The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage () is a festival that celebrates and awards cinematography and cinematographers. The festival is held in Toruà Â, Poland, at the end of November every year. It spans the course of one week, with multiple events at one time.
The first seven events (1993âÂÂ1999) were held in Toruà Â, and the next ten events (2000âÂÂ2009) were held in à Âódà º. From 2010 until 2018, the festival took place in Bydgoszcz, before returning to Toruà  in 2019, where it currently remains. In 2007, the name of the festival was changed from Camerimage to Plus Camerimage, but it was changed back in 2013 after the sponsorship deal with Plus ended.
The festival has hosted many prominent filmmakers including Darren Aronofsky, Jon M. Chu, Alfonso Cuarón, Peter Greenaway, Agnieszka Holland, James Ivory, Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurismäki, Krzysztof Kieà Âlowski, Andrei Konchalovsky, Emir Kusturica, Ang Lee, Ken Loach, David Lynch, Paweà  Pawlikowski, Roman Polaà Âski, Robert Richardson, Gus Van Sant, Ridley Scott, Volker Schlöndorff, Oliver Stone, István Szabó, Quentin Tarantino, Tom Tykwer, Denis Villeneuve, Andrzej Wajda, Peter Weir, and Wim Wenders.
A controversy erupted shortly before the festivalâÂÂs 32nd edition, which took place from November 16 to 23, 2024, and stemmed from an editorial à »ydowicz published in Cinematography World magazine.
In the editorial, à »ydowicz appeared to argue that increasing the representation of female cinematographers and directors in the festivalâÂÂs programming could compromise artistic quality, potentially leading to the inclusion of âÂÂmediocre film productionsâ at the expense of âÂÂworks and artists with outstanding artistic achievements.â He questioned whether festivals should âÂÂsacrificeâ high-quality works to accommodate social changes, suggesting that CamerimageâÂÂs commitment to artistic merit set it apart from other festivals like Cannes or Berlin, which he implied had bowed to ideological pressures.
These comments triggered a swift and widespread backlash from the film industry. Many interpreted them as misogynistic, arguing that they dismissed the talent and contributions of women in cinematography and perpetuated gender biases in an already male-dominated field. The British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) issued an open letter condemning à »ydowiczâÂÂs âÂÂprofoundly misogynistic comments and aggressive tone,â calling them indicative of deep-rooted prejudice. The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and the International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) echoed this sentiment, expressing disappointment and support for the BSCâÂÂs stance. Women in Cinematography, an advocacy group, highlighted the festivalâÂÂs historical underrepresentation of womenâÂÂnoting that only 3.1% of films in the main competition over 30 years were shot by female cinematographersâÂÂand criticized Camerimage for sidelining acclaimed works by women, such as Mudbound and The Power of the Dog, from its top competitions.
"â " indicates a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Since 2013, short documentary films awarded the Golden Frog during Camerimage festival are granted consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the Academy Awards without having to meet the standard theatrical run requirement. To meet all requirements, the running time limit of selected short documentary was decreased from 60 to 40 minutes. This way requirements for short documentary films selected at both Camerimage festival and the Academy Awards are the same.