IEC
NATASHA BRAIER ADF/ASC
Born: 11 December 1974, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Education: Instituto Vocational de Arte, Argentina [1983-86]; Escuela de Fotografia Creativa, Buenos Aires, Argentina [1990-92]; Centre d'Estudis Cinematogràfics de Catalunya [CECC], Barcelona, Spain; National Film and Television School [NFTS], Beaconsfield, UK [1998-2001; MA Cinematography; she ph 8 dram shorts, 3 doc's, 4 commercials (e.g. 'Fusion'), 1 anim film and 2 music videos].
Career: 'It is difficult to say when I first became interested in cinematography. I did a degree in still photography and after a few years I started to realize that there was something called a Director of Photography in films and became interested in that. I decided to move from photography to cinematography. I went to Spain and studied at the official film school in Barcelona. I made a few short films and decided I wanted to go to a really good film school. At the same time I was making lots of shorts so I was getting a lot of experience. I did some research and found the National Film and Television School in the UK, where they offered a Master's Degree in Cinematography. I applied and spent three years there. The school was very technically orientated. It wasn't like the experience of going to art school. They train excellent technicians and it's not a very arty atmosphere. I've always approached cinematography much more from an artistic point of view rather than a technician's point of view, so it was really useful. By the time I graduated I had a showreel. And I started to look for an agent, because that's what I was told I was supposed to do when I graduated. The first year was not so easy, there wasn't much work. I kept doing lots of short films for not much money. Then the network of connections that you've built up over the years starts growing and people start getting proper jobs. I did about five shorts a year and survived on shooting commercials and music videos.' [From interview with Jamie Russell on the BBC Film Network website, 10 May 2007.]
'My break into features came with 'Glue' directed by Alexis Dos Santos, whom I had shot many short films with at Film School in Beaconsfield. The film won in Rotterdam and participated in more than 20 international film festivals, collecting a lot of awards, and that was the platform that made my work known to many other directors and filmmakers. That took me to shoot two films in 2006: 'En la ciudad de Sylvia' directed by emblematic Catalan art house director José Luis Guerín, and 'XXY' directed by Argentinean director Lucía Puenzo. 'XXY' won the Best Film Prize at the Cannes Film Festival Critic's Week in 2007, together with 3 other awards in Cannes, and more than 10 International Film Festivals awards. After that I came back to London and was lucky to work with one of my favorite British directors, Shane Meadows, on the film 'Somers Town', which initially was meant to be a 30m short film, but ended up being a 75m film and won the 'Michael Powell Award' at the Edinburgh IFF [2008]. I started to shoot commercials and music videos in London, hoping to stay home for a while, but shortly after I went to Peru to shoot 'La teta asustada' with Peruvian director Claudia Llosa. That was a wonderful experience that not only got us the Golden Bear in Berlin and a Best Cinematography Award at the International Cinematographers Film Festival Manaki Brothers, but we also got nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. After that I felt I really needed some time at home and for a couple of years I just shot commercials and music videos in London, and one small comedy with my friend Josh Appignanesi called 'The Infidel'. I learned a lot from the commercials world. I experimented with all the toys and expensive equipment that I couldn't afford in my low budget art house movies, and met a lot of top professionals that became my regular crew and family. Early this year [2012] I shot a short film for the Olympics with Scottish director Lynne Ramsay called 'Swimmer', which was an amazing experience. I had always admired Lynne's work and it was wonderful to work with her. I'm very proud of the art piece we did together. That really made me exited about making films again. So I took a movie called 'Casse-tête chinois' with French director Cédric Klapisch, shooting two months in New York and one in Paris, which I just completed. I enjoy mixing films and commercials. I think both worlds are totally different and even if my heart is with films, I enjoy commercials and the different challenges they present, and the possibility to keep training and meeting new people.'
Ph 100+ commercials. Ph 20+ music videos, e.g. 'You Are So Apricot' [a: Flor Braier; d: Nico Casavecchia].
Worked as a press ph for a year before moving to Barcelona.
Teaches at the Estudio de Cine, Barcelona. Gave a masterclass at the Edinburgh IFF [2010].
Member of the ASC since 2018.
