It is inspiring to witness that hearing the truth about the systematic discrimination that has developed over the years within the Camerimage Film Festival—a festival founded to celebrate the art of cinematography and grown with the support of filmmakers—directly from the mouth of its president, Marek Zydowicz, who claims to have created the festival himself, has led to a historic unification spearheaded by our female colleagues.
While Marek Zydowicz may think he has been misunderstood, as he stated in his open letter published in Cinematography World and in his responses to the growing backlash, the statistical data on gender representation at the festival clearly reveal the reality. Throughout the thirty-year history of the festival, only 3.1% of films in the main competition have had female cinematographers, which directly contradicts the festival president’s defenses. Furthermore, his claim that this limited representation serves as a measure against ‘mediocrity’ is an unacceptable perspective.
As the Cinematographers’ Association of Turkey, we are grateful to the Women in Cinematography collective, founded by our female colleagues around the world, for their dedication to diversity and inclusivity. We stand behind every word of their recent letter and reiterate their demands. We wholeheartedly believe in diversity and plurality, and we hope that today’s struggle will contribute to the creation of the peaceful, equitable, and inclusive world we envision.
