<img src="/img/v1/news/news_2002-02_02_01.gif" alt="Best Cinematography" width="197" height="75" border="0" hspace="10"><br> <table border="0"> <tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"> <br><img src="/img/v1/news/news_2002-12_01_01.gif" alt="" width="200" height="230" border="0" hspace="10"><br><br> <img src="/img/v1/news/news_2002-12_01_02.gif" alt="" width="200" height="244" border="0" hspace="10"><br><br> <img src="/img/v1/news/news_2002-12_01_03.gif" alt="" width="200" height="194" border="0" hspace="10"><br><br> <img src="/img/v1/news/news_2002-12_01_04.gif" alt="" width="200" height="244" border="0" hspace="10"><br><br> <img src="/img/v1/news/news_2002-12_01_05.gif" alt="" width="200" height="194" border="0" hspace="10"><br><br> <img src="/img/v1/news/news_2002-12_01_06.gif" alt="" width="200" height="131" border="0" hspace="10"><br> </td> <td valign="top"> <p><br><br> Vantage Film congratulates DoP Rali Ralchev for his Nestor Almendros Award. The honored feature film "SAMSARA" directed by Pan Nalin was shot entirely with Vantage's Hawk® Anamorphics.<br><br> "This year the Nestor Almendros Award is paying tribute to a cinematography which only apparently is distant from ours.<br> From the first few minutes of his film, one can see that Rali Ralchev's vision is fundamentally related to the great masters of fine art, to the use of natural light just like the great cinematographers of western cinema are. </p> <p>In "Samsara" there is a reminiscence of Rembrandt, Vermeer, Delatoor, there is an attention to the natural light, which daringly reminds us of the unforgettable Nestor Almendros, whose style and methods one can discover in the work of many contemporary cinematographers and especially, as Ralchev mentioned, in the work of Vittorio Storaro, who is a true and close friend of our town and our two institutions.<br><br> A cinematographic vision like Ralchev's is sensitive to the nuances and to the most intimate implications of light, it is attentive to depict the right atmosphere, whether with the warm colours of nature or with the cold tonality."<br><br></p> <p><b>VARIETY Review by EDDIE COCKRELL</b><br><br> The sacred and the profane meet head-on in "Samsara," which traces the fateful decision of a young Buddhist monk to forsake the order for the secular world. With a first half drenched with sights and sounds of the spectacular Himalayas and a second part sporting two erotic and unusual sex scenes, pic services both spiritual and thrill-seeking auds and should thus embrace arthouse biz and ancillary action. After preeming at last fall's Toronto fest, pic has already opened commercially in several countries, including France.<br><br> Tech credits are top-notch, with Rali Ralchev's crisp widescreen camerawork and all other creatives combining to evoke the region with a stunning clarity and detail. Title is the Hindu doctrine of reincarnation by which the spirit works toward a goal through a succession of earthly lives. </p> <p>"The film SAMSARA was shot in the Himalayas at 3500m above the see level which put crew and equipment alike in very difficult situations and in unusual conditions of nature.<br><br> At that height the light is extraordinarily contrasting and the colors are very intense. Hawk Lenses reproduced both the light and the colors in the best possible way. The lenses' capacity was especially manifested in shots where they were facing the sun or with direct sunlight. In those cases the Hawk Lenses achieved a very high degree of reproduction and preservation of the picture's sharpness and contrast. In SAMSARA, the landscapes bear a very special meaning. They had to be exceptionally filigreed. And again the lenses' sharpness was of great significance.<br><br> Indeed, it was a pleasure to use lenses of such precision and high quality in my work as a cinematographer." </p> <p>Rali Ralchev</p> </td> </tr> </tr> </table>