Awards [selection]: New York FF 'Kodak Award' for Best Cinematography [2002] for 'Life and Death on Exmoor'; Women in Film and Television 'New Talent Award' [2007]; Academia de las Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de la Argentina 'Premio Sur' for 'Mejor Fotografía' nom [2007] & Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de la Argentina 'Premio Cóndor de Plata' [Silver Condor] for 'Mejor Fotografía' nom [2008] for 'XXY'; Manaki Brothers 'Golden Camera 300' Award [2009] for 'La teta asustada'.
Website: Natasha Braier
| FILMS, TELEVISION & INTERNET | |
|---|---|
|
1996 |
Infinita [Fabián Fattore] 16mm/c; short/9m; prod CECC |
|
1997 |
Contactos [Diego Pastor] 16mm/c; short/11m; prod CECC |
|
1999 |
Axolotl [Alexis Dos Santos] 16mm/c; short/16m; prod NFTS |
|
1999 |
Swimming in a Sick Head [Victoria Hung] c; anim/4m; prod NFTS |
|
2000 |
Napkin [Marianela Maldonado] 16mm/c; short/14m; prod NFTS |
|
2000 |
Life and Death on Exmoor [Cosima Spender] s16-35bu/c; doc/23m; cph: Sebastian Serraute; prod NFTS |
|
2000 |
Fe [Erica Dunton] b&w-c; short/12m |
|
2000 |
Sand [Alexis Dos Santos] 16mm-to-35mm scope/c; short/20m; prod NFTS |
|
2000 |
The Look of Happiness [Marianela Maldonado] 16mm-35bu/c; short/25m; prod NFTS |
|
200? |
The Idyll [Joachim Trier] ?; short/?m; prod NFTS |
|
200? |
Fountain of Love [Harry Sinclair] 16mm/c; short/5m |
|
200? |
Saint Fortunat Story [Harry Sinclair] c; short/7m |
|
200? |
Confessions of DJ Cupid [Toby MacDonald] DigiBeta/b&w; short/?m |
|
2001 |
Taut [Charlotte Darbyshire] ep #3 (5m) of 4-part dance series; ep of Channel 4 arts series 'Slot Art' (2001-02) |
|
2001 |
Underlined [Gillian Lacey] ep #4 (5m) of 4-part dance series; ep of Channel 4 arts series 'Slot Art' (2001-02) |
|
2001 |
All About Desire: The Passionate Cinema of Pedro Almodovar [Nick Cory Wright] tv-doc/49m; cph: Joan Bricolle, Tim Knight, a.o. |
|
2002 |
The Fishmonger [Jonathan Soper] DigiBeta/c; short/5m |
|
2002 |
Mi vida sin mí/My Life Without Me [Isabel Coixet] s16-35bu/c; 2uc (+ 2ud); ph: Jean-Claude Larrieu |
|
2002 |
Spyhole [Jodhi May] c; short/7m |
|
2002 |
Jealousy [Dania Saragovia] c; short/8m |
|
2002 |
Stjernekigger/Stargazer [Christina Rosendahl] DigiBeta/c; mus doc/72m; ph title seq; ph: C. Rosendahl, Philippe Kress, a.o. |
|
2002 |
The Essence of Combat: Making 'Black Hawk Down' [?] mdv/c/V; 'making of' (collection of several doc's)/150m; co-c.op mdv; ph: Jonathan Buss |
|
2002 |
We Got Old [Rachel Davies] c; dance film/10m |
|
2002 |
Gold [Rachel Davies] 16mm/b&w; exp dance film/10m |
|
2002 |
Moonlight [Myoung-woo Kim] ?; short/25m; prod LFS |
|
2003 |
London Birds Can't Fly [Sarah Turner] 16mm/c; exp short/11m |
|
2003 |
Viaje al Corazón de la Tortura/Libres de la tortura [Isabel Coixet] c; doc/72m; 2uc (Sarajevo): Alexis Dos Santos |
|
2003 |
77 Beds [Alnoor Dewshi] 16mm-35bu/c; short/10m |
|
2003 |
Being Bad [Laurence Coriat] dv-to-35mm/c; short/10m |
|
2003 |
Ibrahim Ferrer - Buenos hermanos [Cosima Spender] c; mus doc/23m; prod World Circuit Records |
|
2004 |
Omara - Flor de Amor [Cosima Spender] dv+s8/c; mus doc/22m; prod World Circuit Records |
