French cinematographer reflects on the years spent shooting an epic
Cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd has been nominated for an Oscar for his work on Wong Kar-wai's latest film, but feels the director has been overlooked, writes Rachel Mok
When French cameraman Philippe Le Sourd won a Golden Horse award for his work on Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster in Taipei last November, his acceptance speech noted that the film had taken director Wong Kar-wai a long time to make.
This was also behind his disappointment when the martial arts drama failed to make the shortlist of five nominees for the Academy Awards' best foreign language picture.
My vision of my life and work is different. I learned to enjoy the present and not make plans
"I was very sad, because Wong Kar-wai has spent five to six years of his life working very hard on the movie. His journey was very long compared to mine," says the cinematographer, who signed up to work with the infamously improvisational Hong Kong filmmaker for a six-month documentary project in 2009, and ended up spending three years shooting The Grandmaster.
"I was also very sad because we are all very proud of the film," he says.
Although the visually stylish film did not make the cut in the best foreign language film category, two members of its crew were singled out for recognition by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
