Shortly to be shown in competition at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival (May 15-26) is La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty), a feature film written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino. The film is the fifth collaboration between Sorrentino and cinematographer Luca Bigazzi, and coincidentally the fifth Sorrentino movie to be invited to participate in the Cannes Film Festival.

La Grande Bellezza is set and filmed in Rome and looks at the Eternal City through the jaded eyes of writer/journalist Jep Gambardella (Tony Servillo), whose personal stories about Roman nobility, actors, fallen aristocrats, intellectuals, social climbers and high-class criminals come to life in the most beautiful villas, sumptuous apartments and verdant terraces of Rome, rather like a modern-day Babylon. Rome is a silent protagonist in this film, brooding and beautiful, like a quiet heroine.

When Sylvain Chomet, the wildly inventive director of the animated feature films The Illusionist and The Triplets of Belleville, set out to direct his first live-action feature, Attila Marcel, he chose to work with acclaimed cinematographer Antoine Roch, AFC. Roch, a veteran of more than 30 feature films, was introduced to Chomet by producer Claudie Ossard. Director and cinematographer were immediately simpatico. “I was drawn to Attila Marcel by Sylvain,” the DP relates. “He is so creative, and has such a feeling for odd, wonderful characters – the too big, the too small. He has a very strong ‘secret garden.’”

And then there was the script. “It was beautiful,” Roch adds. “It was all about the power of memory to transform. Right from the start I saw ways in which I could help Sylvain achieve the power of these memories in Paul’s (the main character’s) life.”

There is no more venerated name in the world of cinema than Alfred Hitchcock. His movies and methods have been studied and emulated by filmmakers around the world, and his impact on the art of directing is unsurpassed. The master of suspense made films in the United Kingdom and in Hollywood, demonstrating the adage that moving images speak a global language.

Surprisingly, in light of these facts, Hitchcock’s very early silent era work — films that offer a fascinating glimpse into the development of his style — has been in bad shape. Deluxe and the British Film Institute (BFI) have corrected this, gathering as many elements of these early films as possible and using the latest restoration techniques to resurrect them. The project required thousands of hours of painstaking work. Hitchcock fans have rejoiced.

Stephen Windon, ACS is best known for some of the most widely seen images depicting World War II in HBO’s The Pacific. Windon shared credit with Remi Adefarasin, BSC on the miniseries, and his work on the episode “Okinawa” earned an ASC Outstanding Achievement Award, as well as an EMMY® nomination. His credits include two films in the Fast and Furious franchise, as well as Deep Blue Sea and The Patriot, among others.

In shooting The Pacific, Windon was focused on honesty and believability, down to the beads of sweat on a malaria-stricken soldier’s face. This time around, Windon is back in war mode, and while G.I. Joe: Retaliation leaves a bit more room for dramatization and even playfulness, the early talks with director Jon M. Chu and producers Herb Gains and Lorenzo di Bonaventura were centered around creating a realistic look on which to base the action and adventure.

Oliver Stapleton, BSC is known for his sensitive, sympathetic work on literary, humane dramas like The Shipping News, The Cider House Rules, Restoration, My Beautiful Laundrette and Absolute Beginners. But his resume also includes rock documentaries like Hail! Hail! Rock’n’Roll, caper films like The Grifters. Directors seem to return often – Stapleton has made eight films with Stephen Frears, five with Lasse Hallström, and four with Michael Hoffman.

Stapleton’s most recent assignment, The Guilt Trip, was also a return engagement, his second film with director Anne Fletcher. Their first effort was The Proposal.