|
2004 |
Shelf Life [Michael Landy] 16mm/c; exp short/50m; 1 of 3 films made for the art installation 'Semi-Detached' in the Tate Britain |
|
2004 |
Breaking Out [Marianela Maldonado] dv-to-35mm/c; short/13m |
|
2004 |
One Minute Past Midnight [Celia Galán Julve] c; short/11m |
|
2004 |
Strange Little Girls [Savina Dellicour] s16-35bu/c; short/18m |
|
2004 |
Holiday [Laurence Coriat] dv-to-35mm/c; short/18m |
|
2005 |
Glue -historia adolescente en medio de la nada- [Alexis Dos Santos] dv+s8-to-35mm/c; 2uc: Iñaki Echeverria |
|
2005 |
RedMeansGo [Erica Dunton] HD+16mm+35mm-to-35mm/c |
|
2005 |
Heavy Metal Drummer [Toby MacDonald & Luke Morris] c; short/6m |
|
2006 |
XXY [Lucía Puenzo] s16-35bu/c |
|
2006 |
En la ciudad de Sylvia/In the City of Sylvia [José Luis Guerín] s16-35bu/c |
|
2007 |
New Love [Laurence Coriat] HD-to-35mm scope/c; short/20m |
|
2007 |
Somers Town [Shane Meadows] s16+s8-to-35mm/b&w-c; ph Paris unit: Dean Rogers; The title refers to a neighborhood close to London's St. Pancras train station, where, in the fall of 2007, the Eurostar train company launched a new high-speed rail line to Paris. In an unconventional marketing move, Eurostar commissioned Meadows to make a film for the occasion, which began as a short and evolved into this 75-minute feature. |
|
2008 |
Dolce Vita Africana [Cosima Spender] b&w-c; doc/63m |
|
2008 |
Privado [Walter Tiepelmann] b&w-c; doc/70m |
"La teta asustada"
|
2008 |
La teta asustada/The Milk of Sorrow [Claudia Llosa] c |
|
2009 |
The Infidel/The Reluctant Infidel [Josh Appignanesi] 16mm/c |
|
2011 |
Loxoro [Claudia Llosa] 16mm/c; short/20m; also ep #2 of 8-part TNT-tv series 'Fronteras' |
|
2012 |
Swimmer [Lynne Ramsay] s35-to-D-Cinema (1.85:1)/b&w; short/17m; as uwph; comm by the London 2012 Festival |
|
2012 |
Casse-tête chinois/Chinese Puzzle [Cédric Klapisch] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c |
|
2013 |
The Rover [David Michôd] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; splinter unit ph: Jeremy Rouse |
|
2014 |
Arose, Reborn (to) A Rose Reborn [Park Chan-wook] HD (ARRI ALEXA Plus 4:3)-to-digital/c; comm short/20m; for Ermenegildo Zegna Couture |
|
2015 |
The Neon Demon [Nicolas Winding Refn] HD (ARRI ALEXA XT Plus/J-D-C Scope & p)-to-D-Cinema (scope)/c; uwph: Ian Takahashi |
|
2016 |
Gringo/American Express [Nash Edgerton] HD (ARRI ALEXA SXT/p)-to-D-Cinema (scope)/c; ph Chicago (started as 1st unit ph, but left 2 weeks into filming and was replaced by E. Grau); ph: Eduard Grau |
|
2017 |
Gloria [Sebastián Lelio] HD (scope)/c; remake (re-imagining) of film (2012, S. Lelio; ph: Benjamin Echazarreta) |
|
2018 |
Honey Boy [Alma Har'el] c |
| MISCELLANEOUS | |
|---|---|
|
199? |
Boy Meets Girl [dir; + ph] ? |
|
199? |
Lolita [dir; + ph] ? |
|
1996 |
El paraguas [Juan Coira; short/10m] focus puller; ph: Flaviano de Pablo; prod CECC |
|
1997 |
Idoia [Asier Burgaleta; short/8m] co-c.asst; ph: Antonio Trullenque; prod CECC |
|
1997 |
Meteoritos [co-d: Alexis Dos Santos; short/17m; + co-scrpl/co-prod/cast/co-ed] ph: Sebastián Almeida |
|
1999 |
Von Something [Kim Nikolajsen; short] c.op; ph: David Luther |
