Family Feeling
In Kolin where the 1st session of the Ex Oriente MEDIA supported training programme takes place, we had a fruitful visit of the German cameraman Lars Barthel. He showed us the new film of Helga Reidemeister, ”War and Love in Kabul” (photo), that he had shot. On 16mm and with pure beauty and thought in all scenes. The masterclass with Barthel following the screening was full of eye-opening comments from a cameraman, who in this way gave us a profile of himself.
Asked about his collaboration with directors, he stressed that the relationship on a human level is far the most important. Topic and professional matters come second. ”The good relation has to last after the film”, he said, ”it has to be like a family”. ”As a cameraman I always try to look for the truth, to see and film the moments. Every movement has a choreography in itself. You have to look into the eyes of the people. The room has to be told”, were some of the sentences I liked and picked from the meeting with Barthel, a FILM cameraman, who believes in composition.
And who also talked about lenses and light – ”I use fixed lenses, never zoom” – and who ended by showing us his beautiful personal film, ”My Death not Yours”.
