se), director Gurinder Chadha (Love at first sight in Bollywood) but also the Indian directors Shekkar Kapur, Mira Nair, Karan John as well as the immense stars of Indian cinema like the actors Shahrukh Khan (Dil Se, Asoka), Mohan Lal (Iruvar, Vanaprastham), Aamir Khan (Raakh), actresses Nandita Das (Before the Rains) and Vidya Balan (Urumi) and cinematographers Anil Mehta (President of the Indian Society of Cinematographers), Sudeep Chatterjee and Ravi K. Chandran, who all praised the work of Santosh Sivan and expressed their pride in seeing their friend becoming the first Indian to win this prestigious award at Cannes.

On stage : Santosh Sivan, Preity Zinta, Emmanuel Sprauel. Copyright: Pauline Maillet

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“I'm hoping that my father, mother and brother who are no more, are smiling. I've been a bad husband, always filming and leaving my wife and son alone and now they are here and they must be very happy… I owe my gratitude to a lot of people, but most importantly I must thank the state of Kerala whose culture I imbibed through my father and my grandmother. And it is there, in the Malayalam film industry, that I learnt the basics.  Of course, cinematography is an art without language or rather has a universal language. From Kerala I shifted to Tamil cinema, then to the Hindi film industry and then to Hollywood.  What is great about this profession is that it has no boundaries”. Santosh Sivan

From left to right : Santosh Sivan, Dominique Rouchon, Kadri Koop, Mélanie Laurent, Emmanuel Sprauel. Copyright: Pauline Maillet

Kadri Koop (left) and Mélanie Laurent (right). Copyright: Pauline Maillet

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From left to right: Emmanuel Sprauel, Preity Zinta, Santosh Sivan, Dominique Rouchon & Kadri Koop. Copyright: Pauline Maillet

From left to right: Emmanuel Sprauel, Mélanie Laurent, Preity Zinta, Santosh Sivan, Kadri Koop & Dominique Rouchon. Copyright: Olivier Vigerie

Download the English press release here

Download photos of the Tribute here

➤ About Angénieux in Cannes  

Official partner of the Cannes Festival since 2013, the well known optical manufacturer Angénieux celebrates every year a major and successful cinematographer with the Pierre Angénieux Tribute during an exceptional ceremony opened by General Delegate Thierry Frémaux and presented this year by French journalist Charlotte Lipinska. This event represents a unique opportunity to turn the spotlight on these professionals, without whom cinema would not exist.

➤ About Angénieux    

Angénieux is world-renowned for its camera lenses. Awarded four times in Hollywood by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and sciences in 1964, 1989 and 2009, and by the Society of Camera Operators in 2012, as well as in 2014 by the British Society of Cinematographers in London, Angénieux lenses are a benchmark for image professionals. They are used worldwide for cinema, TV dramas, music videos or commercials.

The history of the brand started in 1935, more than 90 years ago, with the creation of the Pierre Angénieux Company. Since 1993, Angénieux has become a Thales Group brand.

Cinema enthusiast and genius inventor, Pierre Angénieux laid the foundations of the modern zoom lenses and ensured the continued success of his company which experienced an incredible destiny. Pierre Angénieux was not only interested in cinema: he also turned to photography, television, optronics, and medicine. Angénieux lenses went all the way to the moon! Chosen by NASA in the 1960’s, they have participated in different missions of the prestigious American organization. They were aboard Apollo 11 and participated in the extraordinary success of the mission that, 50 years ago, showed the images of man’s first step on the Moon.

Published in 2019 the book “Angénieux and Cinema: From Light to Image” (Silvana Editoriale) retraces through 270 pages widely illustrated, the incredible adventure of the Angénieux brand up to its most current challenges. The book is available in English and French.

https://www.angenieux.com/

 Santosh Sivan on Angénieux optics

“Angénieux optics are very popular in India. I have been using them for almost 30 years now and I personally own several of them. It is a wonderful coincidence to receive this award”.

Santosh Sivan
 

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