Calamos Supports Greece
GreekReporter.comHollywoodSpotlight on Director of Photography Haris Zambarloukos

Spotlight on Director of Photography Haris Zambarloukos

Haris Zambarloukos

The new taut thriller that swept the box offices the past month is the gripping Gavin Hood-directed film “Eye in the Sky”. The film, which raises questions about the ethical implications of modern warfare, stars Helen Mirren and features the stunning cinematography of award-winning Director of Photography Haris Zambarloukos.

Greek Cypriot Zambarloukos has made a name for himself in Hollywood and is well known and highly respected for his excellent and often experimental cinematographic oeuvre, including such blockbusters as Thor (2011), Mamma Mia! (2008), Sleuth (2007), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014), Opa! (2005), Enduring Love (2004), The Best Man (2005), Venus (2006), Death Defying Acts (2007), Locke (2013) and the recent Disney live-action version of Cinderella (2015).

Zambarloukos graciously took time away from his busy schedule to speak with me for the “Greek Reporter” to give us an opportunity to get to know him a little better.

Do you prefer shooting digitally or on film in your work?

I prefer the aesthetic of film.  I haven’t found a digital camera I like as much as a film camera yet.  But it’s much more difficult to use a film camera.  I was trained on film so I can use it, and as long as I work on productions where I find it appropriate, I will use it.  The only two films I’ve done that are digital, apart from the small segment in “Jack Ryan”, were “Locke” and “Eye in the Sky”.  Both are very contemporary films, one entirely set in a car and the other really about a drone mission, a military drone mission where the point of view is predominately through digital cameras, so it made sense.  Digital seemed to be appropriate for the story.

What was your experience like when you filmed “Mamma Mia!”? Did it feel like going home (Zambarloukos currently resides in the UK)?

Yes, and it did feel like I was the only one who could read off the menu basically.  And I do love being close to home.  I am definitely Greek.  I only moved here [in the UK] when I was 20 so I was born and raised a Greek Cypriot.  And I spend all my free time back home.  So to do something like that, that also showed off Greece in that respect, was just a delightful film to make.  And that was a departure for me.  It was my first studio film, and it was also definitely my first proper commercial film and successful film, but it was a departure from darker subject matter and was never the kind of films I watched. After “Mamma Mia!”, I learned to enjoy and embrace it.  So there were a lot of things for me from “Mamma Mia!”, my first studio picture, shot in Greece at home, and something that was more playful and musical and entertaining.  It was quite different from doing something like “Venus” or “Sleuth”, which is just dark as hell really.  So I think most human beings really need a balance of both. I don’t think I could only do musicals or only do “Cinderella” but a balance between subjects for work, I think, just helps you not stay stagnant and always try new things.

What is it like to work for a big-budget Disney film like “Cinderella”, and have the responsibility of bringing a classic Disney tale to life?

We had to be ethical with everything we chose to do. We knew this was going to be a children’s film and a family film.  There’s a lot of things we took into account for young girls that we wanted to make sure didn’t fall into stereotype or chauvinism or anything like that. That was really important and at the same time to make it beautiful and make beautiful gowns, and also celebrate art the way that old Disney animations did.  My memory of Disney animations is just that I used to get inspired to love art more. So we wanted the children that do watch this to be inspired to love art more.  I think a lot of it has been taken the wrong way by some press because you can do both. You don’t have to make her ugly and badly dressed for her to have heart and courage and be a good human being.  So we try to find a balance.  I think that was the important thing for us.

Is it difficult being a Greek Cypriot trying to make it in the film industry in a foreign country?

I don’t think it’s different for Greek Cypriots than it is for anyone else. I have to say, I think one thing that did help me along the way was trying to figure out what you are actually good at and not just what you want to do.  Again, it’s very easy to want to be a director or want to be an actor and there are so many great things, it’s a team effort, I luckily discovered cinematography very early and fell in love with it and knew that was what I wanted to be.  I never once wanted to be a director or tried to be something else.  And I would have been happier as a camera assistant or a camera operator or something like that.  I think that’s the key to having an enjoyable life.  You are not fighting.  To some extent, for me, being a cinematographer is the easiest thing I could do.  I find it effortless.  I mean, I did study very hard and work very hard for it.  But if it was really difficult, I wouldn’t do it.  Not because I’m scared of the work, but because I think that would be a waste of my energy.  I would never be able to perfect something.  I’d always be trying to just get to an average level.  So, get to a place where you are comfortable so you can be perfect at it, and pick that.  Especially in a difficult industry like the film industry, you really have to know.  The first thing you need to do, is figure out what you are good at, not what you want to be.

Would you recommend that others in the industry should try to move abroad in search of opportunities in the film industry?

I absolutely think they should stay home and work from there unless they really want to branch out into a different type of filmmaking.  Otherwise, we lose our talent pool and we lose the quality that we see at home. Again, there will certainly be people that move, like they do in all countries and cultures.  It’s up to you. Do you want to sit there and really try to find a story of your own in your own place, an aesthetic?  I moved because we didn’t have universities in my day in Cyprus.  We all had to study abroad in higher education outside of secondary school.  If I had the choice to try something at home, I don’t know what I would do now.  But yes, you have to love your place and love your own stories and know yourself. Socrates used to always quote these two things and they were written about the oracle at Delphi. These were, “Know thyself,” and “All moderation is excellence”.  And throughout all of Ancient Greece, those two mottos were the ones that everyone that I’ve ever respected or admired and read about lived up to.  And I thought, it’s interesting, it’s a fortune teller’s stall, and it’s the most pragmatic and down-to-earth bits of advice that you could have.

Words of great inspiration from a great cinematographer and philosopher on life. Go see his brilliant work in action at the cinemas now, “Eye in the Sky”.

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!



Related Posts