Phedon Papamichael

Birthday: February1962, Athens, Greece

Birth Name: Phedon Papamichael Jr.

Phedon Papamichael, an award winning Cinematographer, was born in Athens, Greece and moved with his family to Germany, where in 1982 he completed his education in Fine Arts, in Munich. Working as a photojournalist brought Phedon to NYC in 1983, where he started crossing over into cinematography.His first short film, the 35mm black & white SPUD, earned him the Award for Best Cinematography at the Cork Film Festival in Ireland. Following a call from John Cassavetes, his cousin and later collaborator, Phedon moved to Los Angeles. While continuing to work on short and experimental films, he began his feature career as a Director of Photography for Roger Corman, for whom he photographed seven films within two years.Phedon now counts over 40 feature films to his credit as Director of Photography, including the early block-busters While You Were Sleeping starring Sandra Bullock and Cool Runnings, as well as Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, all directed by Jon Turteltaub.His credits include many critically acclaimed films, such as Unstrung Heroes (Un Certain Regard, Cannes 1995), directed by Diane Keaton, and Unhook the Stars, starring Gena Rowlands and directed by Nick Cassavetes.The Million Dollar Hotel, directed by Wim Wenders, was chosen as the Opening Film of the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize, the Silver Bear, as well as the Golden Camera. The European co-production, 27 Missing Kisses, directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Nana Djordjadze, premiered at Directors Fortnight in Cannes 2000. It garnered the Grand Prix Award at the 2000 New York/Avignon Film Festival, the Audience Award at the 2000 Montpellier Film Festival, as well as the Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography. In 2000 both films received a Camerimage nomination, for Best Cinematography.In 2001 Phedon shot Moonlight Mile (Berlinale, 2003), directed by Brad Silberling, starring Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Holly Hunter. It was followed by Identity, directed by James Mangold, and the Oscar-nominated Sideways, directed by Alexander Payne.His credits continued with The Weatherman, directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine and Walk the Line, again directed by Mangold and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.Phedon shot the Academy Award nominated western 3:10 to Yuma, directed by James Mangold, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, and the blockbuster Pursuit of Happyness. In 2008 he photographed Oliver Stone's W. and then re-teamed again with James Mangold on Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, which shot all over the world.He shot two of the most award-winning films of 2011: Alexander Payne's The Descendants and The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney. This is 40, directed by Judd Apatow was released in 2012 and won Comedy of the Year from the Hollywood Film Festival.For his gorgeous B&W lensing on the highly acclaimed Nebraska, which received 6 Academy Award nominations and was directed by Alexander Payne, Phedon received an Oscar nomination, a BAFTA nomination and an ASC nomination amongst other honors. His latest film is The Monuments Men, a period film directed by George Clooney, and starring Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett and Jean Dujardin which was shot in Germany and England.In addition to his feature work, Phedon has shot and/or directed over 100 commercials for such clients as Nespresso, BMW, Audi, and Nextel.On the music video side, his work includes The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Eelectrical Storm, directed by Anton Corbijn.Papamichael's work also includes several forays into television. He received an ASC Award Nomination for Best Cinematography for Oliver Stone's innovative mini-series Wild Palms, as well as his second ASC Award Nomination for Best Cinematography for the Francis Ford Coppola-produced pilot White Dwarf.Phedon resides in Los Angeles and Athens, Greece and speaks fluent English, German, French and Greek. He holds German, Greek and U.S. citizenship. Hide

[on the people he wants to work with] I like them to be complete filmmakers.. It's a more organic pr Show more [on the people he wants to work with] I like them to be complete filmmakers.. It's a more organic process which I enjoy. My preferred way is to be open to have happy accidents - and to find them - and let the actors roam freely and not restrict them so much technically. Hide

[on his first Oscar nomination for Nebraska (2013)] It's quite a thrilling ride. I didn't really exp Show more [on his first Oscar nomination for Nebraska (2013)] It's quite a thrilling ride. I didn't really expect it. I knew - because of the black and white - that we had found a lot of fans. I had people like Haskell Wexler calling me. The talk was positive and I'm happy so many people responded to it, especially for a small film like that and with a modest budget. Hide

I grew up in Munich and was very influenced by Paris, Texas (1984). I grew up watching black-and whi Show more I grew up in Munich and was very influenced by Paris, Texas (1984). I grew up watching black-and white films and John Wayne westerns. We have all these images and a fascination, not just what it stands for, but visually. Hide

There are a lot of people who would like to continue to shoot on film. It's not a problem of someone Show more There are a lot of people who would like to continue to shoot on film. It's not a problem of someone manufacturing it. There's lack of demand and there are just two labs left in L.A. It becomes very expensive to ship and process. I think we're seeing the end of it.. Cameras are getting sharper and its almost like the technology is moving in one direction. And we as storytellers are trying to hold it back because we don't want it to go 4K and 8K and deal with actors that we have to show in a nice light. But I think we'll find a way to balance these things. Hide

Alexander [Payne] said he wanted the actors [in Nebraska (2013)] to play with the frame where we sho Show more Alexander [Payne] said he wanted the actors [in Nebraska (2013)] to play with the frame where we show them in a single shot. We'd show how small and lost they are in this world and the loneliness and isolation - all these themes we have in this film: the lack of communication. When people talk they rarely have eye contact, they stare at the TV. Hide

Phedon Papamichael's FILMOGRAPHY

All as Actor (1) as Director (2)

The Oscars (2021)