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Cannes Film Market sidebar Cannes Docs has kicked off as new stats show documentary film in Europe is thriving with the number of productions nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.

This rebound is echoed across film production in general which, according to European Audiovisual Observatory figures, returned to pre-crisis levels in 2021, albeit with significant variations between countries.

There is consensus among industry actors that platforms have played a key role in creating a new appetite for documentary films among audiences, particularly younger viewers.

“I would say the boom comes very much from a change in storytelling, because Netflix came with a new audience for documentary,” says Elodie Polo Ackermann, managing director of Imagissime, one of French media giant Mediawan’s doc film labels.

“Documentary, especially in France, used to be produced in a very traditional style with ‘the voice of God’ – a very journalistic commentary – and the idea of putting the...

“Dune” has been named the best-shot film of 2021 by the American Society of Cinematographers, which held its annual awards show on Sunday evening in Los Angeles.

Cinematographer Greig Fraser won the award over a field that included fellow Oscar nominees “The Power of the Dog,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “Nightmare Alley,” as well as “Belfast.”

In the first 35 years of its existence, the ASC winner has gone on to take the Oscar for Best Cinematography less than half the time, although that percentage has improved recently. “Dune” is considered one of the front runners for this year’s cinematography Oscar, with Fraser seemingly in a close with Ari Wegner for “The Power of the Dog,” who could be the first woman ever to win in the category.

Other feature-film awards went to Jessica Beshir for “Faya Dayi” in the documentary category and Pat Scola for “Pig” in the spotlight category,...

Faya Dayi, Cusp in running for documentary prize.

Dune and Belfast are in the running for the feature film prize at the American Society Of Cinematographer’s 36th ASC Awards as Ari Wegner became only the second woman to be nominated by the guild for her work on The Power Of The Dog.

Greig Fraser is recognised for Dune, Haris Zambarloukos for Belfast, Wegner for The Power Of The Dog, Bruno Delbonnel for The Tragedy Of Macbeth, and Dan Laustsen for Nightmare Alley. Rachel Morrison was the trailblazer for female cinematographers when she earned an ASC nomination for Mudbound in...

The American Society of Cinematographers on Tuesday unveiled nominations for its 36th annual ASC Awards, honoring the year’s best in feature film, documentary and television cinematography.

The society’s marquee Feature Film nominees include Bruno Delbonnel for The Tragedy of Macbeth, Greig Fraser for Dune, Dan Laustsen for Nightmare Alley, Ari Wegner for The Power of the Dog and Haris Zambarloukos for Belfast.

Last year, the ASC awarded Mank‘s Erik Messerschmidt with the Feature Film trophy, on his way to winning the Cinematography Oscar for the black-and-white film. This year, Belfast and Macbeth are also both black and white, along with for that matter Guillermo del Toro’s alt-version of Nightmare Alley.

The ASC film winner historically goes on to win the Oscar about half the time — 16 times in the past 35 years.

In TV, there were no repeats from last year’s shows on today’s list. Jon Joffin,...

“Dune,” “Belfast,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “The Power of the Dog” are among the films nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers in the feature film category.

The ASC nominees for feature film, documentary and television cinematography represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking. Last year’s ASC feature film winner was “Mank” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt who upset “Nomadland” Dp Joshua James Richards, the Oscar favorite. Messerschmidt went on to win the Best Cinematography Oscar.

Cinematographer Ari Wegner was nominated in the theatrical film category for her work on Netflix’s “The Power of the Dog,” becoming the second woman ever nominated by the guild, after Rachel Morrison for Dee Rees’ “Mudbound” (2017).

“Power of the Dog” director Jane Campion made history almost 30 years ago when she became the second woman ever to be nominated for best director for “The Piano” (1993) after Lina Wertmüller...

A scene from the documentary The Hidden Life Of Trees.

Courtesy of Capelight Pictures, MPI Media Group and Fusion Entertainment.

A walk in the woods is a lovely thing but when it is nature tour is led by the deeply-knowledgeable, infectiously-enthusiastic Peter Wohlleben, a renowned forester with 25-years experience in forests and deep knowledge of the biology and ecology of trees, it is an entry into a secret world where trees communicate with each other and work together to benefit the whole.

It has a magical ring to it but Peter Wohlleben’s lessons are rooted firmly in science – plant biology and ecology – and his years of experience tending forests. Wohlleben is the author of the 2015 non-fiction book “The Hidden Life Of Trees,” the basis of this documentary of the same name. The non-fiction book, an international bestseller, presents scientific fact in the form of an accessible tale of the secret,...