Camerimage Founder Marek Zydowicz on AI, Aronofsky and Why “Cinematographers Are Artists, Not Technicians”

Marek Żydowicz says Camerimage will welcome a range of filmmaking techniques, including discussion of generative AI, but rejects films made entirely by AI. The festival founder argues that cinematographers are artists whose creative judgement and human vision remain central, as the industry faces tighter budgets and fewer theatrical releases.

The 34th Camerimage festival runs in Toruń, Poland, from 7 to 14 November. Darren Aronofsky will receive its director award for more than 30 years of filmmaking, despite his interest in AI; Joe Walker will chair the main competition jury, and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński will receive The Hollywood Reporter’s Visionary award. Żydowicz attributes Polish cinematographers’ strong artistic tradition partly to the Lodz Film School, where painting, visual composition and filmmaking under censorship shaped generations of filmmakers.