Lukas Zal wins Golden Camera 300 at Manaki Brothers Festival

The 47th International Film Camera Festival ‘Manaki Brothers’ concluded in Bitola, Macedonia, with Polish cinematographer Lukas Zal winning the top prize, the Golden ‘Camera 300’, for his work on the film ‘Fatherland’. The film, directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, follows the relationship between Nobel laureate Thomas Mann and his daughter in 1949 Germany.

Other major winners included Chinese cinematographer Zhongyang Liang, who received the Silver ‘Camera 300’ for ‘Unknown Girl’, and Danish cinematographer Paul Spengemann, who took home the Bronze ‘Camera 300’ for ‘Until the End of the Day’. The festival, which featured a record 83 films and numerous masterclasses, was overseen by a jury led by Oscar winner Wally Foster.

The event closed with the Macedonian premiere of ‘You Won’t Believe What Happened Before’, directed by Sergej Janjićijević. The festival director, Dimitrija Doksevski, noted the edition's record-breaking engagement and high quality of competition.